This week, Atari has rather quietly released Warlords for XBLA. Often cited in old school gamers' lists of the best games of all time, it' s unlikely to get much attention and/or respect from contemporary game critics. But I recommend Warlords as a great " warm up" or " wind down" online game with your friends.

If you haven' t played it, it' s basically a merging of the play mechanics of Pong and Breakout. Four players each have a castle in one corner of the screen, and knock one or more projectiles back and forth in an attempt to break through their opponents' walls. You can either immediately knock it back, or catch it and charge it up for a faster shot. Things get really interesting with three projectiles going around simultaneously.

It' s been reworked with HD graphics and support for the Vision camera. Play mechanics have been subtly expanded, and there is an optional " Throttle Monkey" mode which is blazingly fast. (There is an emulation of the original coin-op version, but only the HD version works online.) Controller sensitivity and CPU skill can be adjusted to your preference.

There' s not much point in playing it alone versus the CPU... this game is all about competitive multiplayer so try it with at least one other person, preferably all four. It' s only 400 points, so if you have a regular crew you meet up with online, this is a great game to start out your evening with as you warm up for the rest of the night.