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The Xbox 360 might not seem like the most logical choice to bring a casual game revival to your living room's video game consoles. After all, the 360 is the most powerful console currently available -- home to sprawling, graphically rich. Why would anyone want to use all this power on a casual game? The answer is Xbox Live Arcade.
Xbox Live Arcade is Microsoft's ingenious system to allow players to download games directly to the system's hard drive for a small fee. The program has proven wildly successful, showing in a few short months that casual games and complex epics can coexist peacefully on the same system.
So what makes Xbox Live Arcade so cool for the casual game player?
The Marketplace
Finding casual games and demos on the PC can require searching through many different portals -- some good, some bad, all different. Xbox Live Arcade games are all accessible from one easy-to-scan menu right from the Xbox 360 Dashboard. The dashboard also lets you sort games by genre and find new releases quickly in their own menu.
Easy Download and Play
Downloading, installing and playing games on the PC can be a difficult, multi-step process, especially to users without advanced computer skills. With Xbox Live Arcade, it couldn't be simpler -- just choose the game you want and download a free trial version with the push of a button. Once the game downloads, it's immediately playable from your Xbox Live Arcade menu -- no need for extra installation or hunting for files or updates. You never have to worry about system specs either -- each game is tuned to the Xbox and updates to the system are downloaded automatically.
Integrated Payment System
Buying full versions of casual games on the PC means digging out a credit card, filling out a bunch of personal information, and handing it over to a source that may or may not be completely trustworthy. With Xbox Live Arcade, your credit card information is stored in the system, so purchasing games and upgrades is as easy as clicking a button from inside the demo. What's more, many games are only $5 which makes impulse purchases easy.
Play on your TV
While playing games on your computer can be nice, being hunched over a desk during relaxation time is not everyone's idea of a good time. With Xbox Live Arcade, you can play your favorite casual games on your living room TV from the comfort of your couch. What's more, the Xbox 360's wireless controller is perfectly suited to the classic arcade and action games that form the backbone of Xbox Live Arcade. There's even a button on the controller to turn the system on and off without even getting up -- perfect for pick up and play gaming.
Leaderboard and Achievements
Competing with yourself for a personal high score is all right, but after a while you want to see how your best measures up to others around the world. Xbox Live Arcade make this easy by sending your high scores to a worldwide leaderboard automatically, for quick comparison with friends and strangers. Each Live Arcade game also lets you earn achievement points for completing certain objectives. These achievements give you specific goals to reach for besides a high score and serve as a badge of honor that shows up on your player profile.
The Games
From action to puzzle, simulation to arcade classic, Xbox Live Arcade has games for every taste. Each game on Xbox Live Arcade is put through the same quality control process that retail Xbox 360 games go through, which means that Microsoft has picked these games as the best of the best. This quality control does limit the selection a bit -- as of this writing, there are only 25 games available for the Arcade -- but Microsoft has said it is committed to releasing new selections every week, so the library is sure to grow.
Need more help separating the wheat from the chaff? Watch this space for regular reviews of Xbox Live Arcade offerings.
Come back tomorrow to read our Xbox Files Review of Geometry Wars, the Bejeweled of the Xbox Live Arcade.