xbla-fans
Latest
Report: XBLA prices rising (slowly), Summer of Arcade review scores dropping
XBLA Fans has done an exhaustive analysis of Xbox Live Arcade sales, Metacritic scores, and trends over the past few years in a four-part writeup. The most interesting finding in the article, in our estimation, is how the perception of rising prices squares with reality. Yes, there are more 1200 point ($15) games being released on the service as compared to previous years, but there are more 800 point ($10) games coming out as well, and there are more of those than $15 games. The average is rising overall, but it hasn't yet reached the 1200 point mark, even if that price is being assigned to some of the more high profile (and high quality) games on the service.The quality of the Summer of Arcade, on the other hand, is dropping overall, according to the average price and Metacritic score. In 2008, the first year the promotion existed, the games had an average Metacritic score of 84.8, with an average price of 960 points. This past year, however, the Metacritic score dropped to 78.8 (which still isn't too bad), but the average price was at 1120. This is purely mathematical, remember: The games are probably more complex these days, which allows Microsoft to set a higher price, and reviews on any site are subjective.Finally, XBLA Fans found 73% of titles on XBLA have gone on sale within their first year, though many of the games on XBLA were only on sale for a day or so. That means that patient XBLA buyers can save a lot of money, if they pay attention and move quickly. There are a few other interesting conclusions in the analysis as a whole, and lots of insight on how Microsoft's Arcade has developed over the past few years.
Dead Rising 2: Case West's tricky 'Handy Man' Achievement
If you picked up Dead Rising 2: Case West and are having a problem getting the "Handy Man" Achievement, which requires building all the new weapons in the DLC, it may not necessarily be that you're missing something. XBLA Fans, in its "DR2: Case West Weapons Combo Guide," notes that the "Handy Man" requires players build only the seven new weapons in the game. Apparently, if you create any other weapons before those seven, you'll have to move the save file to another device or delete it. The site previously put together the handy-dandy Super Meat Boy bandage guide, which has helped keep our rage-tossing controller destruction to a minimum.%Gallery-108514%
Super Meat Boy receives beefy bandage guide
The folks at XBLA Fans have put together a fantastic Super Meat Boy bandage guide, complete with pictures and jumping guide lines. One should feel no shame in referencing it: the game stands as one of the most difficult (yet satisfying) experiences of the year.
