Look, the weather’s crap, there’s nothing coming out until the end of the month and, in truth, there’s only so much people can talk about Battlefield until it all just turns into white noise. So why not take a peek at our rundown of the five best Summer Of Arcade titles…ever. In no particular order, angry commenters.
BASTION
The newest entrant to the list, and the game that has had RPG fans’ tongues a waggling in the past few weeks. It’s a simple enough concept – an RPG – but one that stands out thanks to its unique and often humourous narration, which happens in real time as you play. Don’t be fooled, this is no ordinary RPG. The worlds build themselves around you, and your every choice has consequence. Intelligent games are rare these days – don’t let it pass you by.
LIMBO
It may not maintain its brilliance all the way until the end, but this brief and memorable adventure is still one of XBLA’s highlights. You know the score – you play as a disquieted little boy lost in a ghoulish and lethal forest, on a hunt to find your lost sister. Ingenious puzzles, dark humour and a smattering of platforming are the order of the day, but this is a game that’s far more than the sum of its parts.
TRIALS HD
It’s all about that instant restart. It doesn’t matter how good the physics are, how intricate the level design or how satisfying it is to control that little bike in Trials HD’s side-scrolling levels, if you couldn’t restart the nanosecond you need to, the whole thing would could crashing down. Just like the little guy when you smack his head into a 40-foot scaffold pole.
BRAID
The main character might have an annoying face, but you won’t notice that after you’ve had your mind melted by Braid’s time-bending controls. Probably the most cerebral platform game ever made, and a touchstone for anyone banging on about the whole ‘games as art’ debate.
GEOMETRY WARS RETRO EVOLVED 2
Bizarre Creations’ best game. And that’s saying something. Geo Wars 2 pretty much pioneered the online leaderboard as something that can be interwoven with the game itself, and each of its six modes offers the kind of compulsion that most games can only dream of. Will always be a brilliant piece of software.
Tags: Xbox Live Arcade
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