E3: XBLA's Summer Of Arcade Returns With Lara Croft, Limbo

Microsoft's annual "Summer of Arcade" event for highlighting Xbox Live Arcade titles returns this July with Lara Croft and the Guardian of the Light, 2010 IGF award winner Limbo, and three other games. Now in its third year, the promotion points Xbox 360 owners to high-profile titles debuting on the digital download service in the next few months. Previous Summer of Arcade releases included Shadow Complex and Trials HD. Last year's Summer of Arcade lineup helped boost revenues on the service by 200 percent. Also, three of the titles spotlighted during the event were among the top five highest opening week sales ever on XBLA. This year's group includes Crystal Dynamics' Lara Croft and the Guardian of the Light, which is the first Tomb Raider game to not actually feature the Tomb Raider title, and is also the first downloadable entry for the franchise. Priced at 1200 MS Points, Lara Croft features a new (to the series) isometric perspective, as well as two-player cooperative multiplayer. "We are delighted to be chosen to be a part of Microsoft's Summer of Arcade line up which has always showcased the very best digital games available," says Crystal Dynamics general manager Darrell Gallagher. "This is the first game from a rejuvenated Crystal Dynamics studio and our goal was to make the perfect companion piece to the Tomb Raider franchise. One which could be clearly recognized in its own space, have the familiarity of being set in the world of Lara Croft and at the same time offer fans fresh gameplay they expect from Xbox Live Arcade titles." Micosoft Game Studios plans to publish Limbo (pictured), Playdead's much anticipated title that took home the 2010 Independent Game Festival's Technical Excellence and Excellence In Visual Art awards. The black-and-white puzzle-platformer will go on sale for 1200 MS Points, too. The Summer of Arcade lineup will also offer Konami's Castlevania: Harmony of Despair, a six-player cooperative interpretation of the long-running vampire-killing franchise. The game is being designed by longtime series producer Koji Igarashi, and includes "massive levels inspired by the worlds of Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Portrait of Ruin, and Order of Ecclesia," all of which were directed by Igarashi. Also on tap are Vector Unit Games's Hydro Thunder Hurricane, a remake of Midway's powerboat racing game Hydro Thunder, and Uber Entertainment's Monday Night Club, a third-person shooter that plays like a game show.