XBLA Summer of Arcade lineup announced

Microsoft has unveiled the lineup for this year's Summer of Arcade promotion, which it uses to highlight the latest and greatest Xbox Live Arcade releases. It'll kick off in July, bringing a swish new XBLA game for five consecutive weeks.

This year's Summer of Arcade games will be Toy Soldiers: Cold War, Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet, Fruit Ninja Kinect, Bastion, and From Dust. As ever, you can click on their names for screenshots and trailers and whatnot. Specific release dates and pricing have yet to be confirmed for the full lineup.

If you haven't heard of these games before, here's Microsoft's short descriptions and a trailer giving a quick look at the whole lot:

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Toy Soldiers: Cold War (Signal Studios/Microsoft Studios)


    Jump into the fray with playful '80s combat action in "Toy Soldiers: Cold War." Bring your favorite action toys to life and wage war against the red menace. Need backup? Call in a friend for co-op campaign action on the couch or over Xbox LIVE. Take a break from the main battle with Survival mode and playful minigames. When you beat your LIVE friends' scores, they'll be gunning to reclaim the top spot!

    Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet (Fuelcell/Microsoft Studios)

    This side-scrolling, 2-D, action-adventure game takes players on a journey through the curious Shadow Planet worlds, unique environments filled with twisted life, surreal ecologies, hostile creatures and environmental hazards. Players explore the depths of several interconnected themed areas, fighting swarms of enemies, battling bosses, solving mind-bending puzzles and acquiring power-ups to unlock new parts of the map.

    Fruit Ninja Kinect (Halfbrick/Microsoft Studios)

    The worldwide gaming phenomenon "Fruit Ninja" is now coming to Kinect for Xbox 360 in its juiciest form yet - YOU are the ninja! Your arms are now blades, and the battle against the world's most delicious produce is just beginning. "Fruit Ninja Kinect" is an amazing evolution of the slice-em-up genre created by Halfbrick, utilizing next-generation precision power for the juiciest combat ever!

    Bastion (Supergiant Games/Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment)



    From Dust (Ubisoft Montpellier/Ubisoft)

    Discover a unique Modern God game in which nature is the star. "From Dust" is the latest original concept by Eric Chahi, visionary creator of "Another World." Behold the beauty of a primitive world pulsing with life and face the might of nature. Beware the danger of a world that is constantly changing under your command. Control the destiny of a tribe struggling to survive and help it recover its ancestors' lost powers. Immerse yourself in a world as exotically beautiful as it is dangerous. A universe where nature reclaims what is hers and you are your people's only chance of survival.