Another toy to be abandoned, or fierce time waster?

April 18, 2011 8:32 AM

I have an opportunity to get an new xbox for cheap, and I have a huge (really huge) library of games available for me to borrow from and play for free. If I do go this route, which games should I look at? I'm not really a gamer...

I'm having trouble turning down this opportunity, but I have a bit of a history of obtaining electronics and never really using them. I need to break this habit. That being said... toys are fun :) I'm not really a gamer - I have a Wii and DS that are never used, but my iPad is, frequently. I prefer puzzle & strategy games, LOVE tower defence games, but hate shooters and anything with a 3D world is which I will get horribly lost. Side-scrollers (ie Mario-like) are ok, but not my favourite.

Sadly, the console world is something I know very little about...

Given all that, are there any xbox games you think i'd like? (Any good TD games?) Are there any that that would be worth obtaining (for cheap) the xbox, assuming I can play the games for free? I already have Netflix, so I don't need the xbox for that.

posted by cgg to shopping (8 answers total)

portal! it's a 3d game, and sort of a shooter, but at heart it's a puzzle game.
posted by rmd1023 at 8:41 AM on April 18, 2011

To be clear, Portal is available as part of the disk called The Orange Box.

You might find you like more of the games available as downloaded Arcade titles, moreso than the "real" games. There are a lot more puzzle and strategy games to be found there.
posted by utsutsu at 8:52 AM on April 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

Plants Vs Zombies and Defence Grid are both tower defence games available on XBox Live Arcade (i.e. you need to connect the Xbox to the internet and sign up for a Silver (free) Xbox Live account to buy & download the games).

While it is an amazing game, I would not recommend Portal if you get lost in 3D first-person games. It's a puzzle game, sure, but a puzzle game that involves quick reflexes and navigating complex three-dimensional maps.

I've only played Puzzle Quest on the DS, but I believe it's available on Xbox Live Arcade too - that's an excellent puzzle game.
posted by EndsOfInvention at 8:59 AM on April 18, 2011

Pretty much all of the Lego titles rule. Lego Star Wars, Lego Harry Potter, Lego Indiana Jones. They're fun, easy but not too easy, and have a really witty sense of humor. I played the shit out of those games.
posted by shiu mai baby at 9:26 AM on April 18, 2011

Any good TD games?

Run and download Toy Soldiers! I too am a tower defense junkie, and this is the best implementation of the tower defense evolution yet -even better than PvZ IMHO, and that's a high bar! It's a downloadable game from XBLA, but my #1 game in all of 2010 (along with Mass Effect 2). Not only can you place defense units, but you can jump in them and shoot enemies yourself to get multipliers to get more cash. Very satisfying.

Tip: play on easy until you unlock all the units, then go back and go nuts to get high scores. There's something like 12 different levels in the campaign, but when you beat it, you unlock another campaign. In addition there's a special task on each level which will have you replaying each mission. I was so hooked, I got both DLC packs.
posted by yeti at 9:56 AM on April 18, 2011 [1 favorite]

Oooh! Toy Soldiers looks like a blast. Yay! (And I used to live in Bothell!)
posted by rmd1023 at 11:15 AM on April 18, 2011

I prefer puzzle & strategy games

Puzzle Quest Galactrix, Bejewelled, Hexic, Carcassonne, and Settlers of Cataan immediately come to mind.

Check out the following listings at metacritic:

Puzzle Games

Strategy Games

Side-scrollers (ie Mario-like) are ok, but not my favourite

If you connect your xbox 360 to the live service, at least check out the free demo of the game LIMBO. You may change your mind about side-scrollers....
posted by de void at 12:25 PM on April 18, 2011

Braid is a masterpiece of meta-gaming and platforming, and it's available for download on Live for a reasonable price.

Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is also utterly fantastic and cheap enough to download as well. Never before would I have expected to say "the most exciting and entertaining new game I've played this year was a Pac-Man game."

Both have both puzzle and strategy elements, though the latter is geared toward high scores (but there's a lot of figuring out the ideal path involved, especially in time trial mode).
posted by DoctorFedora at 4:35 PM on April 18, 2011 [1 favorite]