E3: Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade Brings 5 Outstanding New Titles
Project Natal looks amazing and more Halo is great but everything seems so far off in some distant time and space known as 2010. If only some exciting new Xbox 360 games were coming out sooner. Oh wait, here come five exceptional Xbox Live Arcade titles in what is shaping up to be the best Summer of Arcade yet. For five weeks this Summer (exact dates to be announced) Microsoft is releasing two highly anticipated remakes, one Epic adventure, and two mysterious (but promising) new titles.
Shadow Complex may be the most Epic of them all, making its debut at Microsoft’s press conference Monday morning and already on its way to our digital shelves. Created by Epic Games and Chair Entertainment, Shadow Complex is a 3D game played from a 2D perspective with an adventure on scale (in both design and layout) to Metroid or Castlevania. It promises hours of exploration and action as you discover and take up arms against an opposing military force set in Orson Scott Card’s “Empire” universe.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time Re-Shelled brings a new 3D look to the classic Konami arcadegame as well as four player online co-op while Capcom updates their fan-favorite fighter, Marvel vs. Capcom 2 for a whole new era of three-on-three throwdown madness.
If you’ve ever taken pride in hurting your in-game character by way of a devastating crash you’ll find lots to enjoy in Trials HD. A whole lot, in fact, as players will be able to create and share their own devastating stunt bike race courses to complement the 50+ that developer RedLynx has packed in. Similar to Shadow Complex the game is 3D but played from an almost 2D view and allows players to race like expert motocrossers to complete courses or rack up points by causing bodily harm through explosions, crashes, and flames. I’m not crazy about motocross but I love ragdoll punishment and the prospect of an endless stream of devious levels has me intrigued.
Last up in the list is Splosion Man by Twisted Pixel Games, creators of The Maw. In another stylish and cartoony 3D adventure you play as Splosion Man, a scientific experiment gone terribly wrong. Using your ability to… explode, you’ll work your way through 50 stages of puzzling and platforming action to escape as a free (Splosion) Man. You can also take on another 50 stages in four-player online co-op and unlock Dashboard goodies like Premium Themes, gamerpics, and one of the first Avatar Accessories.
We hope to have some hands-on impressions with all of these games up by the end of E3 so stick around for more (hopefully some pricing and specific dates too).
Original Post
Project Natal looks amazing and more Halo is great but everything seems so far off in some distant time and space known as 2010. If only some exciting new Xbox 360 games were coming out sooner. Oh wait, here come five exceptional Xbox Live Arcade titles in what is shaping up to be the best Summer of Arcade yet. For five weeks this Summer (exact dates to be announced) Microsoft is releasing two highly anticipated remakes, one Epic adventure, and two mysterious (but promising) new titles. Get a closer look at each title in my coverage at NfamousGamers.
