While we've had some disappointing offers in recent weeks, there's no such let down here, as Microsoft offer up a variety of 'casual' games at 50% off. Sadly, there's no Buku Sudoku or Soltrio Solitaire in the mix, but there is a Tetris, Uno, and Bejeweled amongst the other discounts. If only I didn't already own each and every one of this week's discounts. Boo.
Bejeweled 2
Was: 800 Microsoft Points (about £6.80)
Now: 400 Microsoft Points (about £3.40)
Everyone's favourite gem-swapping game is back. Simply swap gems to make horizontal or vertical lines of three or more like-coloured gems to fill the bar and progress to the next level. Bejewelled 2 also has a whole host of new modes, from Puzzle and Timed modes, to an Endless mode with 280 levels, meaning there's plenty to keep you going.
UNO Rush
Was: 800 Microsoft Points (about £6.80)
Now: 400 Microsoft Points (about £3.40)
A twist on the classic UNO card game, UNO Rush is a fast-paced race to get rid of all your cards that lets up to four players, either offline or over Xbox Live play together. The rules of UNO are simple - you need to play a card that matches either the number or colour of the card on top of the centre pile - but, as this is UNO Rush, you only have a few seconds to do it. In between your turns, you can arrange your hand of cards, and if you arrange them well, you can get rid of most of your hand in one go, because as long as the card behind the front card is either the same colour or same number, you can keep putting cards down. Just don't forget to say UNO before you get to your last card!
Zuma
Was: 400 Microsoft Points (about £3.40)
Now: 200 Microsoft Points (about £1.70)
Spit coloured balls out of the frog's mouth to make groups of 3 or more like-coloured balls to make them disappear. Sounds simple enough, until you take into account that the snake of coloured balls is constantly moving towards it's inevitable doom, so you'll need to be quick, and accurate. If you're really clever, you can even set up a chain reactions, as the snake rejoins itself, and forms another group of three - scoring you loads of points, and letting you finish the level faster - with less chance of dying.
Tetris Splash
Was: 800 Microsoft Points (about £6.80)
Now: 400 Microsoft Points (about £3.40)
Every games console needs at least one Tetris game - and the Xbox Live Arcade is no exception. Unlike some of the more recent Tetris games, Tetris Splash is just a standard, no-weird-modes Tetris game, set in a fish tank, filled with various brightly coloured fishies (hence the 'Splash' in the title). There are two main modes - Marathon mode, where you need to clear as many lines as you can, working against a steadily increasing speed of falling blocks, and 40 Line Clear, where you try to clear 40 lines as fast as you can. There's also competitive multiplayer, with up to four people offline in split-screen, and up to six people online.
Was: 800 Microsoft Points (about £6.80)
Now: 400 Microsoft Points (about £3.40)
Another fish-themed game - Feeding Frenzy has you playing as a hungry little fish that must eat other, smaller fishes to grow bigger, whilst avoiding being eaten by bigger fish, solving an underwater mystery as you make your way up the food chain. Up to 4 people can play through the story in offline, split-screen co-operative, as well as in competitive multiplayer in the mini games - if you still need more convincing, why not check out our review, here.
Microsoft's Deal of the Week is only for Xbox Live Gold subscribers - Silver members will not be able to take advantage of the discounted prices. Approximate value of Microsoft points in pounds is based on buying the points direct from Microsoft through the Xbox dashboard.
