After an amazingly strong 2008, XBLA faltered in 2009. The standard prices for games increased from 400 and 800 MS Points (5 and 10 real world dollars) to 800 and 1500 MS points. That would have been fine if the newer games were twice as good as old one. But XBLA’s lineup in 2009 was not as strong as 2008’s and most of the standout releases were clumped into the Summer of Arcade.
It would have seemed like a crazy thing to say at the start of 2009, but looking back on it, XBLA did not have as strong a year as WiiWare (and possibly the PlayStation Network). Despite complaints about the overall lineup, the best games on XBLA in 2009 used the 360’s strengths to their advantage. Some of them had 3-D or HD graphics that the Wii just could not compete with it. Some harnessed the capabilities of Xbox Live. And some did both. So here they are, the XBLA games of the year.
(EDITORS NOTE: Remakes of old game were not considered for this list. There are no honorable mentions because of the weak competition this year.)