Bastion
360 • KINECT | UBISOFT | Review: Glen Downey
Rated: 4 out of 5
It’s that time of year again, Microsoft buys the rights to the best downloadable content and then trickles it out over the Summer Winter Of Arcade. This year we’ve got a pile of crackers, but our pick is the bizarre little action RPG Bastion.
Bastion is the story of The Kid, who wakes up after “The Calamity” to find his entire universe literally in pieces. As he makes his way, the world comes together like a jigsaw under his very feet.
Outside of that it’s pretty standard action RPG fare. Go here to collect this. Use this to open that. Upgrade these by spending those and so on. It’s all very reminiscent of the classic 16bit RPGs like Secret of Mana and Chrono Trigger without getting bogged down by managing a troop of dickheads you only cart around to carry your gear.
OK, are you guys still high on the drugs from your Child Of Eden sessions? Well yes, but that’s not the whole story, Bastion is narrated as you play. The voice narrates your every move, and it’s different for every player. Find a new area and charge through it. He’ll mention that you’re in a hurry but might not be sure why. Linger around and that same area and he might make a point of your apprehension.
It’s an amazingly OCD approach that revitalises a played out genre of video games and at $20 it’s the deal of the summer winter.
