Today's LIVE Arcade release of Castle Crashers and the recent trend of incoming college freshmen gathering in front of me to learn writing can only mean one thing: summer is over. But man, what a summer it was. So many memories made while only moving slightly to avoid bedsores.
Of course, I speak of Microsoft's five-week-long "Summer of Arcade," an event that saw the back-to-back release of five awesome Xbox Live Arcade titles: Geometry Wars: Retro Evolved 2, Braid, Bionic Commando: Rearmed, Galaga Legions, and Castle Crashers. Sure, it started a little late, and it neglected to include a few of the more recent remakes (Commando 3 and 1942: Joint Strike got just a little bit screwed by the timing), but I can't remember a time that so much multi-genre awesomeness was packed into such an affordable month.
More importantly, though, I think it's a look at things to come for the future of gaming.
I'll admit that I haven't gotten around to getting Galaga and Castle Crashers yet--blame the deviousness of both Braid and Bionic Commando for this. But the thing is, I plan on eventually getting all of the Summer of Arcade titles because they're perfect for my life right now. It's not that I'm exceptionally busy--I'm just suffering epic-induced burnout that might have been brought on by playing Grand Theft Auto IV far past the point of enjoyment. Really, the thought of any game taking up more than 10 hours of my time makes me long for the simple joys that XBox LIVE has brought me over the past month. April was the last time I bought a full-priced 360 game, and I really can't see myself doing it again until the holidays.
All of this has made me ponder the following discussion-worthy question: is XBox LIVE Arcade making us rethink the current philosophy of bank-breaking, world-destroying, blockbuster games? I'm content to live in a world where a new (ostensibly) NES Mega Man is a celebrated certainty, rather than the dream of a ROM-hacking madman.
Related Links:
Yahtzee Says, Support Your Local Independent Developer (He's Right).
Bionic Commando is Love: Bionic Commando Rearmed is Out. It Matters.
Mega Man 9 Goes Back To Your Roots. Way Back.