Great board game version, great way to make new friends.
Since it came after a board game, Catan is basically a multiplayer game. Don't go for it if you want a great single player experience. The AI is good but kinda easy to cheat.
And so, the XBLA version captures most of the experience you can have in the board version if, and mostly if, you play with a mic with other players that uses mic too. To succeed in this game, you need to bargain and its hard to do it when you cannot talk. The game has some emotes but it's just hard to find sometimes and not that quick to bring in and you may loose your mommentum. So without a mic the gameplay may fall alot.
Also, since it's a complex game, the XBLA version fails on teaching a begginner. XBLA games must have like a limit of space consuming or something like that, but it should have better tutorials. Personally, I defend that every game should teach the player throughout interactivity, through playing it.
The music is great, and so is the graphics. When you choose the prettier skin the tile number disappear and will only reappear if you press the RT button. But thats no big deal.
Well, this is a great friendly game. Hook your friends in XBLA, use mic and have a lot of fun.