Xbox 360/Xbox Live Arcade

Xbox Live Arcade has a good selection of games avaliable, both old and new. Every title has a built in free trial, so go ahead and try out a game if you're interested!
Screenshot	Title 	Genre 	Description 	Xbox One?
 	'Splosion Man 	2D Platformer 	Fun platforman'. Exploding is your primary method of doing everything. Up to 4-player co-op, with new stages in co-op mode. The sequel, Ms. 'Splosion Man, is out too. 	Yes
 	Alien Hominid HD 	Run 'n Gun 	This game requires quick reflexes and a basic side-scrolling formula while a player controls the alien and defeats FBI agents and their creations. Also on GBA, GC (USA only) and PS2/Xbox. 	Yes
 	Banjo-Kazooie 	3D Platformer 	HD port of Rare's N64 classic. It still holds up well today and is definitely worth checking out, especially if you've never played it before. Stop 'n' Swop is included and is compatible with the XBLA version of Banjo-Tooie (see below) and Nuts & Bolts! 	Yes
 	Banjo-Tooie 	3D Platformer 	HD port of Banjo's sequel, with similar upgrades from the first game's port (better framerate, Stop 'n' Swop, etc). It's still lots of fun and is highly recommended. 	Yes
 	Bastion 	Action RPG type thing 	Be the humble savior of a broken, beautifully realized world. Good, exciting gameplay, a nice assortment of weapons to choose from and customize, fucking incredible soundtrack, very well told story. The setting and plot are fleshed out with masterful restraint. This one's a gem, alright. Also available on PC via Steam. 	
 	Beyond Good and Evil HD 	Action/Adventure 	The cult classic from the makers of Rayman makes its way to Live Arcade with an HD uplift. An action/adventure game with stealth elements, a good style, solid gameplay, and a surprisingly deep story involving a government conspiracy and the photographer bent on exposing it. Seriously, if you don't have a copy/haven't played it, buy it. Let them know that the sequel is wanted. 	Yes
 	Braid 	Pretentious Puzzle Platformer 	Use some very well-done time manipulation powers to save the princess.  Or maybe it's a girlfriend.  Or candy.  Or the atomic bomb.  Don't pay attention to the story, just pay attention to the myraid time-powers (and the ending is pretty good too).  Also on PC and P33. Wii version canceled due to lack of interest size restrictions on WiiWare. 	Yes
 	Castle Crashers 	Beat 'Em Up 	4-player online-able roaming beat-em-up set in medieval times. High level of customization and hidden/unlockable content make this the most fun one can have with a 360. Also features an awesome soundtrack. Considered one of the best XBLA games.
Also on the Playstation Network and the PC. Make sure to get the free Pink Knight DLC if you buy it, adds a character and some weapons. 	Yes
 	Comic Jumper 	Run 'n Gun/Platformer 	A fun game from Twisted Pixel. Travel between different comic book worlds as the super hero Captain Smiley. The art/graphics style changes in each world! Has a good soundtrack, a ton of bonus features to unlock and is hilarious. 	Yes
 	Costume Quest 	RPG 	Note: Best played around Halloween. You play as a kid trying to rescue your sibling kidnapped by troll-like monsters. However, this game has a nostalgic childhood-like feel to it. The dialogue, the attitudes, along with the general humor and plot can really take you back. In dealing with obstacles, you find, build, and use costumes and their abilities to proceed, such as a light-up toy sword to scare away darkness phantoms. The battles are a little simple, but play well enough and are rather cute and silly, being hilariously exaggerated through imagination. The game is a little short, but the DLC expansion chapter rounds it out nicely.
Also available on the Playstation Network and PC. The PC version comes with the DLC!	Yes
 	Cyber Troopers Virtual On: Oratorio Tangram ver 5.66	Action/Simulator 	Port of the arcade classic. Fast and frantic mecha action with giant swords, huge lasers and love hearts. Supports online and LAN play.
Prequel also available and Xbone compatible. 	Yes
 	Daytona USA 	Racing 	ROOOOOOOOLLIIIIING STAAAAAAAAAART
The famous Arcade racer comes to the Xbox (and PSN) with possibly its best port. Gorgeous graphics, HD, Widescreen, and runs at a smooth 60fps, but pretty basic. Missing the extra tracks and cars the various re-releases on the Saturn and Dreamcast added. Does have online play, a karaoke mode, and some track challenges. 	Yes
 	DeathSpank 	Action RPG/Diablo-esque 	A goofy Action RPG by Ron Gilbert of Monkey Island fame. Do heroic deeds like stuffing annoying orphans in a bag, slaying stoopid chickens, hammering magical poop out of demons, and more as you quest for an ancient, powerful artifact: The Artifact. A bit short, but fun, easy to control and great humor. Gets better with the more weapons and skills you get. A pal can co-op in at anytime as SPARKLES THE WIZARD. He shares your health bar, but has handy magic like ranged damage and healing. 	
 	DeathSpank: Thongs of Virtue 	Action RPG/Diablo-esque 	DeathSpank ventures to the war-torn land north of last game. Humor and quests are mostly the same, if not better; but now your arsenal is more impressive. Poison bazookas, ice grenades, laser monocles, earthquake shovels, etc. replace the medieval gear before (the new melee weapons act like the old ones, so no worries). The DLC is mostly for fun, but goes cheap anyways. Note: Console versions may sometimes get bugged with a late-game quest, but Hothead is willing to help anyone who encounters it 	Yes
 	Double Dragon Neon 	Beat 'Em Up/High-fives/Being a motherf***ing badass/So much 80's!	Mega-ultra-awesome-cool reimagining of Double Dragon. Lots of amazing stuff such as fully customizable and upgradeable movesets, co-op bro-op multiplay, all sorts of weapons and items to help you, tons of Williamses, Lindas and Abobos for you to punish, rocking-hard soundtrack, lots of voiced comments by all characters, a shameless rip-off of Skeletor as the big bad and all sorts of crazy stuff going on all the time!
GET A BRO AND GO PLAY THIS. NOW! 	Yes
 	Dungeons & Dragons: Chronicles of Mystara 	Beat 'Em Up/Action RPG 	Two games for the price of one! Both classic Capcom DND arcade games. Very true to the source material. Sweet 4 player action and has online support for those with no friends.
Also available on PSN and Steam. The Saturn also got a port of this, but is restricted to two players on both games and not fully arcade perfect. 	Yes
 	Dust: An Elysian Tail 	2D platformer / action RPG 	A pretty fun game where you play as an amnesiac furry hero fighting a genocidal army with a magical talking sword and a spell-casting flying cat. Features a smooth combat system, nice graphics and some decent RPG elements. Really impressive considering one guy pretty much made the whole game by himself.
Also on Windows, OS X, and Linux. 	
 	Garou: Mark of The Wolves 	2D Fighter 	The most accurate non-Neo Geo version of the game to date, the 360 version of MOTW has pretty much everything you could ask for in a port, with the sole exception of decent netcode. Seriously, when I tried it, it was like watching a slideshow. Play it on GGPO if you wanna play online, but the 360 version is good for training. 	Yes
 	Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2 	Shoot 'em Up 	Sequel to the fantastic Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved, which is also on the arcade, but the bucket load of extra modes makes this one the game to try. Awesome music, crazy colors, terrific gameplay and just the right amount of challenge add up to an excellent shooting experience. Mode variations will keep you busy.
Other versions of Geometry Wars can be found on the Wii, DS and PC. 	Yes
 	Geon: Emotions 	Arcade 	Navigate a little cube around and collect pellets before your enemy does. 	
 	Gunstar Heroes 	Run 'n Gun 	A goddamn classic. Check out the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive page if you don't remember it. 	Yes
 	Guwange 	Shoot 'em Up 	Cave's arcade classic from 1999 is now on XBLA. Set in medeival Japan, you choose from one of three characters, each with their own main shot and Shikigami, which you use to temporarily freeze bullets. Gameplay. 	Yes
 	Hard Corps: Uprising 	Action Shooter 	Made by Arc System Works of Guilty Gear and BlazBlue fame, this "spiritual successor" to Contra: Hard Corps is all you could ask for and then some. The game is beautiful, the soundtrack kicks ass, and you'll be in awe at how smooth the controls are. What are you waiting for, go and get what may possibly be the best Contra game of this gen! 	Yes
 	Hydro Thunder Hurricane 	Boat Racing 	A sequel to the original that stays true to it's roots. Offline and online multiplayer is in. 	Yes
 	Ikaruga 	Shoot 'em up 	A small nation unearths an artifact that grants them unlimited power, which they use to conquer the world. The sequel to Radiant Silvergun, and one of the best shmups ever. Has an unique puzzle-ish "polarity system": enemies and their fire are either light or dark, and the player changes his ship's polarity at will. Bullets of different polarity kill you, but bullets of equal polarity are absorbed. If you haven't played this one on the Dreamcast, get it now. 	Yes
 	The King of Fighters 2002: Unlimited Match 	2D Fighter 	This isn't so much of a remake as 98UM was to 98, this is more like an entirely new game that uses a similar engine. A cast of pretty much every pre-03 character you could ask for, a kick ass soundtrack and the best port of the game to date; what more could you ask for? Oh, that's right, decent netcode. :( 	Yes
 	King of Fighters 98: Ultimate Match 	2D Fighter 	The classic Dream Match is back! The inclusion of the 96 Boss Team in the 98 engine alone makes this worth getting, if you ask me. In addition, there's been some changes to the existing characters, as well as some new stages. The most accurate port of the game to date, as well; shame the netcode is as bad as it is. And, if you don't end up liking what SNKP changed, it comes with the original KOF98 as well! Just select "NEOGEO MODE" at the main menu. 	Yes
 	Limbo 	2D Platformer 	Black-and-white puzzle platforming adventure. 1200 msp. You'll beat it in two hours.
Also available on PC and PS3. 	Yes
 	The Maw 	3D Puzzle Platformer 	Play as an adorable Alien who controls another adorable Alien who likes to eat everything up. Get new abilities by eating enemies Kirby style. Cute and fun, but short.
Also on PC. 	Yes
 	Magic the Gathering: Duels of the Planeswalker 	TCG 	Good MTG game, best for beginners to the game since decks are pre-made and while you unlock cards, you can't make custom decks. I might be in the minority, but this is what got this anon into the real card game.
As someone who got persuaded into buying this game by a friend and spent many hours in it, I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. You get about 5 pre-built decks. The campaign is literally about 8 different opponents. Each time you beat an opponent with a deck, you get a single card added, so if you complete the game with a deck you get the option of adding those 8 cards in the deck. You want to customize your deck like any reasonable magic enthusiast would? Sure but it will cost you tons and tons of points. Want to multiplayer? Too bad; that costs more microsoft points too. The only redeeming quality I found in this game was the puzzle-like mode that throws you into the middle of a critical moment in a battle where you have to find the winning strategy, and there are only a few of them to play through. Do yourself a favor and stay away from this one. -Anon #2	Yes
 	Mega Man 9 	Action Platformer 	It's Mega Man. Platforming and shooting. Quite difficult. On Wii and PS3. 	Yes
 	Mega Man 10 	Action Platformer 	Same as 9, it continues the series in the lovely 8bit style. A little easier than 9, it'll probably still kick your ass. This one has some more variety in it, with creative mini-bosses (almost 1 per stage) and stages. And playable Bass. 	Yes
 	The Secret of Monkey Island: Special Edition 	Adventure 	One of the most famous and successful adventure games ever made, this one is considered a cult classic by many. Help the "mighty pirate" Guybrush Threepwood defeat the evil ghost pirate LeChuck, win the love of the beautiful Elaine Marley and uncover the titular secret of Monkey Island. Exceptional writing and humor, this game is a mandatory play for everyone who loves adventures everyone. This is a remake with modern graphics and voice acting. The artstyle is generally agreed upon to be ugly and the controls are fucktarded, but you can also switch to the original graphics and interface easily.	Yes
 	Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge: Special Edition 	Adventure 	Just like Monkey Island 1, but longer, funnier, and all around better. Get a job by tainting soup with a rat, kidnap two large animals for your twisted machinations, practice voodoo against your foes, and cause two huge explosions while stealing everything that's not nailed down. This is also has a remake with redone graphics and full voice acting. The remake art is better looking this time around, but you can still return to the original style at will. 	Yes
 	Monday Night Combat 	Third-Person shooter/Tower Defense 	Think DOTA meets Team Fortress 2. Is updated more on PC now. 	Yes
 	Mutant Storm Empire 	Shoot 'em Up 	Fun as shit. Get it. (No loading screens!) 	Yes
 	Mutant Storm Reloaded 	Shoot 'em Up 	Just as good as the previous one. 	Yes
 	N+ 	Platformer 	Jump, dodge, climb and rebound from walls, and collect gold on the way to the exit. You play as a little black ninja. Also on DS (for a low cost nowadays) and PC (the latter being free and better, though not quite as portable) 	Yes
 	NeoGeo Battle Coliseum 	2D Fighter 	Port of the Atomiswave game of the same name. Unfortunately, this port was optimized for widescreen LCD's, so there's always an upscale filter over the sprites no matter what you do and the game only displays in 16:9, despite originally being a 4:3 game. Past that though, this port is tops. It's the only SNKP release that has actually good netcode, too! 	Yes
 	Pac-Man Championship Edition 	Maze 	It's the same Pac-Man you know and love, but with different modes, shiny new visuals, an awesome techno soundtrack, and faster, tweaked gameplay. For example, now you respawn where you died instead of the center of the track. Fun Fact: this was designed by the original creator of Pac-Man and was his last game before retirement. Pac-Man Championship Edition DX is out now and is even better. 	Yes
 	Perfect Dark 	FPS 	Port of the N64 classic with improved graphics, and keeps all that was great in the original. It's about special agent Joanna Dark stopping conspiracies. Has multiplayer. Achievements are glitchy if you care about them. 	Yes
 	Plants vs. Zombies 	Tower Defence 	Defend your house from Zombies using a large array of cute Plants. Seriously. Easy to learn, hard to master, and really fun.
Available on pretty much every format. The versions which use the mouse/touch screen controls are the best, but the console offerings aren't a bad alternative. 	Yes
 	Radiant Silvergun 	Shoot 'em up 	A mysterious artifact is unearthed and wipes out mankind. As their vital resources dwindle, the only survivors are forced to return from their space station and find that, even so, they are not alone. The predecessor to Ikaruga, and one of the best shmups ever. Has a level system: the more you use any of the six weapons, the more powerful it gets. If you haven't played this one on the Saturn, get it now. 	Yes
 	Rez HD 	Shooter/Other 	The cult psychedalic shooter from the PS2 and Dreamcast with slick updated visuals and now available for less than $80! 	
 	Shadow Complex 	Metroidvania 	Simply awesome. Definitely one of the best, if not the best game on the XBLA. Cool powerups. Story by Orson Scott Card (that you can totally ignore if you choose). One negative is that there is A LOT of backtracking. Basically Metal Gear: Metroid. 	Yes
 	Snoopy Flying Ace 	Action/Arcade Flight 	Not your typical licensed game, this a fantastic dogfighting (no pun intended) title which feels like a spiritual successor to the Xbox's Crimson Skies: High Road to Revenge. Terrific online multiplayer. 	
 	Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1 	2D Platformer 	Very short, (like every 2D Sonic HERP DERP) but REALLY FUN. The fans were right for once. Same fun 2D gameplay that even the couple of changes, such as lock-on, doesn't ruin it. A (finally) great Sonic game for what it is worth.
Also on WiiWare and PSN. 	Yes
 	SoulCalibur II HD Online 	3D Fighting 	What many consider to be the best SoulCalibur ever made, ported to Xbox 360 and PS3 in HD. Has brand new UI textures designed for 16:9 widescreen, as well as higher resolution character and environment textures. Features ranked (and unranked player match) online multiplayer in SC2 for the first time. Unfortunately, online is completely dead. Still worth checking for the fantastic single player modes. Heihachi and Spawn, characters formerly exclusive to their Xbox and PS2 counterparts, are included here. Sadly, Link from the Gamecube version is left out.
Talim is best girl. 	Yes
 	Space Giraffe 	Fixed Shooter 	Tempest 2000 on an acid trip. Although both games share the same basic mechanics, the emphasis of this game is on trying to ram enemies off the web's rim in order to increase the score multiplier. Notorious for the fact that some stages are so visually psychedelic that it's almost impossible to tell what's happening from mere sight alone. As such, this game's at its most fun when you're playing in "the zone". Also on PC. 	Yes
 	Stacking 	Adventure 	Double Fine's Industrial Age tale remixes traditional Point-And-Click with Stacking Dolls. As a tiny doll, the young lead Charlie can't do much alone, but he can stack within others and manipulate people using the status, prestige, and abilities of his disguises. This is a bit short, but there are actually multiple solutions for nearly every puzzle and the game encourages/entices you to find all of them in replays. The aesthetics are just delightful, recalling silent movies and plays, but filled with the color and technology seen in the era proper. Definitely try the demo if nothing more.
Also on PC.	Yes
 	Super Meat Boy 	2D Platformer 	Very hard difficulty (which is a breath of fresh air to those gamers that are tired of 'watered down' games. Also quite long. You are made of meat and are trying to save the princess from a fetus in a jar.
Also on PC. 	Yes
 	Trials HD 	Puzzle/Racing 	Physics-based dirtbike game similar to Excite Bike. Ride over obstacles and do crazy jumps. Unlock new levels by beating the previous ones with a minimal amount of bails and in short amount of time. Some levels can be absolutely infuriating to get a gold medal in, or even finish. Very addictive. The sequel, Trials Evolution, is out now too and is also great. 	Yes
 	Virtua Fighter 2 	3D Fighter 	In case you wanted something more old school than VF5 or Tekken. Missing some of the extra features the Saturn port had, but still runs at 60fps. 	Yes
 	Virtua Fighter 5: Final Showdown 	3D Fighter 	Latest iteration of VF5, with a shitload of changes from the previous version. Including 2 characters from VF5R: Taka-Arashi (sumo) and Jean Kujo (karate). Move lists from all characters have been revised thoroughly, so if you played vanilla VF5, expect to learn move properties and frame data again. Also, unlike vanilla VF5 or VF4, the learning curve is not as steep, so newcomers should feel more encouraged to give it a try. However, this is still Virtua Fighter, so learning the game and be somewhat decent at it may take a while. 	Yes
 	Wolfenstein 3D 	FPS 	A classic FPS. Popularized first person shooters on the PC. Kill Nazis. 	Yes
==Delisted Games==
These games can't be bought anymore. Listed here for posterity. Copies still float around online and can be used if you have a system capable of running unsigned code (RGH or JTAG) or running through Xenia
Screenshot	Title 	Genre 	Description
 	After Burner Climax 	Flight/Action/Shoot 'em Up	Classic After Burner gameplay, updated graphics and controls. Incredibly addictive and has tons of "EX Options" to change up gameplay, as well as the option to swap out the J-rock soundtrack for After Burner 2's chiptunes. A direct port of the arcade version by Sega AM2.
Also available on PS3. Sega delisted the game due to losing the rights to one of the plane designs.
 	Breath of Death VII: The Beginning 	RPG 	An indie parody RPG with references to every damned game under the sun. Plays like your old school "Final Fantasy", "Dragon Quest", "Phantasy Star", though it tries to mix things up with its own systems as well. Also see "Cthulhu Saves the World" 
Also available on PC via Steam. Delisted due to XBLA Indie going under.
 	Doom 	FPS 	A landmark FPS released in 1993. This is only Doom though, so no extra levels and such. Doom 2 was also released with an additional episode (No Rest For the Living). Both were included with Doom 3 BFG Edition. Both ports and Doom 3 are Xbone compatible. 
Available on pretty much everything. Delisted due to Bethesda re-releasing the game on modern systems. This version was pretty hated at launch but has shaped up to a pretty good port. Possibly better than these releases.
 	Duke Nukem 3D 	FPS 	
Fairly non-linear FPS with humor and sweet action. Also on Saturn, PS1, N64 and PC.. all with varying degrees of censorship (bar PC version which also has extra mission pacs and even an 'HD' update)
Delisted due to Gearbox wanting to release their own version (20th Anniversary World Tour). It is a bit inferior to this version.
 	I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES 1N IT 	TDS 	
An awesome indie game about killing zombies in a top down perspective. It's a fucking dollar. Doesn't hurt that it's good.
Delisted due to XBLA Indie going under.
 	Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World: The Game	Beat em' Up 	Even if you you're not a fan, this game stands on its own, despite paying tribute to old school beat em' ups like Final Fight and River City Ransom. You level up and obtain new moves, eat food to increase your stats and beat the SHIT out of everyone in an epic 4-player co-op while listening to some really awesome Anamanaguchi music. Online is now included as paid DLC. For the fans, it stays faithful to the aspects of the comics and some stuff from the movie as well. If you love games like Castle Crashers and such then check this too.
Also on PSN. Delisted due to the license expiring.
 	The Simpsons Arcade Game 	Beat 'em Up 	
Regarded by many to be the best Simpsons game ever, and for good reason. A Konami side scrolling beat 'em up originally made in 1991; Maggie has been kidnapped by Smithers and you have to save her. Features 4 player onlineoffline co-op, bonus features and the option to chose between the American/Japanese version of the game (difference between the two is the scoring system and not much else). Gameplay
Delisted due to Konami losing the license.
 	Uno 	Card Game 	
Simple Uno fun. A couple of variations. Extremely active community, although that may change now that the game has been out for more than a decade. You'll occasionally get some guy jerking off or some girl showing tits since the LIVE Vision Camera comes with this game.
Delisted due to Ubisoft getting the license.
 	X-Men: The Arcade Game 	Beat 'em Up 	Welcome to die! Remember that old X-Men arcade game where you could have up to SIX people on one arcade cabinet? Well now its on XBLA with an HD uplift. Professor X and Kitty Pryde has been kidnapped! Are you, as one of six X-Men, a bad enough dude to save them? Short and repetitive, but co-op with up to four locally, or six on Live, and it's a blast going through an army of Sentinels, villains, and Magneto,MASTER OF MAGNETS.
Also on the PS3's Playstation Network. Delisted due to Konami losing the license