Bastion

Bastion is a game that makes some innovative leaps on how story is told. The game's developer, Supergiant Games working with the publisher Warner Brothers Interactive Entertainment, have released a game that is very unique in its presentation. You can expect some role playing elements as well as some action, shooting, and  hack and slash gameplay. Along with some great visuals and colors this makes the game not bland at all.

So the story is progressed through an interactive narrator that will say whatever you are doing in a rustic voice that makes you stay intrigued. The game starts out with an event called the Calamity that has left the world in a fragmented state that builds around you as you walk around. With you trying to achieve cores in order to rebuild the central hub known as the Bastion, you are the last hope in restoring the world and figuring out why the calamity happened. What makes the story good is the narrating that just gives it a good feel to what is going on and it makes it simple to keep track of what is going on because the narration happens while you are playing not in between chapters. There is also the multiple weapons you achieve and master through challenges.

The gameplay is very similar to Torchlight where you are run around and use the left mouse to attack with your main weapon and the right mouse button to use you secondary weapon. There are also some other elements like the dodge roll that cause more frustration then ease because you need to be careful otherwise you can easily fall down off the map and take unnecessary damage. There is also the feature to give yourself handicaps in order to achieve bonuses but they are often times not worth the handicap so only there for the more hardcore players. There are some feature though such as choosing a bonus for yourself after you level through assigning certain ales and spirits to certain slots in a distillery. The weapons are fun to use but it is very difficult to maintain a standard of not receiving damage while attacking because the enemies will move quick and attack you regardless of you hitting them. There are the ranged weapons that do make it easier to take out targets from further away.

So overall what works well is the way the story is told but the gameplay could use a little help such as some invisible walls on the side in order to keep from rolling off a lot, as well as having a knockback effect on the weapons. These are minor issues that do not take away from the fun of the game once you get used to it. Soon enough you will roll around like a pro and just remember to heal more often. The game does well with its revolutionary storytelling this is one of my personal favorite things about the game.

So this game is available on Xbox 360 on the xbox live arcade for about 1200 Microsoft points or about $15 however there is a free demo that you can download and try if you need some more convincing. It is also available on Steam for $15 aswell as a free demo. For this price this game is worth paying if you want something new to play. I also recommend the demo because that is a way you can really see what this game is like.