CONTEST: Win a Free Copy of Defense Grid: The Awakening (XBLA)
- Scribbled on September 9th, 2009 by Jonah Falcon
- Filed in Casual Gaming, Contests, Microsoft Xbox 360, Strategy, Xbox Live Arcade
It’s contest time again! This time, we’re giving away the Xbox Live Arcade version of Defense Grid: The Awakening, a great tower defense title. You can read our review here, which has gameplay videos.
How can you win this addictive title? Very easy – tell us what you love most about Xbox Live Arcade. That’s it. We’ll be grading on length and insight and whether you tickle our brain or not. Just be honest, and you can win a copy. One entry per IP. Entries must be before Wednesday, September 16 at 12noon EST.
However, there are more copies to win, as 2old2play and Gaming Podcast will also be giving away a code for Defense Grid.
September 9th, 2009 at 11:33 pm
XBLA brings more volume to the masses. Really where else can all the PC greats be ported to with out hardly any problems then be upgraded in graphics as well.
September 10th, 2009 at 12:20 am
The thing I love most about Xbox Live Arcade is the tech between demo and full versions. Not only has Microsoft mandated a demo for every single game published to the service, but also they’ve made it both secure and efficient for demos to become full version copies using a very small key file. This convenience benefits the gamer but also benefits developers as it makes it easier to “impulse buy.”
September 10th, 2009 at 8:19 am
What isn’t there to love about XBLA!? You get all of your old school favorites (MvC2, TMNT), some upgraded to HD! You get board games (Boggle, Yahtzee) without them cluttering up your closet! And you get great original IPs (Shadow Complex, ‘Splosion Man) that probably wouldn’t see the light of day without XBLA. All this for around $15 per game…not too shabby!
September 10th, 2009 at 10:52 am
arcade rocks. it brings back games from my childhood on the new lcd tv’s, from the old arcades. plus without arcade i would have never won this game!!!!!
September 10th, 2009 at 12:10 pm
What I like on XBLA is game like Castle Crusher, Trial HD, Shadow Complex, splosion man ect…some editor take some risks and it’s very good for video game industry. And what about indies games like Braid that many people wouldn’t even heard about ?
September 10th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
Xbox Live Arcade extends the boundaries of the downloadable revolution, bringing games that would even be as equal to retail games into a cheap, easy format which is a quick and massivley enjoyable way to get your hands on some of the best games around without leaving the chair or sofa your butt has made a sizeable print in.
Games such as Trials HD, Battlefield 1943 and Shadow Complex have revolutionised this way of gaming and it seems with every title, Xbox Live Arcade is getting more value for money, whilst keeping the games and an extremely high level of rating. Some of the best Xbox 360 titles out there are XBLA games. And with it improving every Wednesday….it gets me excited for the constantly improving future of Xbox Live.
September 10th, 2009 at 12:13 pm
What i love most about Xbox Live is the sheer choice of titles avaliable. You get all the old classics, which bring back great memories, but with added hd support achivements, but get great, original additions such as Rocket Riot, and great sequels, such as Worms 2 Armageddon.
Kamikazeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
September 10th, 2009 at 12:14 pm
There are a lot of reasons to love XBLA.
1) It offers a whole new platform for games. While so many games probably couldn’t justify a full retail release, games like Shadow Complex, Castle Crashers, and Battlefield 1943 are already well-received classics. The XBLA platform allows these smaller games to get great success and for users to get a great bargain on incredible games.
2) I never thought I’d be paying to play Sonic the Hedgehog 2 again, but worldwide leaderboards, online play and achievements make these old games better, and getting to relive childhood memories in a whole new way is an amazing experience.
3) It’s a great way for Average Joe to get his own Indie game onto a real console quickly and cost-effectively, and gains a whole new audience of the entire Xbox Gold install base.
4. Game demos have made purchasing games less of a gamble, and it’s a great way to get a quick taste of games you may not have thought twice about before.
XBLA is honestly my favorite thing about the 360, and why it is my preferred console of this generation.
September 10th, 2009 at 12:17 pm
What i love most about Xbox Live is the sheer choice avaliable. Not only do you get great classics such as Sonic The Hedgehog, which bring back great memories and add hd support achievements. You also get original additions such as Rocket Riot and great sequels such as Worms 2 Armageddon, which great new memories.
Kammakazieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!
September 10th, 2009 at 12:18 pm
xbla is the best mostly because all of arcade library they have. i couldnt never beat sonic 2 if it wasnt for arcade last boss was hard. But yeah the summer of arcade bringing many great titles that i bought all of them.
September 10th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
The great classics of gaming history, the cutting edge games of todays world and everything in between. The games that make you laugh, the ones that make you scratch your head and the ones which make you want to launch your controller. All of this on one small box…
September 10th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Oh I love Xbox Live Arcade… for me it’s the pick-up-and-play games that run direct from the console, and don’t require me to go to the effort of finding the disc, lol! (How lazy am I!?)
Some of the best games I’ve played on Xbox are on Xbox Live – Trials HD, Shadow Complex, Uno, Carcasonne… and classics like Pac-Man, Banjo Kazooie, and Banjo Tooie (that last one would cost over £40 on ebay for the N64!) I could go on….
And all for budget prices
Brilliant!
September 10th, 2009 at 12:33 pm
Mostly, the fun factor. Also, the affordable range of prices. And finally, the variety of games.
September 10th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
What do I love most about Xbox Live Arcade? For starters the currency, Microsoft Points. It’s like Vegas where they trick you into spending more by taking your money away and giving you these colorful chips to play with instead. Same thing with Arcade, Microsoft takes my money and turns it into points, at full price one Microsoft Point is worth 0.125 cents. Since math is so hard to do, I never really know how much I’m spending, I just see I have 1600 points and that seems like a lot!
I love the prices too, since it’s hard to calculate that 800 points is 10 bucks, I don’t really know right then that I’m paying 10 bucks for an old crusty port of a 20 year old arcade game I’ve already purchased at least 3 times in the past.
DRM has my love too, I absolutely love that only my profile since NXE can play anything I buy on Arcade. Having the game locked to my system is fantastic, I can’t share that 800 point title with anyone else or any other system, heck I can’t even use it myself when my console burns out and I have to get it replaced without jumping through the re-DRM hoops. What a fantastically user friendly situation.
I also have much love for when titles appear on XBLA in the wee hours in the morning for 800 points like Shadow Complex only to be pulled and re-listed an hour later for 1600 points instead. I guess that’s the insomniac discount, I need to start staying awake in the early AM and sleeping during the day so I can get these discounts. I messed out on the free Overlord 2 DLC which was taken offline and re-listed for 400 points later because of my need to sleep.
Really, I ask you what’s not to love?
September 10th, 2009 at 1:23 pm
Think I love most about Xbox Live Aracde is the fact it seems to bring back old games into the HD Generation!
Along with bringing out brand new IPs that we might have never seen without XBLA in place.
And finally the fact the games are pretty cheap and give a new game to play along with achievements within a few minutes
September 10th, 2009 at 1:24 pm
XBLA is GOD! splosion man, braid, castle crashers, trials hd, shadow complex, banjo kazooie, etc etc… awesome!!! fun games fun prices
September 10th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
The Xbox LIVE Arcade brings casual gameplay to the fore-front with it’s wide selection of titles. With multiple selections from retro to puzzlers, the service has something for everyone.
Meeting new people that share the same interests in gameing, and the online interactions playing an XBLA game over Xbox LIVE is delightful. Not anything like the foul-mouths playing some of the retail titles *cough* Halo.
This digital download service is an easy, convenient way to spend an hour, where you actual feel like you’ve accomplished something in the game you are playing. This can not always be said for other games.
With affordability in mind, and the convenience of being able to shop-at-home, the Xbox LIVE Arcade does have something for everyone, and is, in my opinion, the sparkling gem of the Xbox 360 console.
September 10th, 2009 at 1:31 pm
Everything, great UI, great games, no lag. Live is far better than any other internet gaming services i saw in the past.
September 10th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
The thing I like most about XBLA is the ability to play something quick when I go home for lunch. I do not get enough time to make any headway (or even get started) in a regular game. But I can play 15-20 minutes & I usually complete a few levels in an arcade game.
And the variety of games have really come a long way over the past few years, so there is always something new & different to try.
September 10th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
For Me XBLA is great becasue of the back catalougue of games that publishers/developers can put on it and also i have found gaming gems in the form of indie developers on xbla.
This is great for when you want lazy gaming becasue you dont need to go and change disc’s lol.
I mean we have marvel vs capcom 2 on there thats good enough reason to have an xbox and xbla, but all the other great games and upcomming games for xbla is just amazing and for a source of download only games it is the best.
The variaty of games on there is astonishing from arcade games to simple puzzle games to dreamcast games its great and all at affordable prices, i mean for the price of a retail game you can get a few gems on xbla so price is really good.
September 10th, 2009 at 1:43 pm
How do I love XBLA? Let me count the ways…
I love that XBLA can bring some rare classics back down to earth price-wise, or make some board games like Carcassonne or Ticket to Ride more affordable (these are like $40 each for the real board game). Heck, I love that I even know what Carcassonne and Ticket to Ride are. I would never have known about these great games without XBLA. Even Defense Grid is $20 on PC, but we are getting some love on 360, at only 800pts.
I love the convenience of being able to demo different games quickly. Not having to download and then install a game or demo, it’s just ready as soon as it’s done downloading.
I love that XBLA opens the doors to new, old experiences. The rebirth of 2D console gaming with titles like Castle Crashers, Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix, Splosion Man, and Shadow Complex.
I love that to a certain extent, XBLA is more environmentally friendly. There are some bad games on the service that would be wasting resources (plastic, paper, fuel to transport them, energy to manufacture them) if they were released as value titles at retail.
I love the new rating system. It lets me get a general idea about how good a game is, even before I try it. It also lets me feel like a part of the community, helping other gamers find the gems and avoid the titles that are just fossilized droppings.
If we’re going to be honest here, I love the contests. Not just winning games, but the competition. Nothing more satisfying than coming out on top when the decision is based on what I write. Knowing that someone liked my opinion, or thought what I said was the funniest is a great validation. Good times.
September 10th, 2009 at 2:36 pm
I’m really lazy so the thing I like about XBLA most of all is that I don’t have to get up and switch discs if I want to play a different game.
September 10th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
At first I never thought I’d give XBLA much notice. I didn’t care much for buying oldies (as much as I like them) again, and most games didn’t seem that interesting.
But then I discovered XBLA is rich with offline multiplayer games, GREAT ones, which was the main reason I got a 360 in the first place.
Castle Crashers is a blast from our old arcade days.
Death Tank brings us back to when we used to play Scorched Earth on 1 PC.
N is the most eye-straining fun we’ve even had together.
Splosion Man is just pure hilarity.
And the list goes on…
We finally have great couch games to play together, like the old Dreamcast and PS2 days, and I finally think I’ve made a good purchase buying a 360 with 4 controllers right away.
Thank you, XBLA
September 10th, 2009 at 2:52 pm
I <3 XBLA because I'm a very lazy person by nature and enjoy shopping for games in nary a thing other than my nether garments.
September 11th, 2009 at 6:07 am
XBLA, I think the best thing about XBLA, is it’s simplity. You can just switch on your XBOX360, and just get a new game, few minutes to download, and you can be up and running. It just works so well, and is almost perfect in it’s implementation.
September 14th, 2009 at 12:12 pm
I love that XBLA games continue to get better and better. The prices are still relatively low but the quality of games is getting better and better.
September 15th, 2009 at 3:07 pm
What I love about XBLA are the prices, selection of genres that don’t often get out there on disc (like SHUMPS), and the accessibility of being able to download a game.
September 17th, 2009 at 12:33 am
The contest is over. Thanks everyone for entering!
September 17th, 2009 at 12:44 am
[...] “Win a free code for Defense Grid: The Awakening” entry has been picked, and it’s Scott Fassett. His winning entry explaining what he [...]
October 6th, 2009 at 12:03 am
[...] there are more copies to win, as 2old2play and GameStooge will also be giving away a code for Defense Grid. Share What You [...]