Microsoft has priced and dated a number of downloadable games it plans to release during its upcoming "Summer of Arcade" event for Xbox 360, including action-RPG Bastion and platformer Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet among others.
Warner Bros.' Bastion will be out July 20 for $15. With its ever-present narrator and neat graphical style, Bastion looks to be a compelling twist on the hack-n-slash genre. Wired.com had the chance to check it out at the E3 Expo earlier this month and, needless to say, we're psyched.
God simulator From Dust, developed and published by Ubisoft, will hit Xbox Live on July 27, also for $15. Much like similar titles Populous and Black & White, From Dust places you in the omniscient shoes of a god-like entity who is responsible for a native-populated world. The game was designed by French developer Éric Chahi, best known for the innovative title Out of this World.
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, out August 3 for $15, combines Metroid-like gameplay with Limbo-like aesthetics. You steer around a UFO, scan enemies for weaknesses and lift/shoot/claw/grab things as necessary. As you float from alien to alien, rock to rock, you'll be able to collect new abilities and unlock new levels accordingly.
Hands-free title Fruit Ninja Kinect is next up, hitting the Xbox Marketplace August 10 for $10. As you might expect from a game named Fruit Ninja Kinect, you'll play a ninja and slice open pieces of fruit by flailing your arms around. Still, as silly as the game might seem upon first glance, previews from E3 have lauded the game's frenetic goofiness.
Last up is Toy Soldiers: Cold War, out August 17 for $15. The multiplayer tower defense game is a sequel to last year's Toy Soldiers, except this time, it takes place during the Cold War (go figure).
Buy all five titles this summer and you'll net a free copy of upcoming action-RPG Crimson Alliance, Microsoft says. Crimson Alliance, out this September, is just a week short of being part of the "Summer of Arcade." Poor Crimson Alliance.
See Also:- Hands-On: Bastion Spins an Intriguing Role-Playing Yarn
