Limbo darkens XBLA

Microsoft's Summer of Arcade five-game lineup kicked off today with the arrival of the shadowy Limbo complemented by a trifecta shot of Games on Demand additions spanning the fighting, racing, and gridiron game genres.

The most significant release this week is Playdead's Limbo (1,200 MS points, or $15). The 2D platforming game is dark and is filled with chilling ambient noise and a variety of puzzles. Players control the body of a boy whose only intention is to travel right in search of his sister. The game is brimming with death, spooky scenarios, and traps hindering the unnamed adolescent's quest.

Limbo frightens XBLA this week.

Switching to Games on Demand, Microsoft unleashed a digital triplet this week spanning a variety of pugilistic genres. Electronic Arts' 2008 arcade fighter Facebreaker (1,600 MS points, or $20), which didn't fare well with critics, is now available to download. The cartoony boxing game lets players snap images of their faces (using the Xbox Live vision camera) and use the mugs in-game. As a caveat for would-be purchasers, Electronic Arts shut down Facebreaker's servers for online play in February.

Another arcade spin on a classic sport, NFL Tour (1,600 MS points, or $20) came to Games on Demand this week. The seven-on-seven gridiron title from EA Tiburon puts players in the cleats of stylized avatars of professional NFL athletes. The game was originally released in 2008 and was generally not recommended by critics.

The last game to come to Games on Demand this week is Stuntman: Ignition (1,600 MS points, or $20). A sequel to the original Stuntman, Ignition puts players behind the wheel of a hopeful stuntman. The game's single-player campaign starts players off as a no-name commercial stuntman and tasks them with performing feats in parodies of Hollywood films to earn respect. The title also sports a multiplayer mode that features two race types, as well as eight-player support for Xbox Live matches.