ANatA: Rush N' Attack & Xevious

I'm not going to mince any words like I usually do. This week's XBLA releases are bad.

The gaming overlords have graced us with yet another double release, but what good does that do when the games in question are Rush N' Attack and Xevious? The pair of them are hardly the most memorable retro games out there. I remember owning Xevious for the 8-bit NES. It was one of the few games I nabbed from the bargain bins - some blowout sale at the local video rental shop - and playing the trial on Live Arcade underlined the reality that bad games only get worse with age. What's hilarious about this is that just last week they dropped the excellent (and free) Aegis Wing on us, while charging an outrageous 400 MS points for this disaster from the '80s.

Rush N' Attack fares no better. Mildly entertaining during its heyday in the arcades, this game stands out for its cheesy, pun-happy name and its lackluster side-scrolling game play. Pressing up on the D-pad or thumbstick to jump, when you have 2 available face buttons? Sorry, that's just retarded.

My suggestion to Microsoft the next time they want to release 2 retro action titles: Raiden and Bionic Commando.