Messing with Insignia. Is good stuff.

Growing up, I never got a chance to experience the original Xbox Live. I actually didn't have an original Xbox for a good part of my childhood, starting out with the 360.

Well, now I am looking into a childhood experience I never had, and so far, I am loving it to death.

Insignia is a service that aims to replace Xbox Live functionality for the original Xbox, which has been shut down since 2010. Some neat stuff.

I haven't played any actual online games yet, hell, I don't even have that many Xbox live games that are available on the service just yet. I've got Counterstrike, Mechassault and Unreal Tournament 2. What I have played however, are the Xbox Live Arcade games.

As it turns out, Xbox Live Arcade actually started out on the OG Xbox. It's the same concept as it was on 360, a selection of bite-sized games you could buy for cheap and download directly to the system. Where this one differs, however, is that it was distributed on disc, and was not built into the Xbox. It actually came about sometime around the middle of it's lifespan in 2004.

Some thing I discovered after playing some Xbox Live arcade titles is that they require you to log into Xbox Live to actually save your game. Not a big deal in something like Marble Blast or Bejewled, where all it really saves is your score and time. Definitely a big deal in something like Zuma and Orbz, where you can lose a significant amount of progress without the ability to save.

Now, I have no reason to play something like Bejeweled or Zuma on Xbox because I have them on literally everything else, but something about these versions specifically just hits different.

Orbz might be one of my new favourite games. You're just a ball, and your goal is to launch yourself around the map, competing with other people to collect stars for points, and whoever gets the most wins. Even just playing the tutorial, I was having a blast. I can't wait to get into an actual lobby of that game.