X06: XBLA mini-impressions
by Kyle Orland 
{ Sep 28th 2006 at 8:45PM }
While demos for major retail games dominated the show floor at X06, there was a small neglected corner devoted to current and upcoming games for Xbox Live Arcade. Some of the more interesting upcoming releases:- Assault Heroes -- Yet another overhead shooter with dual-stick controls for movement and shooting. This one sets itself apart with vehicles and... that's about it. Graphics are impressively detailed for a Live Arcade title.
- Heavy Weapon -- Also a dual-stick shooter, but this one is from the side view. Co-op play has been added since the E3 demo, and the graphics have been polished up quite a bit. Simple, but surprisingly addictive -- all it needs is a jump button to be truly complete.
- Small Arms -- Described by the demo attendant on hand as "Super Smash Bros., but with weapons," a pretty accurate assessment. Lots of button-mashing in both long range and melee combat. Controls and balance need some touching up, but has the potential to be a great party game.
- Street Trace NYC -- Very early version of a hoverboard/shooter deathmatch, complete with rail slides and rocket launchers. Targeting was a mess and managing all the different weapons and functions while boarding was difficult. Needs work.
Also see: Lumines Live mini-impressions
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
mrgreen @ Sep 28th 2006 9:18PM
dumbasses supersmash bros has weapons, its one of the many reasosns that the game rocks so much
Xbudz @ Sep 28th 2006 10:26PM
I don't think every character has weapons in SSB.
rockintom99 @ Sep 29th 2006 3:31PM
Wow, small arms sounds like it could be pretty great. Yet another damn reason to pick up a 360 :(
justchris @ Sep 29th 2006 4:38AM
In SSB, weapons fall from the sky, pop out of pill bottles, and just generally smack you in the face. Or explode. Lots of exploding.
In addition to weapons anyone can pick up, the game has tools as well (some more useful than others). And, if you actually know how to play the game, it's not just all button mashing. Here's hoping Small Arms has some depth of play to it, and doesn't just become a button mashing fest with no actual gameplay.
Lord Meph @ Sep 29th 2006 3:34PM
"Small Arms -- Described by the demo attendant on hand as "Super Smash Bros., but with weapons,"
When asked his opinion on the Iraq war, the demo attendant said it was "like Vietnam, but with bullets and bombs".
He also said people would really enjoy the upcoming PS3 controller, which he said was just like the Wii controller, but with motion sensetivity.
deeduhdee
Rootbeer @ Sep 29th 2006 2:55PM
Surely what the booth dude meant was that Small Arms is "like SSB, but with Real Time Weapon Change".
Sure, Link could switch from sword to boomerang in SSB, but each time it took at least a full minute of navigating through menus to do so.