Summer of Arcade (so far!)

The Summer of Arcade on XBLA has always been the source of the big hits for Arcade games. With Marvel vs. Capcom 2 and 'Splosion Man coming out in 2009, and disappointingly 2010 really only brought Limbo this year shows 'em all up.

Bastion

Fantastic. A simple Hack 'n Slash game that manages to hold the players and attention and sustain their excitement through a very very unique environment. As the player explores, the map is presented to them by falling out of the sky. (Half of you just said "What?!" and half of you read that without thinking twice about how stupid that sounded.) This adds some amount of mystery and a slight challenge to even something as simple as moving across the map. For example, in one level you are forced to flee the level quickly as the floor is crashing down behind you. However, you can only see about 5 steps in front of you. As the level falls down in front of the "Kid" the player has to make very quick reactions to avoid falling into a hole, or getting killed by a monster.
The weapons are pretty sweet, ranging from a hammer or a machete to a quick shooting repeater or a bow and arrow. The Kid levels up, gaining more skills and stats, and everything is upgradable. It's very simple (as to be expected from an arcade game) and you do absolutely find yourself rabidly mashing the B button like it's the source of pure cocaine, but it's still really fun.
There is one thing. The entire game is narrated. Almost everything the Kid does is described by a very Morgan Freeman sort of voice that belongs to an old man you meet at the Bastion. It reeeaaaalllllyyyyy gets old. He does this sort of smooth talking gruff sexy seduction voice that occasionally makes things a little bit awkward...


From Dust

Not quite as great. It's excellent don't get me wrong, and it's probably the best looking XBLA I have ever seen, but there are some times during my time with this game that made me want to rip my brain stem from my eye sockets. That may sound extreme, and it is in fact a hyperbole (surprised?), but the AI is incredibly stupid. Incredibly. Unbelievably. Stupid.
The "people" that you watch over are supposed to be these descendants from an Ancient race, and in some time during their relocation they lost all of the memory and knowledge of the old ways. Apparently that also means they forgot how to not be giant morons. They create the "Breath" (you) to help them... or something... and now they are completely and totally reliant on its powers. So much so, that there are moments where they just call out for help for seemingly no reason. Maybe he was just hungry.
In and of itself, the game is really cool. It's an awesome unprecedented puzzle solving experience. Using a combination of very god-like abilities, and the obvious "I can move mountains. Literally." the players is supposed to figure out how to colonize each of these Totems, while keeping them alive in spite the natural disasters that seem to constantly plague every location in which these Totems reside.  
Setting aside the Super Major Idiot AI Journeys of Mental Excellence, the game is quite good. Expect to have to restart levels in favor in solving the puzzles in a different way, and to occasionally want to douse lava on all of your followers. Being a god is hard work.


Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet

My. Freaking. Favorite. One of my all-time favorite games on XBLA is Limbo, and this game has relinquished Limbo of that title. Trying to explain what the game is isn't quite an easy task. I would have to say, merge Limbo with Metroid, or Castlevania. It plays like a typical side scrolling exploration game where you go around, collect new tools, weapons, upgrades, and collectibles. As you travel you'll find you don't have to appropriate tool in order to progress further in a certain direction. You fly around, solve puzzles and fight bosses.
The ambiance of the game is phenomenal. The art and the aesthetics of the game are really quite stunning. It holds a very dark (Limbo-esque) atmosphere most of the time but is sometimes juxtaposed against levels that are much more colorful and vibrant, but not painfully so. The colors and the music are subtle enough and different enough to really make it just a beautiful game to look at. The game is nothing you have played before, and that makes it very difficult to describe. Play it. Your life will be better if you do.