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Tristan delivers his personal postmortem on this year's Xbox Live Summer of Arcade. Timely, because Crimson Alliance comes out next week and is free to everyone who bought all five Summer titles. But also not timely, because if you didn't get all the games before August 24th it's too late to get in on that offer.
Well, lousy shirt and also a potential Game of the Year contender, but more on that in a minute.
The annual Summer of Arcade promotion on Xbox Live always presents some of the best downloadable games of the year. Previous highlights include the fiendishly-addictive Trials HD (2009) and indie darling Limbo, which dropped during last year's festivities. Not every title released during this campaign is a winner, though. Turtles in Time at a premium price was a bitter pill to swallow, and multiplayer-centric Castlevania: Harmony of Despair earned mixed reviews.
All things considered, the 2011 edition of Summer of Arcade was the most inconsistent in terms of quality: Bastion was easily the best game of the five, while Fruit Ninja Kinect lacked longevity but not surprise, Kinect-induced back injuries. From Dust was a technical powerhouse that delivered frustration in spades, and Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet's loose shooting mechanics were cause to swear under your breath. Toy Soldiers: Cold War was cheesy, unadulterated fun by myself, but when I tried to bring other people to my toy box my Xbox 360 shed latency-flavored tears.
As I hinted at above, Bastion was a real treat and easily one of the most enjoyable games so far this year. The seemless blend of familiar action-RPG play mechanics, touching story, and innovative narrative mechanics stole my heart and has become somewhat of an obsession. I've since bought the soundtrack and a copy of the game on PC. I'm also desperately hoping for some other opportunistic merchandise to appear in the near future. Action figures of The Kid, the pet pecker, and Zulf would definitely sell.
I'm imagining this scene faithfully re-created with action figures...and it's beautiful.
I'm also glad that Microsoft opted to give a free game (Crimson Alliance) to buyers of all the Summer of Arcade titles instead of the points rebate that was previously the norm. I have a tendency to spend Microsoft Points as soon as they're added to my account, and my recent choices have not been great. Rush n' Attack: Ex-Patriot: I'm looking at you.
If I had to boil my experience down to a set of purchase recommendations, it would read as follows:
Buy: Bastion.
Definitely try: From Dust and Toy Soldiers: Cold War.
Skip: Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (for now -- pick it up when it eventually hits the "Deal of the Week" promotion).
Throw to the wolves: Fruit Ninja Kinect. Pick up Fruit Ninja for your smart phone or tablet device at a significantly lower price instead. The developer, Halfbrick, deserves at least some of your money.
Did you pick up all five Summer of Arcade releases? What was your favorite?
For more Summer of Arcade 2011 coverage (from me):
- Bastion: Innovation in narration
- Bastion review -- Tell me how the world ends
- From Dust review -- The gods control the elements, but can't reign in the people
- Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet review -- Inviting. Short. Tedious. Pricey.
- Fruit Ninja Kinect review -- You'll want a tablet for your back
- Toy Soldiers: Cold War review -- Passive-aggressive tower defense starring Sylvester Stallone
