Yay!

Decay - Part 1 - 240 MS points. I had mixed feelings going into my playtime with Decay. On the one hand, it was developed by a Swedish team who helped EA develop Battlefield Heroes, so I knew the standard of quality would be high. On the other hand, the title has that ominous "Part 1" in the title, and despite a few other first part's appearing on the Xbox indie channel there hasn't been a single part 2 yet. There's always that risk that the game will end on a cliffhanger that will never be resolved because the developer ran out of funds. I hope and pray that isn't the case with Decay, because this is one amazing and mature indie game. As was expected, the production values are high. What wasn't expected though was a horror narrative that grabs you by the scruff of your neck and doesn't let go. The atmosphere is ever-present and ominous, the puzzles are smart, and there's some genuine mystery around the plot that drives you to continue. The downside is that it's short, a leisurely playthrough will probably take somewhere around 20 minutes, but in this case the phrase "short but sweet" definitely applies. You would be forgiven for waiting to be sure that future episodes of Decay are actually released before spending your Microsoft points, but when you download the trial version, you'll have a hard time saying no when it asks for a purchase.

Moon Taxi - 240 MS points. Moon Taxi puts you behind the wheel of an interplanetary taxi service. Ok, so you really only go to the moon, not other planets, but you get the idea. But instead of the Crazy Taxi rip-off I was expecting, Moon Taxi takes a very different approach. You see, the game is really more about the stories that people tell while on their flight to the moon. As you listen to the backseat yapper, key words from their story appear that you need to drive your taxi through. All of the stories are written and performed by amateur authors, and for the most part they're all quite good. But what makes Moon Taxi special is that it's not done telling stories yet. The developers are still taking submissions, so any would-be writers out there can go on and submit their own stories to see if they can make the cut into the game. I've already started thinking up my own Moon Taxi story to submit, which is a level of interaction and personal investment that few games have inspired. I'll admit, as a writer I have a bias toward this game because it gives aspiring writers a great opportunity. If you're playing Moon Taxi just for the gameplay, you probably won't think much of it. But if you play it for the vignettes into the lives of an imagined future, there's nothing else quite like it.

Ay?

Super Avatar Hero Force - 80 MS points. Super Avatar Hero Force is pretty significant among Avatar games in that it's the first time that you can actually commit violence against other avatars. Your avatar is stationary while angry avatars charge at him or her from either side. All you need to do is press right or left to attack an avatar on the corresponding side, resulting in a comic book style "Pow" or "Slam" to emphasize just how awesome your avatar is. It's pretty simple stuff, but the game speeds up as you go to make it more challenging. Also, in later levels there are adorable kittens that you need to avoid hitting and giant robots that take multiple hits, both of which add more thought to playing the game than just attack right or left. It's one of the most fun avatar games on the 360, but I still can't help like it's more of a bonus stage in a larger game than a game on its own.

Homeslice & the Zombie Bunnies - 80 MS points. If it were released a year ago, I would have highly recommended Homeslice. It's a twin-stick shooter, with waves of zombified bunnies coming after you. In addition to a gun, you also have a sword at your disposal. I've found that my enjoyment of the game is directly proportional to how much I use the sword, and it's quite the fun game. Different bunnies have abilities, like spawning two smaller bunnies upon death or bunnies that are immune to bullets (even more reason to use the sword), keeping the gameplay diverse. At the end of the day, there are a ton of twin-stick shooters on the Xbox, and though I wouldn't say Homeslice & the Zombie Bunnies is necessarily at the top, it's still a fun romp for those who like to see cute fuzzy things explode.

Fumbo - 80 MS points. Fumbo is like a jigsaw puzzle without the oddly shaped pieces to tell you how they fit together. Instead, you must rely on looking at the animal pictures on each pice and seeing how they fit with the pictures on the surrounding pieces. Jigsaw puzzle fans will love it, and despite its cutesy appearance it can be quite the difficult game.

Avatar Hamster Panic - 80 MS points. Most everyone knows the game Falldown I imagine. You control a ball and make it fall between platforms so that it doesn't touch the top of the screen. Well, Avatar Hamster Panic is like a multiplayer version of that. Up to four players guide their hamster ball to the bottom, collecting milkshakes along the way. Why milkshakes? I have no idea. There are also power-ups that can stun or slow your opponents, as well as a recharging boost ability to help you outrace the competition. I wouldn't recommend it for single players, but if you have some friends to play along with it's worth a look.

Singularity - 80 MS points. Singularity is a shooter that puts you at the mercy of a black hole. Your ship is orbiting around the black hole, and you need to keep it that way despite gravitational pulls and incoming asteroids. There's a space station orbiting as well, which you can use to refuel and stock up on ammo and oxygen, but it is easily destroyed by asteroids or your own accidental shots. If you're the type of gamer that thinks physics makes any game better, then you should find something to like in Singularity.

Nay :(

Space Maze - 80 MS points. Guide a ball through space to reach the level goal. The whole game can be beaten before the trial time limit is up, so that's not too promising. You can always go back and replay levels for a better score, but with few levels taking longer than 10 seconds to complete, there's not a whole lot to come back for.

Ambient Water - 80 MS points. Ambient Water is a soundscape for your Xbox. It produces relaxing sounds like rain or the beach, with a nice image portraying that particular sound. Although I didn't find it any more relaxing than the ambient sounds anyone can get for free after a quick google search.

Juggler - 80 MS points. Imagine if Breakout was in perpetual multi-ball mode and there were no bricks to break. That's Juggler. It's worth a trial download if only for the ridiculous post-apocalyptic plot that the developer put in (via Star Wars text scroll), but beyond that it's a pass.

Avatar Surfing Challenge - 80 MS points. The game puts your avatar on a surfboard and has you weaving between buoys Wave Race style. Surfing on the correct side of five buoys in a row gets you a score multiplier, while there are also coins scattered around the course to collect for points. The issue that completely breaks the game though are the boats floating around as obstacles. It's not that they're difficult to avoid crashing into, but they have a tendency to float right on top of the buoys, making it impossible to tell which side to go on and you miss them at no fault of your own. Considering that there are some challenge levels that require you to not miss a single buoy, this is a game breaking problem. But hey, according to the game's description you can "be the Raddist Avatar on the Planet." Whatever a "raddist" is.

Classic Spider - 80 MS points. I'm not someone who would be considered a fan of spider solitaire. That being said, the free version that comes on every Windows PC is easier to control and has more options than this paid version.

Avatar Deluxe Blackjack - 240 MS points. It's blackjack, with avatars. There's online play, but no one online to play against. For the same price you could buy a real deck of cards and play real blackjack.

Pop Dog - 240 MS points. This one's an Old Spice entry that is quite late to the party. You play as a pug dog jumping around levels with poorly visible platforms and popping bubbles. I don't know why the developer was late submitting this game for the competition, because it's full of bugs, quirks, and bad controls.

Updated Games

Weapon of Choice - Editor's Choice
Kodu Game Lab - Editor's Choice
Abduction Action! - Editor's Choice
RC-AirSim
Breath of Death VII - Editor's Choice
Felix: Tale of Night - price drop to 80 MS points. Great brawler for the price!
Project Delta