I currently have 85 games on the Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA). I probably paid for half of them, so it’s already become a hefty investment. After playing Ikaruga for several days, I can state with confidence that it’s now officially my favorite game on the arcade. The current meta score for the game is 8.7/10. All I can say is that some of the reviewers handing out lower scores were either smoking crack or needed to smoke some. I don’t like giving games 1-10 scores, but if I were inclined to do so, Ikaruga would get a 10/10 from me any day of the week.
Ikaruga (XBLA)
Developed by Treasure
Published by Treasure
Released on April 9, 2008
Ikaruga always had a visual appeal to it, regardless of what platform it was released on. I have fond memories of playing the game on the Dreamcast and in the arcades. I was afraid that somehow the title would be dumbed down for the XBLA, but fortunately it’s just as challenging as ever. If your thing is casual gaming, you’ll certainly want to pass on this one. If you are looking for a challenging game like the arcade shooters of old, I’m not sure why you haven’t already downloaded it.
The exciting addition to the old game is online co-op mode. This might just be enough to bring back the nostalgia of the old school arcade days for some gamers like myself. If you haven’t already purchased the game, I suggest checking out the demo as soon as possible. Many sites reviewed the game and I’m not sure what they were thinking to be honest. The closest review to the truth I could find was on Destructoid. There’s no such thing as a flawless game, but this is about as close as it gets on the XBLA.
April 20th, 2008 at 8:17 am
I’m glad you said this, because I played the demo and liked it. But i haven’t had time to get the full version yet.
April 20th, 2008 at 9:46 am
Yeah it’s definitely a game to pick up if you like a challenge. It really reminds me of the old arcade days where you’d blow 20 dollars in quarters trying to beat a game. lol