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Small Arms

EMAIL PRINTxbox360

7.6 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 22 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?

Based on 18 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: Microsoft

Developer: Gastronaut Studios

Genre(s): Fighting, Action

Players: 4

ESRB Rating: E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older)

Release Date: November 22, 2006

Summary

[Xbox Live Arcade] Small Arms is the frantic multiplayer brawling game with the action and precision of an arcade shooter. Up to 4 players can join in the battles across many dynamic and richly detailed levels. Choose from a cast of awesome fighters like cyborg tabby cats, assassin truffle pigs and mutant chimney sweeps. Jump from platform to platform shooting each other to pieces with 360° aim. The side-scrolling action is easy for anyone to pickup, and hard to put down. [Gastronaut Studios]

Cheat Codes & Hints: GameSpot Hints & Cheats

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Deeko

A fun pick and play action game. Insane enough for the most hardcore of fighting fans and friendly enough for anyone in the family to enjoy. Costing only 800 points, it's a safe bet some good times will be had by all.

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Planet Xbox 360

With a solid fifty-fifty mix of simple and difficult achievements, and ridiculously addictive multiplayer gameplay, at 800 points Small Arms is one of the best purchases you can make on Xbox Live Arcade.

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IGN

The action is hectic, the online play is a blast, and the visuals are good enough that you won't forget you're playing on a powerful console.

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360 Gamer Magazine UK

It may not have the depth of its inspiration "Super Smash Bros." but it's still the sort of game we NEED to see more of on Arcade.

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Kombo

With its frenetic, action-packed gameplay that’s easy to pick up and play but hard to put down, and addictive online play, Small Arms is representative of the type of independent development and new properties we need to see more of on Xbox Live Arcade.

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Gaming Target

Entertaining because of its excellent presentation and over-the-top multiplayer hijinks. Additionally, the game benefits from a well-designed feature set that includes unique characters, bot support, drop-in and drop-out features for online play, and proper tutorials.

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Official Xbox Magazine UK

Small Arms is pretty blatant about copying the gameplay of Nintendo's "Smash Bros," but it's exactly the kind of frantic action suited for online play. [Jan 2007, p.97]

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GamerNode

Very entertaining but clearly flawed brawler.

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Worth Playing

You can't beat animals with artillery, and it helps when they're packing such a diverse selection of weapons, all of which look, sound, and feel great to handle.

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Talk Xbox

There is nothing like this game currently offered in its genre and Small Arms’ online portion may be even offer more replay than "Dead or Alive 4."

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Official Xbox Magazine

All told, Small Arms is straight-up, button-whacking action. [Jan. 2007, p.77]

Digital Entertainment News

This isn’t Smash Bros., it’s not taking XBLA’s top spot from Geometry Wars any time soon, and it often gets frustrating thanks to various design flaws. However, it does at least offer a nice distraction with some unique gameplay.

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Team Xbox

Small Arms looks sharp, sounds great and starts out being fun, but unfortunately doesn’t end up having sustaining gameplay - an issue that’s somewhat offset by the low price tag.

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Xboxic

The product is better than most other offerings in the Arcade areas, and most of you won’t regret spending money on this. However, with it being a fully focused multiplayer game, the single player feels rushed and unloved, offering you nothing to go back to.

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X360 Magazine UK

It's the ghetto version, which is the polite way of saying it's not quite as good. [Issue 15, p.116]

Gamer 2.0

As a multiplayer game it shines, when ignoring the uneven playing field the weapons provide; but its offerings on the single-player front simply don’t do much for it. It’s short-lived and unsatisfying.

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Xbox World Australia

Singleplayer is pretty weak yet enjoyable, but the real fun to be had here is with the insane multiplayer action.

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Game Over Online

The sound effects are adequate and the music does its job, but it would have been nice to see some of these characters talk or emote a little bit, even if just for laughs.

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Games Radar (in-house)

A good time when taken in small doses. The multiplayer mode is where the action really shines, so here’s hoping the community builds a bit more.

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GameSpot

With its focus on weapon grabbing over weapon firing, Small Arms' shallow gameplay falls flat.

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Eurogamer

It still feels clumsy, and while it's possible to overcome this in time and reach a decent standard, it robs the game of some of its accessibility - something critical to its multiplayer appeal - and your ultimate proficiency in moving, jumping and firing at the same time is only likely to announce itself long after you've exhausted what depths there are to excavate.

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G4 TV

As a full-priced retail game, it would have been a dismal failure, but it’s a fun, cheap download that offers plenty of on and offline opportunities to kill some time.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 7.6 (out of 10) based on 18 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Erich S. gave it a10:
Would be better if there was more content to unlock, but overall an addicting game with a cool ranges of fighters.

Mike Q. gave it a10:
A surprisingly fun and addictive game with a fun range of characters and maps to choose from.

James A. gave it a2:
Game had no depth and there was nothing addicitive about it, the ps1 could have run everything except the graphics, not a game I would spend my time with.

Emanuel F. gave it an8:
addictive gameplay and decent replay value,Great Visuals, Good Pysics, Great Animations, Pritty kool sfx and music oh and how can i forget the great array of weapons..if only i had enough cash id get it, just have to wait tell pay day! until then its the trial version for now, but from what ive played a good first impression of a solid 8

Scorpion gave it a10:
This is the best xbox arcade game out there. It is just like super smash bros! Its controls are the only thing that is bad about the game. If you like samsh bros get this game!

Andyman gave it a6:
More like Small Value. Maybe if the control was tighter, the gameplay more varied, and the levels more creative, it might be worth the 800 points. It's far closer to a 400-point game as it is now.

Kyle M. gave it a9:
Exactly what was expected, by far the best XBLA exclusive release. It's a total rip-off of Smash Bros for the Nintendo consoles, but that's not a bad thing at all. Great weapon variety and is continuing to hold my interest!

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Small Arms

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