Xbox Live Arcade: Fun video games on the cheap

Not all great video games come in a box. That might be hard to believe with “Call of Duty” commercials featuring movie stars and NBA players frequently airing on TV, but there are other fun, more affordable games that you can purchase from the comfort of your own couch if you know where to look.

One of the best places to find these games is on Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA), Microsoft’s video game download distribution service for the Xbox 360. That’s where game aficionados can download free demos of games, check out super inexpensive and unique titles made by independent developers (some of which sell for only $1), and buy some of the best games you can find anywhere. Best of all, XBLA titles sell for a fraction of what a boxed title goes for, ranging in price from only $5-$20.

While new games are available to download on XBLA every week - last Friday it was Konami’s arcade classic “The Simpsons Arcade Game” - three times a year Microsoft saves some of it’s very best submissions (the process for making it on XBLA is incredibly rigorous) for a special multi-week event. One of those special events, the Xbox Live Arcade House Party, starts next week. Beginning February 15, a new downloadable title will launch on Xbox Live Arcade every Wednesday, through March 7. These are what Microsoft believes to be the cream of the downloadable crop, handpicked for their potential gaming awesomeness.

In this day and age where money is tighter than ever, the popularity of downloadable titles is increasing due to their low cost and accessibility, so these games are certainly worth a look. In fact, with no triple-A titles coming out until March 6 (“Mass Effect 3”) and with gamers getting an 800 Microsoft Point ($10) refund if they buy all four games by March 13, the XBLA House Party may just be a place you want to stop by and hang out.  

Full release details for this year’s House Party line-up is below, including title launch dates, pricing, and ESRB ratings.

Gazette Media Columnist Terry Terrones is a veteran video game journalist. He has written for numerous publications including GamePro, PC World, GameZone, and Official Xbox Magazine. You can follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/terryterrones.

WARP

February 15, 800 Microsoft Points ($10), M17+

Play as Zero, a lovable-yet-lethal orange alien with a big score to settle in this puzzle-based stealth action game! Captured by the villainous Commander and imprisoned in his underwater facility, Zero must plan his ultimate escape using his arsenal of alien abilities — warp, frag, echo, swap and launch. 

ALAN WAKE’S AMERICAN NIGHTMARE

February 22, 1200 Microsoft Points ($15), Teen

Can you survive until sunrise? In this brand-new stand-alone experience, Alan Wake fights the herald of darkness, the evil Mr. Scratch. A thrilling new storyline, hordes of creepy enemies, serious firepower and beautiful Arizona locations combined with a fun and challenging new game mode, make this a must for Alan Wake veterans and the perfect jumping-on point for new players.

NEXUIZ

February 29, 800 Microsoft Points ($10), Teen

For centuries, the Kavussari and the Forsellians have waged war. They have a fragile truce but, because of their seething disgust of each other, still pit warriors against each other in arenas rather than on the fields of war. These episodes of lethal combat are broadcast throughout the galaxy as entertainment – a spectacle known as The Nexuiz Competition – an arena-based first-person shooter where you can alter the rules of the match and the laws of physics while dominating opponents in ever-changing hostile environments. 

I AM ALIVE

March 7, 1200 Microsoft Points ($15), M17+

One year after a worldwide cataclysmic event wiped out most of human civilization, a man struggles for survival. Faced with an insecure, decaying and hazardous world, he scours a desolated city, searching for his long-lost wife and daughter. Survive the suffocating, murky streets covered in dust. Climb the teetering remains of last-standing skyscrapers to reach breathable air and find untouched resources. Explore the crumbling ruins of a once-thriving metropolis. Discover a changed human condition, punctuated by distrustful survivors, dangerous armed gangs and victims in need.