XNA Contest Winner Heads to XBLA: A.R.E.S. Extinction Agenda
The 2010 first-prize winner of Microsoft’s XNA Dream-Build-Play contest is officially on its way to XBLA. A.R.E.S. Extinction Agenda is the brainchild of Thailand developer Extend Studio. “You are Ares, the first Zytron immune robot,” according to the beginning of the gameplay description on the official A.R.E.S. website. All you really need to know is that A.R.E.S. is a colorful sci-fi sidescroller: Megaman meets Metroid with an anime flavor.
We’ve seen a handful of great games come out of Dream-Build-Play, including 2009’s The Dishwasher: Dead Samurai. And let’s not forget other XNA-developed games that have been big indie hits: Johnny Platform’s Biscuit Romp, ZP2K9, and I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1.
In addition to A.R.E.S., Microsoft honored four other games in the 2010 Dream-Build-Play competition: Lumi (the grand prize winner), Prismatic Solid, Beat Hazard, and Newton vs. the Horde. A.R.E.S. seems to be the title most ready for the XBLA big leagues. You can download a PC demo of the game on the Extend Studio site.
Via IGN.