As some of you may have experienced, summer can be a pretty rough time of the year for gamers. Most major publishers save their big-budget titles for the holiday season, when younger demographics have more purchasing power. Just like in Hollywood, titles released later in the year tend to have a better chance of receiving end-of-year awards than those released in the summer, further discouraging publishers from releasing anything of quality until the leaves begin to turn. It is with this in mind that Xbox launched its Summer of Arcade promotion: Starting in late July, a new downloadable Xbox Live Arcade game has been released each week, and those who buy the first five games in the series receive the sixth game free. The promotion keeps gamers busy and happy while also giving some attention to smaller, independent studios with bold and creative concepts that might otherwise be lost in the frenzy of blockbuster holiday games. The Summer of Arcade started off strong this year with freshman studio Supergiant Games' first title, Bastion.

Bastion places players in the role of a character only known as the "Kid." Players explore the remains of the Kid's captivating fantasy world after a mysterious event simply referred to as "The Great Calamity" seems to have wiped out civilization. The story develops slowly over the course of the game as the Kid attempts to rebuild the world he once knew, starting from an unmarred safe haven: the titular bastion. This shadowy story unfolds with absolutely beautiful, crisp, watercolor-inspired visuals, which may not push any boundaries technically but do much to further the distinctive personality of this intriguing game.

What really makes Bastion special, however, is the way the game responds to your play. As you set about exploring the environment, your actions are described by an ever-present narrator who actually responds to the specific things you choose to do in the game. If you decide to spend time destroying parts of the environment looking for hidden items instead of advancing toward your objective (we've all done it), the narrator responds, "Kid just raged for a while." If you decide to move forward, you never hear this bit of dialogue. This continues to occur throughout the game as you hear different bits of narration depending on the choices you make and your success in certain areas. In a similar vein, as you move around throughout the game, the world literally materializes before you as blocks of terrain fall from the sky, creating new paths as you move toward them. All of this makes for a very memorable and singular experience.

That being said, Bastion is not without its faults. The gameplay is very standard action role playing game fare and is nothing you haven't seen several times over if you're familiar with the genre and its staples, such as the Diablo and Gauntlet franchises. You'll hack and slash through enemies while upgrading and discovering weapons, all the while unlocking new areas to explore. This all plays well, the mechanics are solid and responsive, and the action is undoubtedly fun, but it's far from revolutionary. The developers attempt to enhance the experience by giving the players the ability to unlock and equip different idols,­ which are statues found in the game world that enhance the difficulty of various facets of the game. These can be combined in interesting ways that add a lot to the replay value of the game. Despite this, the gameplay is simply as groundbreaking as the rest of the game.

Fortunately for Bastion, the rest of the game provides an experience that is more than enough to compensate for the average gameplay. The story requires a complete playthrough to make any sense, but those who take the time to finish the game will be rewarded as the vague strands of plot come together to form a magnificent conclusion with four unique endings depending on the choices players make toward the end. This choice mechanic may seem a little jarring as it is not employed consistently through the game, only making an appearance within the last 5 or 10 minutes. However, its limited use is effective and makes for a great cap to an excellent experience.

For only $15 on the Xbox Live Marketplace, gamers can't go wrong with Bastion. I had a lot of fun with this standout title and can't wait to see what else Supergiant Games has in store. I give this game an 8/10.