Dust: An Elysian Tail is a game brought to you by Noogy. You may remember him from such threads as the Xbox LIVE Arcade thread, and
probably some other threads where hes talked about games he likes. The point Im making is that Noogy is from round NeoGAF way, hes made
this bloody awesome game, and hed be honoured if you'd buy it everybody wins!
He may have learnt to program from scratch and done all the art himself, but he had some help along the way. Id like to thank Alex Kain, my
cowriter, Deven Mack my casting director, Alex Brandon for additional music, and a HUGE thanks to Chris and Dan from
Hyperduck, he says.
There are some very talented people among that list.
Release Date: August 15th 2012
Format: Xbox LIVE Arcade
Price: 1,200 MS Points
How many games with Dust in the title are there now? 72
Is this the best one? Yes
Is it coming to Steam? Dust: AET is exclusive to XBLA. There have been no discussions regarding any other platforms, so please dont ask.
Is there a Facebook? Yep,
here! And if it gets 10,000,000 likes by Wednesday, nothing in particular will happen.
So, like, what the hell is Dust, anyway? Glad you asked
GAMEPLAY
Think of a genre you like. Thats what Dust is! Okay, to be honest there isnt much golf in Dust and I dont think there are any dancing sections,
but its basically a bunch of genres mashed together to make something entirely awesome.
Its a
Metroidvania. Theres a world map and the game is split up into regions, but in each of them youll find areas you cant access that youll
need to come back to later with new skills or items. A map means youll always know where something hasnt been discovered.
Its a
2D platformer. Pretty self-explanatory. One of the moves at your disposal is pressing down and jump to drop through a platform. This is my
favourite thing in 2D platformers. You have a ton more moves at your disposal too and your repertoire grows as the game goes on.
Its a
hack-and-slash type affair. X is your basic attack, and you can add Y for various combos. You can juggle enemies like this. B uses Fidgets
skill, and if you hold Y (Dust Storm) in conjunction with that they combine to form something quite special. Its simple on the surface but add in
blocking/parrying and it becomes incredibly deep. One of the achievements is for maintaining a 1,000 hit combo, and that should tell you all you
need to know about the potential for awesome that the battle system has. It also has Popcap style rising music as your combo grows, which will make
every part of your brain feel nice.
It has
item crafting. Youll find blueprints all over, as well as tons of craftable materials. Want some better equipment? Make it yourself. Noogy
cant do
everything!
There are also
RPG elements, like levelling up and random battles. Okay, there are no random battles, but there is levelling up, and you get to
increase your skills how you see fit. Want to do massive damage? Go for it! Want 5,000HP while you chip away at enemies a few points at a time?
You can do that too. Want to be melee focussed or rely on ranged attacks? The choice is yours.
This might not make sense, but Im going with it anyway: you might have played games like Dust before, but youve never played a game like
Dust.
- Take control of Dust, a warrior searching for his true purpose, as he joins forces with the mystical Blade of Ahrah and its guardian, Fidget, to
save the world of Falana from an army unlike any before it!
- Explore an incredible hand-painted world!
- Match wits and weapons against challenging monsters!
- Take on side-quests from a cast of colorful, fully-voiced characters!
- Craft dozens of items and discover Falana's rarest treasures!
- Compete against your friends' high scores in ranked Challenge Arenas!
AN ELYSIAN TAIL
Immerse yourself in a gorgeous hand-painted world on a search for your true identity. As the mysterious warrior, Dust, your action-packed
journey will take you from peaceful glades to snowy mountaintops and beyond. At your disposal is the mythical Blade of Ahrah, capable of
turning its wielder it into an unstoppable force of nature, and the blade's diminutive guardian, Fidget.
Battle dozens of enemies at once with an easy-to-learn, difficult-to-master combat system, take on a variety of quests from friendly villagers,
discover ancient secrets and powerful upgrades hidden throughout the massive, open world, and uncover the story of an ancient civilization
on the brink of extinction as you fight to uncover your own past.
SCREENSHOTS
These screens are precisely as ace as the game looks when you play it. Only instead, imagine the glorious animation at 60fps. Its kind of beautiful.
Those things are terrifying.
TRAILERS / VIDEOS
Dust: An Elysian Tail - XBLA Launch Trailer - YouTube
http://wallba.se/DustAET_Launch_Trailer.zip
REVIEWS
Im only going to post the safe reviews here. Id urge everyone to avoid reading them willy-nilly because you will have things spoiled for you
that its really, really better to leave unspoiled. The reviews I've linked to are safe and spoiler free.
The Controller Online 9.0
Beautiful to look at, and fun to play, Dust is the must have title in this years Summer of Arcade. In fact, its just a must have.
IGN 8.5 [ame="http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xsso29_dust-an-elysian-tail-review_videogames"](video review)[/ame]
An Elysian Tail is a rare example of artisanal game craft. Conventional wisdom says that can't happen anymore, but Dust proves otherwise.
TIME 5/5
So heres your chance to visit gamings future that might have been with one of the best-looking side-scrollers ever made for 1,200 Microsoft
Points (about $15). Its a triumph of animation and platforming thats right up there with Michael Ancels Rayman Origins, and thrice as
impressive given its comparably-nothing design team.
God is a Geek 9.0
Since Konami took Castlevania in a different direction, there hasnt been a decent, original RPG-tinged platformer of this ilk since the Order of
Ecclesia game for Nintendo DS. Dust more than makes up for lost time and is supremely enjoyable, old-school experience that also happens
to be one of the best looking games available of Microsofts downloadable service.
Console-Arcade 5/5
We cant find a bad word to say about Dust: An Elysian Tail. Usually, even with the best games, therell be things you can look at and say that
could have been done differently. Rarely, and in the case of Dust, you look at it and wouldnt change a single thing.
The Verge 8.0
Any game can borrow from the stuff that made Metroid and Castlevania into legends, but few put those elements to such good use as Dust.
That looks raw!
When I'm done with Skyrim I'll pick this up, I'm a sucker for Metroidvania games
