 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(October 2012) |
| Small Arms | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Gastronaut Studios |
| Publisher(s) | Microsoft Game Studios |
| Platform(s) | Xbox 360 (XBLA) |
| Release | 22 November 2006 [1] |
| Genre(s) | Versus fighting game |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Small Arms is an action video game, developed by Gastronaut Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released for the Xbox 360 on November 22, 2006 at Xbox Live Arcade.
Small Arms is a hybrid platform, fighting and shoot 'em up video game, featuring anthropomorphic animals and super-deformed people, with ranged weapons. The gameplay can be compared to Super Smash Bros. , Power Stone , Contra and Metal Slug .
Similar to Geometry Wars , the player controls characters' movement with the left analog stick, and aims weapons with the right analog stick, which allows 360-degree aiming. Each weapon has primary and secondary modes, which the player can use with the right and left triggers, respectively. The player can also make characters jump or dash with the face buttons.
Small Arms features four different single-player modes: Mission Mode, which pits the player against computer-controlled players in sequence; Training Mode, which teaches the player how to play the game; Challenge Mode, where the player faces an endless stream of opponents; and Shooting Range, where the player must shoot moving targets to score points. Small Arms also features competitive multiplayer for up to four players or bots, either offline or online via Xbox Live.
Levels are visualised in full 3D although the players can only move in one two-dimensional plane. Several levels have special quirks to them: the "Bullet Train" level slowly forces the players to move across the length of the train; and the "Sewer" level has a pit in the middle of the map, which closes shut and fills with poisonous gas. Small Arms launched with eight maps, and two more maps were available as downloadable content bundled with the Ivar and Gullarp character download. The two maps that are included with the downloadable content are "Iceberg" and "Village".
Small Arms has 12 default characters, eight of which are initially available:
Default characters:
Unlockable characters:
*available in trial version
Two new characters were made available as downloadable content from the Xbox Live Marketplace on June 6, 2007: Ivar, and Gullarp. Each character has four different costume colours and a unique weapon (except downloadable ones). However, these weapons can be exchanged for other characters' weapons during gameplay.
Small Arms was generally well received upon its release. It holds an average of 73% on the aggregate web site Metacritic.
A mobile version of the game was seemingly in development after the release of the Xbox 360 version. This version was never announced however, and the only surviving footage online is a short video on YouTube.
This version of the game had gameplay which was similar to the console version, however the graphics had been changed to a more pixelated style to fit on portable devices.
Perfect Dark Zero is a first-person shooter developed by Rare and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released as a launch title for the Xbox 360 video game console in 2005. The game is part of the Perfect Dark series and a prequel to the original Perfect Dark. The story of the game follows Joanna Dark, a bounty hunter working with her father and a computer hacker, as she joins the Carrington Institute agency to prevent a rival corporation from gaining possession of an ancient artefact which endows individuals with superhuman powers.
Call of Juarez is a first-person shooter set in a Western milieu developed by Techland. Published in Europe for Microsoft Windows by Focus Home Interactive in September 2006, in Australia by Auran Development in October 2006, and in North America by Ubisoft in June 2007, it was ported to the Xbox 360 by Techland in June 2007, published worldwide by Ubisoft. The game was also released on Steam. In March 2011, it was made available on Xbox Live, and in November 2018, it was released on GOG.com. It is the first game in the Call of Juarez series, which would go on to include three additional titles; Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood, Call of Juarez: The Cartel, and Call of Juarez: Gunslinger.
Mutant Storm Reloaded is a multi-directional shoot 'em up developed by PomPom Games. The game debuted as a launch title on the Xbox 360's Xbox Live Arcade service with updated graphics, sound, and gameplay over its Windows and Xbox predecessor, Mutant Storm.
Castle Crashers is a 2D side-scrolling hack-and-slash video game developed by The Behemoth. The Xbox 360 version was released on August 27, 2008, via Xbox Live Arcade as part of the Xbox Live Summer of Arcade. The PlayStation 3 version was released in North America on August 31, 2010, and November 3, 2010, in Europe via the PlayStation Network. A Microsoft Windows version, exclusive to Steam, was released on September 26, 2012. The game is set in a fictional medieval universe in which a dark wizard steals a mystical crystal and captures four princesses. Four knights are charged by the king to rescue the princesses, recover the crystal, and bring the wizard to justice. The game includes music created by members of Newgrounds.
Frontlines: Fuel of War is a first-person shooter game for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. It was released February 25, 2008, in North America. It was produced by the now defunct Kaos Studios. Frontlines: Fuel of War was also originally in development for the PlayStation 3, although THQ announced it had canceled work on this version on January 24, 2008, seemingly as a result of problems with developing for the PlayStation 3, issues that had been referenced in interviews prior to the PlayStation 3 version's cancellation.
Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation is a 2007 arcade-style combat flight simulation video game developed by Project Aces and published by Namco Bandai Games exclusively for the Xbox 360. It is the seventh entry in the Ace Combat franchise, the first mainline game in the franchise to not see a release on a PlayStation platform as had been done with previous titles, and the first game in the franchise to include downloadable content. Like other Ace Combat games, Ace Combat 6 features standard gameplay from the series that mixes arcade flight with authentic flight simulation.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is a 2007 first-person shooter video game developed by Infinity Ward and published by Activision. It is the fourth main installment in the Call of Duty series. The game breaks away from the World War II setting of previous entries and is instead set in modern times. Developed over two years, Modern Warfare was released in November 2007 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Microsoft Windows and was ported to the Wii as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – Reflex Edition in 2009.
Vigilante 8: Arcade is a vehicular combat video game developed by Isopod Labs and published by Activision. It was released on November 5, 2008, for Xbox 360 through Xbox Live Arcade. Isopod Labs was formed by three former members of Luxoflux, developer of the original Vigilante 8 series. A remake of Vigilante 8 with some elements of Vigilante 8: Second Offense included, Vigilante 8: Arcade features online play for up to eight players.
Defense Grid: The Awakening is a tower defense video game developed by Hidden Path Entertainment for Windows and Xbox Live Arcade on the Xbox 360. The game was one of the titles promoted by Microsoft during their Game Developers Conference keynote speech on February 20, 2008. The game was released for Microsoft Windows on December 8, 2008, and for Xbox 360 on September 2, 2009. The OS X version shipped from Virtual Programming on July 7, 2010.
Madballs in Babo: Invasion is an action video game developed by Canadian studio Playbrains. It was released on July 15, 2009 on Xbox Live Arcade and on September 17, 2009 for Microsoft Windows.
There are five pieces of downloadable content (DLC) for the Bethesda action role-playing video game Fallout 3. Each package of downloadable content adds new missions, new locales to visit, and new items for the player to use. Of the five, Broken Steel has the largest effect on the game, altering the ending, increasing the level cap to 30, and allowing the player to continue playing past the end of the main quest line. The Game of The Year edition of Fallout 3 includes the full game and all five pieces of downloadable content.
Game Room was a social gaming service for the Xbox 360 video game system, Microsoft Windows PCs, and Windows Phone 7. Launched on March 24, 2010, Game Room let players download classic video games and compete against each other for high scores. Players on both Xbox 360 and Windows PCs could access Game Room through their respective versions of Microsoft's Live online services. The servers shut down on October 31, 2017.
Monday Night Combat is a downloadable third-person shooter video game developed by Uber Entertainment. It was published by Microsoft Studios on the Xbox 360 and by Uber Entertainment and Valve for Microsoft Windows. It was released on August 11, 2010 on the Xbox 360 as part of Microsoft's 2010 Xbox Live Summer of Arcade and is distributed through Xbox Live Arcade. It was released on January 24, 2011 for Windows via Steam.
Gears of War 3 is a third-person shooter video game developed by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360. It is the third installment of the Gears of War series, and final game in the original trilogy. Originally due for release on April 8, 2011, the game was delayed and eventually released on September 20, 2011. The story was written by science fiction author Karen Traviss.
Aqua is an arcade-action shooter with tactical elements, driven by a steampunk story in which the vast majority of the world is covered with water. Aqua was developed by Games Distillery on their own proprietary engine and published by Microsoft Game Studios. It was released for the Xbox 360 via Xbox Live Arcade on May 19, 2010. The game is set in an alternate reality where most of the Earth is covered with water and factions war for the remaining pieces of land.
Castlevania: Harmony of Despair is a multiplayer-focused platform-adventure game in the Castlevania series, featuring an ensemble cast of characters from the 2-D Metroidvania era of games, developed and published by Konami for Xbox 360 in August 2010, and for PlayStation 3 in 2011.
Ace Combat: Assault Horizon is a spin-off installment of the Ace Combat flight simulation video game series. It was developed by Project Aces and published by Bandai Namco Games for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms in October 2011. The game was later released on Microsoft Windows in January 2013 through Steam and Games for Windows – Live, with the latter notably being the final retail release for the platform shortly before its discontinuation.
Perfect Dark is a 2010 first-person shooter developed by 4J Studios and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox 360 through its Xbox Live Arcade download service. The game is a remaster of the original Perfect Dark, which was released for the Nintendo 64 in 2000. Although the gameplay remains largely unchanged, the remaster features significant technical improvements over the original, including new higher-resolution textures and character models, a higher frame rate, and a multiplayer mode that supports the Xbox Live online service. The story of the game follows Joanna Dark, an agent of the Carrington Institute organization, as she attempts to stop a conspiracy by rival corporation dataDyne.
Plants vs. Zombies: Garden Warfare is a 2014 multiplayer third-person shooter and tower defense video game developed by PopCap Games and published by Electronic Arts. The third game in the Plants vs. Zombies franchise, the basic premise revolves around plants defending humankind from a zombie invasion. In the game, players assume control of either the Plants or the Zombies, as they fight in various cooperative and competitive multiplayer modes. Upon completing matches and finishing objectives, players earn coins to acquire stickers that unlock customization items and character variants.