The kid wakes up in his bedroll. The world has changed as he knows it. The ground emerges from darkness, forming beneath his feet, seemingly guiding him in the right direction. A mysterious narrator tells us the kid doesn’t stop to ask why — why this is happening — why the world is in the shape it’s in. The narrator informs us the kid is making way to the Bastion, a place to gather during tumultuous times, and this certainly appears to be such a time.

Bastion, the debut title from Supergiant Games, is an action role-playing game that is astute with its use of genre conventions and sublime with its genre progressions. It weaves a tale well told with unprecedented narration and delivers a gaming experience confident in its mechanics and execution. It’s a marvelous start for Supergiant Games.

The kid with no name, aptly referred to throughout the journey as the The Kid, is the stalwart, silent protagonist, who is more comfortable nocking an arrow or cutting through undergrowth than conversing with the strangers he encounters throughout the Wild Unknown.

The Kid soon finds himself in the presence of Rusk, the man narrating the story with a resonant voice that would be well at home amongst campfires with tales to tell. Rusk’s ubiquitous narration, and the story he tells as Bastion unfurls, is understated and full of nuance. It’s the driving force as the Kid makes his way to collect Cores and Shards — the building blocks for the Bastion.

The titular Bastion serves as the world’s hub: A place to build structures such as the Forge to upgrade the weaponry you amass; to a Shrine, a place for the Kid to invoke the Gods, which in turn modifies the world to produce a greater challenge, and yield greater rewards.

It is this flexibility which keeps Bastion fresh from beginning to end. The variety of weapons, ranging from repeating crossbows to hammers to mortars, are satisfying to use and they’re introduced at an intelligent pace. The moment you feel you’ve pierced enough beasts with the pike to set the controller down for the evening, a new weapon comes into play for you to experiment with. The ability to bring two weapons into the field simultaneously, and a secret skill, allows you to tailor the action to your liking.

Bastion is brought to life with outstanding art design. The lush backdrops are accented with flora and fauna, both having curious details and strong concepts, and it is all illuminated by the narrator, who breathes life into the world as you play, giving context to the brush the Kid is about to slice through, or dropping an anecdote about one of the beasties. It’s a fantastic relationship between art and story.

The music of Bastion is also of note, with an eclectic soundtrack that constantly engages. The composer, Darren Korb, calls it “acoustic frontier trip-hop;” I’m not one to argue with that description. And you’re in for a treat the first time you hear the Singer.

Available for 1200 Microsoft Points, Bastion delivers more than enough game to justify its price. If you haven’t downloaded it already, you owe yourself the pleasure to play, and hear, this story.

The above review was submitted by Xbox Lives OSHAN. If you recently picked up an XBLA or retail game that we havent reviewed and would like to submit one why not try emailing TXBVolunteers[at]gmail[dot]com. Were always looking to feature quality community content on our front page.

Over a decade ago, Ion Storm released Deus Ex, an open ended game that offered nearly an unprecedented amount of choice in not only the story decisions a player could make, but just how they could do it. Three years later, a sequel was released, but failed to meet the high expectations of many fans with its simplified design, short length, technical issues, and a decrease in the augmentation abilities that gave the first game its variety. Now, after 8 years in storage, the franchise has returned with Deus Ex: Human Revolution. But will it live up to the lofty expectations established by the first game?

The first thing to note is that Deus Ex: Human Revolution isnt a sequel to Deus Ex or Deus Ex: Invisible War its a prequel. That means you can go directly into the games world without having to know the backstory, as the game builds it for you. Youre put into the shoes of Adam Jensen, a security specialist at Sarif Industries, a company leading the concept of what it means to be post-human by manufacturing and developing mechanical augmentations for humans, allowing us to improve our bodies and our minds by installing new hardware and software within us. On the eve of a big announcement by Sarif Industries, Dr. Megan Reed, a former flame of Jensens, promises to revolutionize augmentation technology with a new announcement. However, Sarif Industries finds itself under attack by an unknown force, Reed and her team are killed, and Jensen is severely injured. The game shifts forward six months, and you once again take control of the newly augmented Adam as youre called back into the services of Sarif Industries to protect their interests from anti-augmentation terrorists and are thrust into a world of conspiracies.

To determine what really happened on the eve of Dr. Reeds death, Adam travels central hub locations, completing quests and gathering evidence. These hubs are not simple pathways to your next mission, but instead a realized world youre encouraged to explore. While you may receive a mission to steal evidence from a police station, the game doesnt limit you to waltzing in the front door. If you explore the hub, youll find alternate pathways, air vents for sneaking, or doors that can be hacked for stealthy access. The game never locks you into a specific path hackers may be able to bypass doors and hack computers, but someone focusing on stealth can usually find an alternate path and take computer or door codes off PDAs carried by the characters. The game rewards you for using openness of the level design to your full advantage, as youll often get additional experience points for discovering hidden, out of the way routes, or youll find eBooks and e-mails that contribute to the games world and help flesh out the stories.

What allows Deus Ex: Human Revolution to offer this variety and freedom is the Augmentation system. Adam can upgrade his abilities (or purchase new ones) using Praxis points, which are available via leveling up, discovering them around the game world, or even purchasing a limited amount of them from shops. These points determine just what Adam can do, and wear. If youre going to go with a lethal gunfight route, you might be interested in upgrades that decrease your damage and weapon recoil. Or if you prefer to sneak behind guards and take them out the non-lethal way, youll find stealth abilities, energy bonuses, and even augmentations that allow you to track enemies and see through walls. Or you could bypass all of that by focusing on hacking augmentations to bypass doors and turn enemy weaponry against them. The beauty is that all of these are valid options, and every level allows you that choice.