Xbox Live Summer Of Arcade Features Flashback, TMNT

In August, the annual Xbox LIVE Summer of Arcade promotion will make its return. During the Summer of Arcade, a new XBLA game will be released every week for four weeks.

This year's Summer of Arcade will kick off on August 7th with Brothers: a Tale of Two Sons. In Brothers, a man is dying and his two sons set out to find a cure. Each brother is controlled by their own thumbstick and face buttons, so one player can control both simultaneously. The two brothers must work together to solve puzzles, traverse obstacles and fight boss enemies.

Charlie Murder, due on August 14th, is described as a "punk rock apocalypse." The titular Charlie Murder is a punk rock band trying to save the world from a death metal band. By battling this band and their evil minions, players will earn new loot to strengthen their character as well as new fans to help them unlock new abilities. By getting inked with new tattoos, the members of Charlie Murder will be able to channel their "Anar-Chi."

VectorCell will release their remake of action-platformer Flashback on August 21st. Flashback stars Conrad B. Hart, an agent of the Galaxia Bureau of Investigation. He uncovers a plot by aliens to take over Earth and must race to stop them. In addition to fighting aliens, he'll also collect data files to reclaim his lost memories.

Summer of Arcade will conclude with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows a week later. Players can take on the role of Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael and battle criminals and mutants throughout the streets of New York City. The game features drop-in, drop-out co-op for up to four players to give it that proper arcade beat 'em up feel.

TMNT and Brothers will both cost 1200 Microsoft Points ($15), while the other two games are 800 Points ($10). Major Nelson says that by purchasing any of the two Summer of Arcade games, you'll unlock a free Souls pack for free-to-play game Ascend: Hand of Kul. It's kind of a weak incentive, to be honest, compared to last year's bonus Microsoft Points. I guess you can't really shit on a freebie too hard, though, right?

I've always had a soft spot for Summer of Arcade. Each year, there's at least one game that really takes everyone by surprise. Past Summer of Arcade titles included Bastion, Limbo, Trials HD and Braid. I'm gonna guess that Brothers will be this year's break-out hit just based on the interesting control scheme but we'll see.