The Button Presser

Developer-Humble Hearts LLC
Publishers-Microsoft Studios
Release Date- August 15th, 2012
Price- $14.99 MSRP
Review Platform- Xbox 360






Fighting in the Dust







Essentially the creation of one person, Dust: An Elysian Tail is an 2D action adventure game in the similar vein of Metroid and most recently Shadow Complex, with a vibrant and expansive world to traverse. You'll play as Dust, the mysterious warrior with a case of amnesia who must rely on a talking sword and it's guardian to help him fight and uncover the truth about his existence. Dust is not only one of the best games to come out during the summer of arcade promotion, it is probably my new favorite arcade game and I've played a ton of them.


The story and visuals feel a lot like a anime show, with cutesy animals making up the cast, but the story here evolves over time to stand out with its mature theme and emotional revelations. It's mostly pretty convenient stuff in the beginning, but later on it becomes really unique and interesting. It will keep you hooked until the credits roll.

The main story took me about 12 hours with only a few of the game's side-quests, so you can probably get a couple more hours out of the game with the side-quests and unlockable achievements. Overall difficulty of Dust isn't too bad especially since there are plenty of great items to find to help in battle, as well as leveling up your skills.

Combat in this game is fantastic. The X and Y buttons are the main means of fighting, with X dishing out quick attacks and Y for follow up attacks and your special wind ability. X must be used first if you want to being a combo, and switching things up will gain you more XP and combo points. Your sidekick Fidget can be used in battle, and can hit multiple enemies with various projectiles that you come across throughout the game.

Dodging and maneuverability is also key in the game's combat, and you'll be able to find useful upgrades throughout the game that will help in battle and traversing hard to reach areas contain new treasures to find.



Like other Metroid-vania titles, there will be areas you find early on in the game that can't be accessed until you find specific abilities, so backtracking becomes more rewarding than other titles. There are also shops and materials to be found which can help you make more weapons and items to aid in battle.

Simply put, Dust: An Elysian Tail is amazing. The acting and story are top-notch, besting many retail titles if I have to be honest. The combat is very satisfying and for $15, you'll be getting a game that has plenty of replayability.

Don't miss out on Dust.

"Immerse yourself in a gorgeous hand-painted world on a search for your true identity. As the mysterious warrior, Dust, you must master the ancient Blade of Ahrah to battle dozens of enemies with an intuitive combat system, take on a variety of quests, discover powerful upgrades throughout the massive, open world, and uncover the story of an ancient civilization on the brink of extinction as you fight to uncover your own past."

The 2012 Summer of Arcade concludes this week with Dust: An Elysian Tail. This colorful game looks like lots of fun, and I can't wait to check it out. Don't forget if you bought at least three of the Summer of Arcade games, you'll be getting 400 MSP ($5) sometime in the future. Dust will set you back $15 (1200 MSP)


"Immerse yourself in a gorgeous hand-painted world on a search for your true identity. As the mysterious warrior, Dust, you must master the ancient Blade of Ahrah to battle dozens of enemies with an intuitive combat system, take on a variety of quests, discover powerful upgrades throughout the massive, open world, and uncover the story of an ancient civilization on the brink of extinction as you fight to uncover your own past."

[Trial- Dust: An Elysian Tail trial (593 MB)]

[Full Game- Dust: An Elysian Tail (1200 MSP)]

While 5th Cell are known for Scribblenauts, there new game is different departure with Hybrid, The latest Summer of Arcade game release. Featuring a unique third-person cover mechanic and control scheme, Hybrid promises fun action and fluid movement throughout the battlefield. The beta for the game was pretty fun, and now everyone can see for themselves with either the trial or full game. Like most of the arcade releases, Hybrid will cost you $15 (1200 MSP).


"Hybrid is a multiplayer third person shooter in which two factions fight for world domination on a persistent world map. Take control of a soldier fighting for the Paladins or the Variants as they race to control the world's most powerful resource; Dark Matter. Your victories on the battlefield directly affect the course of the war!"

[Trial- Hybrid trial (1.59 GB)]

[Full Game- Hybrid (1200 MSP)]

Developer-Tequila Works
Publishers-Microsoft Game Studios
Release Date- August 1st, 2012
Price- $15.99 MSRP (1200 MSP)
Review Platform- Xbox Live





Fear what lurks in the Shadows







Deadlight is an 2D game with 3D visuals and contains familiar elements if you've ever played Shadow Complex or Limbo - which were both Summer of Arcade releases as well. Action plays out on a 2D level, but features 3D visuals and enemies that can move from the background and onto the 2D plane to attack you. While being a pretty short game – 1 hour and 57 minutes was my final time, it does have great moments of action even though the story is a bit underwhelming. For $15, you can certainly find a game with more content, but I would still recommended checking out the game now or down the line when it reduces in price.


The story in Deadlight unfolds via motion comic cut scenes, and features Randall Wayne's experience as he searches for his family during this 1980's Zombie Apocalypse. The infected in this time are referred to as Shadows, as they tend to lurk in the dark and blindly follow the sounds of people in hopes of feeding their everlasting hunger. Randall can take out a few of them with Most encounters with the Shadows involve fleeing to safer ground or setting up environmental hazards to help reduce the number of Shadows after you.

While you do get access to weapons at specific points in the game, ammo is pretty limited and weapons are actually used to break out of reach locks in certain areas later in the game.

Controls are done fairly well, and are used to help Randall jump, climb, sprint, and crouch around Seattle. Randall will die immediately upon entering deep water, so you'll have to carefully plan jumps, but sometimes he'll take a few steps upon landing which can cause several unwanted deaths. Trial and Error is a main factor to traversing the later areas, since hints are main for the first act.

Any actions Randall takes will decrease his stamina, so you'll have to rest when performing more strenuous tasks like shimmying across areas and using your axe to attack Shadows.

My first initial playthrough took less than 2 hours, and I was able to collect about 70% of the items throughout the game. Most of these collectibles involves missing pages in Randall's journal, but others that you can find include some mini-games, and I.Ds of bodies you'll come across.

The game's visuals are very well done and are powered by the Unreal Engine, just as Shadow Complex was. The voice overs are pretty nice as well, with Randall's deep voice narrating most of the game's story and everything comes together in terms of the audio experience with the nice ambient soundtracks. Presentation wise, Deadlight is top notch, but I was hoping for more in terms of content and gameplay.



Expectations from Arcade games has risen over these past few years, and while Deadlight does provide a fun experience, there's not enough in comparisons to similar games of this nature. Games are more about the experience then the playtime, but less than 2 hours is still a bummer. With that being said though, I really enjoyed the game, but wanted more especially for $15.

"The world has ended. There is no hope. No new beginning. Only the survivors. DEADLIGHT follows the journey of Randall Wayne, a man searching for his family across Seattle during the aftermath of a 1980s event that has decimated life on earth. This visually stunning Cinematic Survival Platformer will challenge you to run, jump, climb, and struggle for your life as you look for answers and the ones you love."

The Summer of Arcade game I've been looking forward to the most is finally here. While Deadlight has received mixed reviews, It still seems like a pretty interesting game. Don't forget to check out the trial if your favorite game outlet gave it a low review, so you can simply play for yourself. The full game will cost you $15 (1200 MSP).


"The world has ended. There is no hope. No new beginning. Only the survivors. DEADLIGHT follows the journey of Randall Wayne, a man searching for his family across Seattle during the aftermath of a 1980s event that has decimated life on earth. This visually stunning Cinematic Survival Platformer will challenge you to run, jump, climb, and struggle for your life as you look for answers and the ones you love. "

[Trial- Deadlight trial (1.96 GB)]

[Full Game- Deadlight (1200 MSP)]

Today's new Summer of Arcade release is the Kinect-only destruction game, Wreckateer. For 800 MSP, you can destroy some buildings as your avatar and compete against friends and other players on the leaderboards. Check out more below:


"Wreckateer uses the Kinect to put you in control of a massive castle-wrecking Ballista. With the help of Wreck and Tinker, use 6 magic projectiles to travel the land and destroy 60 castles."

[Trial- Wreckateer trial (1.66 GB)]

[Full Game- Wreckateer (800 MSP)]

The 2012 Summer of Arcade has begun! First up is Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD, a revamped version of the classic skate boarding game that features content from Tony Hawk 1 & 2, and eventually features from THPS3 as DLC. The full game will cost you 1200 MSP ($15):


"Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD is a downloadable title for Xbox LIVE Arcade that takes the best elements of the classic THPS games and gives them a fresh update to create an all new skateboarding experience. Tapping into fans’ muscle memories, the gameplay returns to controllers and focuses on the satisfaction of linking sick tricks for maximum points. Combining sharp visuals with the best controls ever in a Tony Hawk game, the feel is cutting edge yet timeless."

[Trial- Tony Hawk's PS HD trial (460 MB)]

[Full Game- Tony Hawk's PS HD (1200 MSP)]

Tony Hawk HD is the first Summer of Arcade release on July 18th and will be the day when you can get some new free content for Minecraft and Trials Evolution! For Minecraft, you'll be able to receive an exclusive skin set which is based on the new releases, and tracks for Trials Evolution which center around the games.

All you'll need to do is download these items from either the dashboard or ingame for the tracks on Trials. I also believe you have to be a Gold Member.

This Summer of Arcade is looking pretty good too. Can't wait to play Tony Hawk again, but I really want to get Deadlight!

[Source: PlayXBLA]

Starting in July, the annual Summer of Arcade games will be released. Things will kick off on July 18th with Tony Hawk HD, and will conclude on August 15th with Dust: An Elysian Tail. Aside from the Kinect-only Wreckateer, every game will cost $15 (1200 MSP). You'll be able to enjoy Wreckateer for $10 (800 MSP). Here is the full list:

July 18------Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater HD----1200 MSP
July 25------Wreckateer-------------------800 MSP
August 1-----Deadlight--------------------1200 MSP
August 8-----Hybrid-----------------------1200 MSP
August 15----Dust: An Elysian Tail--------1200 MSP





[Source: Major Nelson's Blog]