Microsoft Announces Its Summer Of Arcade 2011 Promotion

Everyone’s favourite XBOX Live Arcade promotion is returning this summer – which makes it the promotion’s fourth year in existence. Known as the Summer of Arcade 2011 promotion, it will gather together five of the most anticipated XBLA games; releasing one per week for five weeks. The festivities will begin on July 20.

The list of games has surfaced, though no prices have been made available.

Toy Soldiers: Cold War
Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet
Fruit Ninja Kinect
Bastion
From Dust

That isn’t to say they will be released in that order. Microsoft has yet to confirm a release schedule or order for the five games. We’re not complaining though as all of them look great. It doesn’t matter what order they release in, because they all look well-worth playing.

Toy Soldiers: Cold War (Signal Studios/Microsoft Studios): Jump into the fray with playful ’80s combat action in Toy Soldiers: Cold War. Bring your favorite action toys to life and wage war against the red menace. Need backup? Call in a friend for co-op campaign action on the couch or over Xbox Live. Take a break from the main battle with Survival mode and playful minigames. When you beat your Live friends’ scores, they’ll be gunning to reclaim the top spot!

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (Fuelcell/Microsoft Studios): This side-scrolling, 2-D, action-adventure game takes players on a journey through the curious Shadow Planet worlds, unique environments filled with twisted life, surreal ecologies, hostile creatures and environmental hazards. Players explore the depths of several interconnected themed areas, fighting swarms of enemies, battling bosses, solving mind-bending puzzles and acquiring power-ups to unlock new parts of the map.

Fruit Ninja Kinect (Halfbrick/Microsoft Studios): The worldwide gaming phenomenon Fruit Ninja is now coming to Kinect for Xbox 360 in its juiciest form yet — YOU are the ninja! Your arms are now blades, and the battle against the world’s most delicious produce is just beginning. Fruit Ninja Kinect is an amazing evolution of the slice-em-up genre created by Halfbrick, utilizing next-generation precision power for the juiciest combat ever!

Bastion (Supergiant Games/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment): is an action role-playing experience that redefines storytelling in games, with a reactive narrator who marks your every move. Explore more than 40 lush hand-painted environments as you discover the secrets of the Calamity, a surreal catastrophe that shattered the world to pieces. Wield a huge arsenal of upgradeable weapons and battle savage beasts adapted to their new habitat. Finish the main story to unlock New Game Plus mode and continue your journey!

From Dust (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft): Discover a unique Modern God game in which nature is the star. From Dust is the latest original concept by Eric Chahi, visionary creator of Another World. Behold the beauty of a primitive world pulsing with life and face the might of nature. Beware the danger of a world that is constantly changing under your command. Control the destiny of a tribe struggling to survive and help it recover its ancestors’ lost powers. Immerse yourself in a world as exotically beautiful as it is dangerous. A universe where nature reclaims what is hers and you are your people’s only chance of survival.