Looking to spend about $5 on a fun four player game that will give you hours of multi-player brawling on the Xbox 360? Small Arms, available for 400 Microsoft points (about $5 USD) is a perfect example of good downloadable games on the Xbox live arcade marketplace.
Small Arms, while being called a Super Smash Bros. clone, is extremely enjoyable for anyone with 3 friends. The combat controls are pretty smooth which makes the combat system easy to pick up and play for novice players as well as seasoned gamers. While there is no story to accompany the single player campaign (I’m not complaining, one of the characters is a Rooster with a flame thrower: it doesn’t require a story.), game play is simple and exciting, making this game an easy party favorite.
There are a few problems however, one being an annoying waterfall level with ledges that are quite difficult to get on without falling. This could also be contributed to the jumping system as being faulty, with the secondary jump being difficult to use in a pinch. Also, some weapons (like the heat seeking missile) are extremely cheap and almost guarantee victory. But with these problems aside, Small Arms is still a diamond in the rough. I definitely recommend downloading it. Plus, the price tag has since been lowered to about $5 (since it has been out for some time), and that is a deal for an entertaining game.
Rating 3.5/5
-Ray
July 21, 2009
#1
To each their own, but I hate this game. It's one of those titles that I paid full price for, because there was nothing like it on XBLA at the time, and because I thought the full version would have more content than it turned out to have. If you want a 2D multiplayer combat game, I'd strongly recommend Rocket Riot over this.
July 21, 2009
#2
Not my favorite game, but it's not too bad, especially for 5 bucks. I can't imagine playing this on a regular basis, though.