A Night at the Arcade: Heavy Weapon

When I think of the Xbox 360, I think "next-generation" and "cutting-edge". I do not conjure up images of dinky casual games that you can play for free on your web browser. Yet why do I find myself regularly checking the new downloads on the Xbox Live Marketplace? And why, just a mere week after bringing my 360 home, did I spend several late nights exploding gems in between psychedelic interludes in Bejeweled 2?

I continue to ask myself this question after happily downloading the full version of Heavy Weapon, from PopCap Games. While I begrudgingly accepted the fact I would eventually be buying those nefarious Microsoft Points, I didn't expect to succumb so soon. I was really holding out for the XBL version of Double Dragon, which was recently confirmed for release but no specific date has been set aside from "2007".

To its credit, I must admit that Heavy Weapon has been a fine introduction to Downloadable Content (DLC) on Xbox Live Marketplace. The game is an unabashed throw-back to the hectic, arcade shooters of the 1980s, complete with cheeky humour and bright, attractive cartoon graphics. At 800 MS Points (roughly $10 USD), it isn't the cheapest, value-packed casual game around but it more than makes up for it with the additional play modes, coupled with 2-4 player offline and online co-op.

What ultimately sold me on Heavy Weapon was its basic similarity to Geometry Wars, minus the insanely brisk ramp up in difficulty! You are only attacked from an 180 degree range of angles, as opposed to Geometry's 360 degress of twitch-reflex madness. It's a fun, quick game to jump into and it provides that nice, light snack in between my regular, hefty servings of Gears of War and Rainbow Six: Vegas.

Credit also goes to Microsoft for making it so devilishly easy to purchase more MS Points the next time you find yourself tempted by more retro arcade diversions.