Bastion

Title: Bastion
Platform Played On: Xbox 360
Release Date: July 20, 2011
Date Played: July 2011
Time Played: 12 hours
Completed (Y/N): Yes
Score: 5/5


Opinion:
Disclaimer - This game was developed by my friend, so take what I write about it as you will. But I encourage everyone to visit some review sites and check out their opinion on Bastion.

Bastion is an isometric hack and slash game set in a destroyed world of Caelondia.

The basic plot is as follows: in case of a major disaster everyone in the world of Caelondia knows to run to the Bastion (think of it as a bomb shelter). Well, guess what? The world is completely destroyed, and you (also known as The Kid), head for the Bastion.  Once there you are told that in order to get the Bastion functioning you need to collect its scattered pieces. And that is where your adventure starts, you go from level to level in order to recover these shards of the world.

Basion's world looks great, everything is hand drawn, from crates, to monsters you fight to incredibly epic looking backgrounds.

One thing that stands out the most is Bastion's sound design, not only does it feature some of the best music among Xbox Live Arcade titles, it also sets the plank a few notches higher with its narration for downloadable and full retail disc games alike.

Basically a lot of the actions that you perform within the game have triggers, to which the narrator makes comments to.  It is definitely an interesting mechanic and feels rewarding when the narrator comments on that cool thing you just did.

Click to Zoom

Bastion features plethora of weapons, from melee to ranged, from fast low damage to slow high damage, each being upgradable in more than one way and all being extremely fun to wield. You unlock new weapons as you progress through the game, and can always switch between them in the hub world (and occasionally during the levels).  You can carry up to 2 weapons with you at any time plus a special ability (which you can choose from a couple dozen options). My personal weapons of choice were the fully upgraded Hammer to negate armored enemies, and a fully upgraded heat seeking repeater (basically a dart gun). That being said each weapon feels unique and fun to use.

My only complaint is the fact that at times the game forces you to use other weapons, which could be frustrating if all you want to do is use your chosen weapons (especially in New Game+). But at the same time I see the design decision behind that, they want you to at least try these different weapons.

In addition to being a 6-8 hour game (which is pretty long for a downloadable title), Bastion features New Game+ mode, where you get to keep some of the things from the first playthrough, and the narrator makes a few different remarks on the second run through. Subsequent playthroughs can be customized by turning on idols, which work similar to Halo's skulls making the game harder, and reward the player for turning them on.

Overall Bastion is a very fun hack and slash adventure. The story is interesting and features two endings. The worlds are lush and enjoyable to run through. I would definitely recommend this game to everyone, and not because I am friends with the developer, but because it really is a good game.