First Look – Xbox 360 Summer Of Arcade 2011

Sure the weathers heating up, and the sun is finally showing its face, but Microsoft has other ideas. Hoping that they can keep you busy indoors all season, the annual Xbox Live Summer Of Arcade 2011 lineup has something for everyone. Join me as I give you a quick look at what this year holds!

Starting back in 2008, each year Microsoft puts together a promotion featuring a collection of high-profile Xbox Live Arcade releases to both provide them with added publicity, and to showcase the best the platform has to offer. By the looks of it, this years games will definitely keep me from getting a tan! Previous Summers have brought us such modern classics as Limbo, Shadow Complex and Trials HD; all of which left fans clamouring for sequels, as well as leaving PS3 and Wii players out in the cold. It’s not all bad though, PS3 users can pick up Limbo on July 20th….right, back to Xbox!

This year sees an even more diverse selection of games than ever before, ranging from sequels to newcomers, and even the first Xbox Live Arcade Kinect game.

Kicking the summer of on July 20th, Bastion from Supergiant Games mixes both the familiar the innovative.

Initial screenshots showed a very stylised world with action RPG gameplay. However, then came some more details and suddenly interest peaked. Straight away from a visual standpoint the level design is very unique, as the world literally builds up in front of you! While it has yet to be seen how this will affect the gameplay, it is a very refreshing change from the usual dungeons seen in this genre.

Secondly, the narrator. Yes, a real-time narrator whose words will follow your adventure step by step. Sure to add some humour to the game, there will undoubtedly be some hidden easter eggs along the way.

Eric Chahi anyone? From Dust hits the following week on July 27th for the ever popular 1200MSP, this unique environmental sandbox game is sure to prove interesting to say the least.

Incase you’ve only recently got into gaming, Eric Chahi may not be familiar to you. The French designer created Another World back in 1991, showcasing a unique graphical style and platform gameplay, setting the standard for future games, of which the same style appeared in FlashBack (Although not of the same origin).

Just as creative though, From Dust revolves around a tribe of natives, and who do you play? Well, that’s where things get a little different. Worshipped as god, you have control over the elements including water, lava and vegetation. By manipulating these elements, you can modify and carve the landscape to aid the settlers in their adventures. While the game does have a mission structure, it will be interesting to see how the scenario develops.

 

Taking up a little more space in this sentence we have Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet. Appearing recently at various independent video game festivals, this side scrolling adventure’s sharp and smooth animations could mean it will be at the top of your downloads queue.

Coming from Fuelcell Games and Gagne International, you take on the role of a lowly UFO traversing a stylised 2D environment. Upgrading your ship along the way, the game has elements of Metroid (or more recently Shadow Complex) where your advances in tools will warrant you access to new locations and paths you previously could not access.

Throwing up lots of unique gameplay in its peculiar art style, this unknown title definitely looks like it deserves its place in the lineup, and we will soon see on 3rd August.

 

 

Kinect fans finally have fix of the iPhone phenomenon with Fruit Ninja Kinect, slicing its way to your Xbox  on August 10th.

This game is important in a number of ways. Sure it’s going to be a lot of fun, but secondly it represents the first Xbox Live Arcade game with Kinect integration, a positive step as it shows Microsoft is willing to open the Arcade up to this new platform, allowing smaller developers to get their hands wet with the new motion tech.

In terms of gameplay…..your a fruit ninja! I think that covers it. This version adds a host of new features and modes, but also promises to be the most responsive Kinect experience yet according to the developers.

Thankfully this release is priced at 800MSP, a much better entry point for new Xbox owners who want something new to play with their Kinect. While no doubt I will strain a few muscles getting the full 200 GamerScore from this one, at least it has multiplayer support for you and your friends to hop into.

 

The final title of the selection will be great news to fans of the original which proved to be a huge hit when it launched last year. The follow-up, entitled Toy Soldiers: Cold War comes our way 17th August.

Players will feel at home with the gameplay, offering a mix of tower-defence with real-time combat where you are able to hop into any turret or vehicle to swing the battle your way as you hold off the enemy waves.

Among the various improvements in both graphics and a few needed tweaks from the original (Checkpoints anyone?), one of the barrage types ‘The Commando’ is sure to bring up visions of Rambo as you charge around the battlefield decimating the  enemy forces. Included multiplayer mode featuring Co-Op and Competitive multiplayer return for this promising sequel.

 

All of this years games can be seen in this promo video from Microsoft below –

Hidden in the small print is also an interesting offer whereby if you purchase all 5 games of the promotion you will get a free copy of Crimson Alliance (worth 1200MSP) when it launches later this year. Crimson Alliance is an action RPG from Certain Affinity with gameplay similar to that of Torchlight and Diablo, as well as featuring 4 player co-op.

So that rounds up this years games, which ones will you be picking up? Let us know in the comments below!