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The Best Games for the XBox 360 Arcade

The Xbox 360 Arcade, or XBLA, features games that can be downloaded directly to your console without needing to purchase a game disc from a store. Featuring demos of new games, original games created for the service as well as remakes of classic games, the XBLA encompasses a wide variety of content. The best games from the service have been determined through their critical reception.

Original Games
- According to Metacritic, the most critically acclaimed game for the Xbox 360 Arcade is Braid. The game is a 2D platformer where the player can manipulate time to solve puzzles necessary to progress in the story. Along with gameplay, Braid has also been given praise for storytelling. What begins as a typical "save the princess" games, Braid soon twists the story around to explore the guilt suffered by the creator of the atomic bomb.
  
  Peggle was developed by PopCap games and falls into the casual category of gaming. While meant for a broad audience, the game has found critical and commercial success by featuring simple yet addictive gameplay. The Official Xbox Magazine wrote "it's Xbox Live Arcade's finest offering, and it can be both mindless and high-level strategic fun."
  
  Released in 2005, Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved is a top down shooter where players move across a static screen, blasting colorful enemies who multiply and move faster as the game progresses. As of 2009, Geometry Wars is still one of the highest rated games on the system that Games Radar says "this humble $5 downloadable might just be the best experience you've had with your Xbox 360."
Remakes and Rereleases
- Portal: Still Alive features the original game, released in The Orange Box, but also includes additional modes and puzzles for old and new players. 1UP.com praised the game for expanding its audience while GamePro called the game a must buy. Players use a gun to create portals that are then used to solve puzzles and proceed to new rooms within a secret laboratory. The end of the game features the song "Still Alive" which has become popular with gamers and featured as a downloadable track in the music game, Rock Band.
  
  Featuring redrawn characters and quicker gameplay, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix revamped the classic fighting game and includes online support, making this the first entry in the series to allow players to compete with opponents worldwide. Giant Bomb says of the game, "with the number of important changes being made and its extreme attention to detail, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix sets a new standard for downloadable arcade games."
  
  Rez was originally released as a Playstation 2 exclusive, but was remade for the Xbox 360 and retitled Rez HD. The game takes place inside a computer, with visuals reminiscent of the movie, Tron. Similar to Geometry Wars, Rez HD valued creative visuals and classic gameplay over the 3D polygon pushing of disc-based games on the console. It was called "one of the best games ever made" by 1UP.

Xbox Live