Electric Dreamstate

I purchased a Hard Drive for my Xbox 360 and downloaded some games over the last couple of weeks. I also downloaded Ninja Gaiden for the NES on the Wii.

Ninja Gaiden on the Wii Virtual Console

Still as bloody hard as I remember it being way back in the day, the game is helped immensely by the fact that the Wii allows you to turn off your game and save your progress. Although it's frustrating in a few ways that it's sequels aren't (the fact that you can grab onto most walls but can't climb them leads to situations where you just postpone your inevitable death), the platforming action is tight and when you do succeed it feels like you've accomplished something. Worth $5.

Settlers of Catan on Xbox Live Arcade

This is a surprisingly faithful adaptation of the hit German board game Settlers of Catan. I've heard Settlers mentioned on numerous video game websites as being a "hard core" game, which confuses me a bit. As far as board games go, it's really more of an entry level game designed to ease people into games more complicated than Sorry. Something like Risk is more complicated (though not better designed) than Settlers. Compared to the even the most basic multiplayer online-game it's actually amazingly simple and new player friendly.

As for the port itself, the game is given more audio and visual fidelity than I think it really needs, but I'm not complaining. The trade interface is elegant and the A.I. is actually amazingly smart, although it's sometimes annoying when an A.I. won't trade with you from the very beginning of the game (that happens with real people too though). If you're going to play the game online and not in Real Life this is the best version by far. The game flow plays elegantly and you never feel like you're waiting around for other people too much. Anyone who likes board games and has Xbox Live gold should get this game.

Castlevania: Symphony of the Night on Xbox Live Arcade

This was an excellent game when it came out on the PS1 ten years ago and it's an excellent game now. In fact, I would have gladly paid two or three times the amount the asking price for it.

The game is, quite simply, a copy of Super Metroid with a Castlevaina skin pulled over it and some light RPG elements added in. It never achieves quite the level of absolute excellence that Super Metroid did, but that isn't especially surprising because Super Metriod is one of the best games ever made. However, C:SotN is one of the best games for the PS1, and is better than most of the Xbox 360's full priced library.

The negatives: 1) the game is still a bit short (but for the price it's actually quite long), 2) the graphics are the best 2D that 1997 could offer, so they are excellent, but a bit dated and 3) The game really feels like it should have more than 200 Achievement Points.

If you have a 360 and a Hard Drive, you should download Symphony of the Night.

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