Five gems of XBLA

The Maw is a charming and seriously fun game that is going to make you smile from start to finish.
Puzzle Quest is one of those “just one more” time sinks. The improbable mix of puzzle gaming and RPG is just awesome. The sequel, Galactrix, is pretty good too (but quite buggy, you might want to wait for a patch or at least regularly copy your game save).
Portal is simply the best game ever, at least for me. Portal proves once more that the simplest ideas can be the deepest and does so with amazing grace and mastery of the art of video games.
Banjo Kazooie and Banjo Tooie were two of the best N64 games, maybe on par with Super Mario but with that unique Rare sense of humour.
Cloning Clyde: smart and funny.

What are your favorite XBLA games?

Sunday, May 3, 2009

James Newton-King said on Sunday, May 3, 2009
If you think Portal is good then you should check out Braid. It swaps portals for time control and is an amazing game, both in look and puzzle gameplay. The ending is absolutely fantastic too.
Dave Reed said on Sunday, May 3, 2009
Puzzle Quest was fun but wow what a long game. Playing casually and occasionally it took me months and months to finish it. Loved the humor. I would add: Geometry Wars 2 :)
Bertrand Le Roy said on Monday, May 4, 2009
@James: Braid didn't work for me (see weblogs.asp.net/.../i-don-t-like-braid-what-s-wrong-with-me.aspx). @Dave: for some reason, I just can't play Geometry Wars. I own the game but never got even the simplest achievements. Just not for me. But I agree they're pretty good games.
Morten said on Monday, May 4, 2009
MegaMan 9 ! It's all about gameplay, and the graphics and sound is sooo retro. This is actually a brand new game even with online experiences, but looks and feels like the original MegaMan games.
InfinitiesLoop said on Monday, May 4, 2009
Give GW another chance. When I first played GW1 I thought it was fun but wasn't compelled to go for achievements or anything. When GW2 came out I gave it another shot and it hooked me. I've gotten most of the achievements for GW2 -- I gave up on one of them though (wax off -- holy crap its hard!)