For those gamers who might have played through many of the major consoles’ top offerings, Microsoft Game Studios has just the thing for you. As part of their ‘Games for the Holidays’ promotion, Microsoft will be releasing three downloadable games starting December 22nd. The three games are A World of Keflings, Raskulls and ilomilo.
Similar to their Summer of Arcade and Game Feast, Games for the Holidays features an eclectic offering of video game titles. Each of the games offers their own unique spin on a traditional game type and even share some cross-title love to boot.
The first title releasing December 22nd, A World of Keflings is the sequel to 2008’s A Kingdom for Keflings. Like the previous game, World allows players to use their own avatar as they assist the adorable little Keflings in creating their kingdom. World offers a more involved experience this time around with a more focused storyline, new kingdoms to explore complete with their own varied climate, and even local multiplayer. Think of the game as a whimsical version of Black and White.
The second title is Raskulls and will be available starting December 29th. Raskulls is a racer/platformer that has the player attempting to be the first to make it through the level. With the use of the Raskull’s wand, players are able to create shortcuts in order to get from point A to point B faster. Along the way players will also be able to make use of different power-ups (think Mario Kart) that provide a distinct advantage to their holder. As one would expect, Raskulls features both local and online multiplayer over a variety of different modes.
The final title, ilomilo, releases January 5th but has also been available on Windows 7 phones for about a month now. Similar in art style to LittleBigPlanet, ilomilo tasks the player with uniting two creatures, one called Ilo and the other called Milo, by manipulating both the gravity and the block formations around them. It’s a game that forces players to plan carefully as each move to get either Ilo or Milo closer to the other might be actually moving them apart in the the long run.
Check out each of the titles in action in the promo trailer below:
While Games for the Holidays might not be offering the type of indie titles that gamers have received from the two previous downloadable title offerings, it makes up for any of its perceived shortcomings in connectivity. By owning any or all of the other titles, gamers will be able to play as or encounter characters from the other two titles. Games for the Holidays is the perfect holiday distraction to keep those unlucky gamers away from their nagging relatives.
Which of the three titles are you looking to picking up from Microsoft’s offering? In what other ways to you hope future releases like Games for the Holidays incorporate cross-title connectivity?
A World of Keflings releases December 22nd. Raskulls releases December 29th. Ilomilo releases January 5th.
