Heavy Weapon - Xbox Live Arcade review

Game developer PopCap's works translate so well to Xbox Live Arcade, it's scary. Heavy Weapon is their latest in a series of 360 upgrades to their popular PC time-wasters. This arcade shooter - originally released in 2005 - is the sort of pick-up-and-play, highly addictive original content Microsoft's Live service needs much more of.

Heavy Weapon is a side-scrolling shooter that will remind older players of games like Moon Patrol or 'Nam 1975, or the Atari 2600 classic Air/Sea Battle. As the screen moves from left to right, you trundle along in your atomic tank, using the right analog stick to shoot enemy planes passing overhead. It's all so easy at the beginning it's almost soothing. But it doesn't take long for the challenge to ramp up.