11 years ago
XBLA Fans 2012 Game of the Year awards
Another year is in the books, and, as expected, XBLA has continued to grow and reach milestones that one would not have imagined possible seven years ago when the first few XBLA games released. In 2012, XBLA games set many records only to break those same records again and again in the ensuing weeks. From Fez to Trials Evolution to Minecraft, the downloads just kept queuing up all over the world. The success of XBLA in 2012 was impressive to say the least.
That meant that we had quite the task in front of us when coming together as a staff to try to decide which game to pick for each Game of the Year category below. The nominee list for each category offered so many great choices, but at the end of the day, only one game could win each award and as a staff of passionate XBLA gamers, we think we did a pretty good job of presenting the highlights of Xbox Live Arcade in 2012. Hope you like what we picked, but if not, let us know in the comments what you would have voted for. Without further delay, here are the 2012 XBLA Fans Game of the Year awards as chosen by the XBLA Fans staff.
11 years ago
Select Summer of Arcade games discounted today
As the countdown to 2013 continues on Xbox Live, today’s daily deal sees three games from this year’s Summer of Arcade promotion on offer:
Dust an Elysian Tail – …
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11 years ago
Huge “Countdown to 2013” marketplace sale begins December 18
In a blog post he’s since deleted, Xbox Live Director of Programming, Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb, announced the “Countdown to 2013” sale for the marketplace. The sale, which begins on December 18 and runs through December 31, will see discounts for a raft of content from certain franchises and publishers on both XBLA and the wider marketplace.
Although the official page has been pulled, the folks over at NeoGAF managed to compile a reasonably comprehensive list of the titles to go on sale and the date their discounts will take effect. Unfortunately, Major Nelson never revealed the discounted prices at any stage. But if you hope to catch any of the games or DLC in the list below for cheap, it may pay to stock up on MSP!
However, the fact that the official page has been pulled (even though most of the details are out in the wild) has us at least a little concerned, so maybe try not to pin all your hopes and dreams on the “Countdown to 2013” sale.
The full list of currently known discounted XBLA items follows:
11 years ago
Weekly Roundup: November 24 – Season of sales
Weekly Roundup compiles all the biggest news stories, reviews and features from the week into one handy post on the weekends.
A bit of a slow week due to the holidays, but it’s hard to complain with a week of great XBLA sales. XBLA Fans wants to know if you picked up anything good during the holiday deals.
11 years ago
Three XBLA favorites contend for Spike TV’s Best Independent Game Award
It’s that time of year again — SPIKE TV’s annual Video Game Awards. This year marks the tenth anniversary of the tribute show, showcasing the big names …
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11 years ago
XBLA developers honored in Game Developer’s Magazine Power 50
The November 2012 issue of Game Developer Magazine features their “Power 50” list. These are 50 individuals who have made significant contributions to the evolution of game development in multiple areas. As fans of Xbox Live Arcade, we want to shout out the XBLA developers who earned their place on the list with some of our favorite games this year. We salute you.
11 years ago
Postmortem on Dust: An Elysian Tail
Gamasutra put up an excellent article today in which Dean Dodrill, developer of Dust: An Elysian Tail, recounts the successes and failures of this summer’s most popular Summer of …
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12 years ago
Dust: An Elysian Tail Guide – General & Boss Tips, Bakers Dozen Achievement
Welcome to our guide for all things Dust: An Elysian Tail! Dust is without doubt my pick of the games released on XBLA this summer and an all-around fantastic game. While it’s almost impossible that you haven’t heard of this game by now, definitely check out our review for the game.
Dust can be pretty challenging at times, with a few tough bosses to defeat and a whole host of hidden content. In an identical way to classic games such as Castlevania and Metroid, Dust expects that players will revisit previously completed levels in order to unlock new areas and secrets.
In this guide, I’ll be providing some general tips and some combat hints on this page as well as a boss guide (beware spoilers) and a guide for the Bakers Dozen achievement (for finding all the hidden characters) on separate pages.
Dust: An Elysian Tail – Boss Guide
The Glade – Giants
The first boss encounter is quite an easy one, but it can be tough if you use the wrong tactics. First of all, you’ll be attacked by a single Giant and following a short cut scene, Dust will unlock the Parry skill. This is a big clue here, as unlikely as it seems, you can actually parry the Giants attacks. Just as the Giant pauses and begins his swing, hit X and hold it (timing is quite forgiving on normal/hard) to parry the attack. Once the Giant is stunned, you can hit him with two or three combos. Repeat this cycle until the Giant falls, unlocking the next stage of the battle. This time, Dust will need to face down two Giants. Repeat the same process of parrying and counter attacking, but take care not to get trapped between the Giants or to get caught when both of them swing at once. If you get into trouble, remember to use the dodge or jump whirlwind attack to get out of there.
Dust: An Elysian Tail – Hidden Characters (Bakers Dozen) Guide
The Bakers Dozen Achievement is all about rescuing your favourite characters that have been hidden throughout the world of Dust: An Elysian Tail. Don’t forget that when you get to any one of the cages that these guys are imprisoned in, you will need four keys and some quick hands to beat the locks!