Microsoft Studios is proud to present Arcade Next, a new Xbox Live Arcade promo series scheduled to deliver four hot titles to help gamers burn away any springtime showers that may come between April 18th and May 9th.

Ubisoft and RedLynx’s dirt bike racer Trials Evolution will kick off the proceedings, followed by the weekly Wednesday releases of Climax Studios’ brutal action game Bloodforge, Lionhead’s candy-coated hack-and-slash Fable Heroes, and the long-awaited ‘Xbox 360 Edition’ of indie sensation Minecraft. All four games will feature increased Gamerscore points and up to 30 Achievements to earn.

Here’s an outline of the Arcade Next lineup, plus a slick montage trailer to get you geeked up for the spring Xbox Live Arcade program.

Trials Evolution
Publisher: Microsoft Studios; Developer: Ubisoft/RedLynx
E-10 (Everyone 10+)
April 18 for 1200 Microsoft Points

“Trials Evolution” is the next dimension of the smash-hit, award-winning “Trials HD.” Bust out of the warehouse into an outdoor world of night and day, curved driving lines, and spectacular scenery. Multiplayer comes alive in the living room or on Xbox LIVE.* Build tracks with the in-game editor or download those of any other player from the new Track Central. Customize your bike and rider with awesome gear and unique parts, enjoy innovative skill games, try ghost racing, beat friends’ scores and more! Don’t miss the madness!

Bloodforge
Publisher: Microsoft Studios; Developer: Climax Studios
M (Mature; 17+)
April 25 for 1200 Microsoft Points

With a brutal combat system, stunning art style, and a deeply compelling story, “Bloodforge” empowers you to slaughter hordes of demonic soldiers, deformed worshippers, and the gods themselves, using ferocious Rage Kills, devastating Rune attacks, and furious Weapon Combos. Help seal Crom’s fate – and the fate of the rest of the world – in this dark, visceral story of revenge, betrayal, and destiny.

Fable Heroes
Publisher: Microsoft Studios: Developer: Lionhead Studios
E-10 (Everyone 10+)
May 2 for 800 Microsoft Points

“Fable Heroes” is an action-packed, hack-and-slash adventure built for Xbox LIVE Arcade. It delivers a fresh spin on the “Fable” franchise with a unique art style and gameplay that takes playful competition to the next level. Whether on the couch or using Xbox LIVE, up to four players work together to defeat enemies while also competing with one another to collect gold coins and level up.Precious gold collected in Fable Heroes can be imported into the forthcoming Kinect title, Fable: The Journey, providing players with a valuable head start from day one.

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition
Publisher: Microsoft Studios; Developer: 4J Studios/Mojang
T (Teen)
May 9 for 1600 Microsoft Points

The infinite possibilities in “Minecraft” just got bigger. “Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition” brings the global phenomenon to console gamers for the first time. The Xbox LIVE Arcade version of the game features an innovative new crafting interface, natural controller movements, a full Tutorial mode to teach the basics and for the first time in “Minecraft,” split-screen multiplayer as well as over Xbox LIVE.

You may also be interested in these XBLA articles:

• XBLA Shmup Sine Mora Dated and Trailered (vgblogger.com)
• Review: Alan Wake’s American Nightmare (vgblogger.com)
• Review: Quarrel (vgblogger.com)

Perhaps resigned to the fact that the core Fable titles failed to revolutionize the RPG genre as intended, Lionhead is taking the series on multiple spin-off directions, likely small detours to fill the void until an inevitable Fable 4 comes around. Fable: The Journey was announced last E3, a Kinect-exclusive adventure which appears to be a first-person spellcasting shooter of sorts. Now another spin-off has been announced, and it’s an even more unexpected twist.

Fable Heroes, in development for an Xbox Live Arcade release this spring, is a four-player hack-and-slash romp set within a cartoony tabletop board game reimagination of the series’ realm of Albion. Competitive co-op will be the focus of this out-of-nowhere spin-off as players, controlling their choice of hero represented by adorable patchwork doll avatars, will both work together to slay foes and compete to collect coins, win mini-games, outdo one another in time trials, and jockey for higher leaderboard position. Gold coins will serve as a currency to level up your hero and unlock bonus items in The Journey when it ships later this year.

I’m totally getting a Costume Quest vibe from the cutesy characters and cartoon aesthetic, but obviously the gameplay is very different from that game’s turn-based battle system–Castle Crashers seems to be a more accurate gameplay comparison.

Here’s the first gameplay footage and screenshots. What do you think of Fable‘s new look?

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