Xbox Live Marketplace - Mad Tracks, more

This week's Xbox Live Arcade game is worth noting for a few reasons, both good and bad. For those lucky enough to play in the original Xbox Live beta, Mad Tracks is reminiscient of Re-Volt, the shell of a game used to demonstrate and test the first-generation console online networking system. Multiplayer gameplay was addictive thanks to a great lobby system and toy racing mechanics that allowed for manic gameplay and low stakes ("It's only a toy car game!"). Microsoft pulled the game, supposedly due to licensing issues but - no doubt - in part due to concern that a budget title might overtake its core racing franchise.

Mad Tracks is not Re-Volt, but it does capture much of its energy - and in some ways it's more elaborate and polished. Tracks are wild and twisty with big jumps, steep ramps, over-sized onstacles, opponent-seeking power-ups and even a loop-de-loop. Your car loses power as its wind-up energy runs down, so there's a little strategy involved in taking the big hills and jumps effectively. The game boasts 15 game types with custom tracks for each, though only six are true races. The others are goofy but fun mini-games including billiards, mini-golf, darts, foos ball and arena-style battles. Online play is good and even includes rank-based matchups, but lacks a decent lobby system to quickly jump into another race with the same group.

The game packs a lot of content for $10, and will be enhanced in coming weeks with two more content downloads - each adding 15 more game types - for $4.38 apiece. So it's stealthily a near $20 title when all of the pieces are added, and would be totally worth it if only the online play were a little smoother. A mixed bag, to be sure, but one worth a look if you like goofy, low stakes, pick-up-and-play racing games.

Other new Xbox Live Marketplace content includes:

• A free Worms space landscape and sound pack, plus hell and jungle landscapes ($1.88 each), and themes ($1.88 each) and picture packs ($1.25 and $2.50)
• Mad Tracks theme ($1.88) and picture pack ($1.25)
• Videos for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Fable 2, Medal of Honor Airborne, Tom Clancy's Endwar and Two Worlds (free)
• Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End demo (free)
• Toyota F1 theme and picture pack (free)
• Yet another Red vs. Blue picture pack ($1)