The reason I started writing for XBLAFans is simple: I love arcade games. I love new ones, I love old ones, and I love new versions of old ones. I think Xbox Live is a unique and thriving home for the best new games, which learn from, adapt, and grow from beloved games of our youth. XBLAFans is devoting an entire week to one particular genre that benefits from this blend of old and new: the good old fashioned brawler.



XBLA serves two purposes very well: it’s a platform for getting quirky, risky, or otherwise disenfranchised indie games into the public eye, and it breathes new life into the arcade classics of our youth. X-Men is one of those quarter-eating wonders from yesteryear. If you were one of the lucky kids that had a neighborhood arcade with the six-player cabinet, then you probably knew the adrenaline-filled rush to get your favorite character. (Who wanted to be stuck playing Dazzler?) By modern standards, the game might seem simple and repetitive—especially with unlimited continues—but it’s still a blast to play with friends. Get six people together in online co-op and you’ll remember what side-scrolling beat ‘em ups are all about: fun, teamwork, and kicking the snot out of a few hundred mutant-hunting robots.