Deadlight: Wake Up Dead

I am no longer a fan of the zombies, and very rarely do I find myself wanting to play a game that uses the mindless undead as its dominant trait. In an odd turn of events, I felt compelled by new jack developer Tequila Works' initial release, Deadlight. Maybe it's because I've been dying to play a fresh new 2D action platformer for months? Maybe the bits of jumping and climbing punctuated by motion comic interludes worthy of a graphic novel was too much to turn down? Maybe she's born with it? Maybe it's Maybelline. Whatever it could have possibly been, I jumped into the deep, dark, zombie abyss with a 360 controller and high hopes.

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It Ain't Summer 'til The Summer of Arcade Says So

Xbox LIVE Arcade's Summer of Arcade promotions are always a good time. How they work are, Microsoft pools together a bunch of games, releases them weekly, and gives you a portion of your spending back if you buy multiple titles. There are a total of 5 games to be released between July and August, and a few of them look pretty damn snazzy. As your special bonus, should you buy any 3 of the Summer of Arcade titles, you'll get a whopping 400 Microsoft points back. Hooray for incentives! Breakdown to follow:

• July 18 - Tony Hawk's Pro Skater HD - 1200 MSP
• July 25 - Wreckateer - 800 MSP
• August 1 - Deadlight - 1200 MSP
• August 8 - Hybrid - 1200 MSP
• August 15 - Dust: An Elysian Trail - 1200 MSP

Of the above, the two I'm most interested in getting play time with are Hybrid and Deadlight. Hybrid because of its dummyproof-however-refreshing take on the cover-based shooter genre, that kind of looks like the bastard child of Halo and Gears. Sure it sounds like every other game in the over-saturated genre, but I'm willing to give the benefit of the doubt. And Deadlight mostly due to its wonderful zombie-meets-Limbo aesthetic, gorgeous visuals, animation, and strong focus on delivering a satisfying narrative with comic inspired cut scenes. Trailers for the two are included below. What do you got on these, folks?