Xbox LIVE Summer Preview Event in Toronto

By Kyle “KowZ” Cowan

A few days ago, Jade and the Xbox Canada crew got a few community members together for a preview of some Xbox Live Arcade titles that will be coming to the Xbox Live Marketplace this summer.

Buku Sudoko is pretty straightforward – the first Sudoku game available for Xbox 360. It’s a great way to exercise your mind so if you haven't already checked it out, be sure to look for the demo.

Next up was Wolf of the Battlefield: Commando 3, which was just released. This game excited the overhead shooter crowd, and reminded many of a mix between SMASH TV and Small Arms. If you haven't had a chance to try out the demo, make sure you do. It is definitely worth the download.

After fighting for survival, we moved on to a game that we thought would be boring and just a quick “kids game”. Boy, were we wrong. Roogoo looks very basic when you first play it; how hard could matching shapes with holes be? Well, this isn't like the blocks you played with in kindergarten. In competitive mode (which is mostly how we played), you can start to attack each other by throwing bad guys in the way of the holes and totally ruining your opponent’s planned move.

Being dragged kicking and screaming away from Roogoo (I was the evening’s undefeated Champion of Roogoo), I was told that I could just download those games when I got home and that I needed to check out the stuff I was really there for, the unreleased stuff – 1942: Joint Strike, Golf: Tee It Up!, and Schizoid.

1942 is an amazing remake of an arcade classic. Some other gamers were swapping stories of playing this game in arcades growing up. Those same gamers went on to give this game full praise for its true-to-the-original gameplay and upgraded HD graphics. If you love aerial shooters, this is a game you will want to watch out for.

Next up was a cute little golf game called Golf: Tee It Up! This game allows up to four players to have a fun and easy game of golf together. This game allows for customization of your golfers, with some options that will surely make you chuckle. A good game to play together with on the couch with friends.

The last game we got to play was called Schizoid – the first XNA game to come to the Xbox Live Marketplace as an Arcade title. It had to be one of the best co-op experiences I have had in a while, you truly have to work together to win. I mean, you could play this game by yourself, but it is really better played with a friend. If you are still unsure if you want to try this game, then I'm not describing it right. This game is a mix of Pac-Man: CE, Geometry Wars, and a full co-op experience. What more could you want?

At the end of the night, everyone had a favourite game that they were playing constantly. The team started packing up all around us, but they had to finally kill the power on us to get us to go home. We were hooked, and I'm pretty sure you will be, too. Many of these games offer an amazing multiplayer experience and will definitely make you want to take your game onto Xbox Live.