Arcade Next kicks off April 18th with the release of Trials Evolution (1200 Ms Points). Bloodforge (1200 MS Points) follows on April 25th. Week three of Arcade Next belongs to Fable Heroes (800 MS Points), which releases May 2nd, and Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition (1600 MS Points) brings the event to a close on May 9th. It’s a strong lineup – arguably much more appealing than what was on offer for House Party 2012.

Take a look at the Arcade Next trailer below, followed by descriptions from Microsoft’s press release and screenshots of each game.

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Trials Evolution

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Bloodforge

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Fable Heroes

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Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition

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Sharp-eyed readers may have noticed something missing from Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition – Kinect support. Responding to an inquiry from Kotaku, a Microsoft representative issued the following statement.

Anyone want to hazard a guess about how soon that those potential “Kinect-enabled features” are going to arrive? Me neither, though in a pinch, I’d put my money on “not very.” Seriously, the lack of Kinect support comes as a real surprise, since it was one of the first features touted for the 360 port of Minecraft back at E3 2011. Plus, the modding community’s been having all kinds of fun with Minecraft and Kinect.

As for the other games, Trials Evolution is something of a known quantity, both because the Trials formula is well established, and because an an incomplete version of the game leaked earlier in the year. Four-player hack and slash is almost always fun, so Fable Heroes could turn out to be a blast, though I’ll admit to having trouble getting over the game’s art style. Bloodforge is the real question mark of the bunch. Developer Climax is responsible for both Silent Hill: Shattered Memories and last year’s Rocket Knight reboot. Whether that means they’re up to the challenge of delivering a brutal, combat-focused game remains to be seen, though there is no denying how good Bloodforge’s graphics look in the trailer above.

What do you think about Microsoft’s lineup of Arcade Next games? Which titles are you planning to buy? Is $20 too expensive for Minecraft on Xbox 360? Let us know in the comments below.

Once more, with feeling:

Trials Evolution releases April 18, 2012, for 1200 Ms Points.

Bloodforge releases April 25, 2012, for 1200 MS Points.

Fable Heroes releases May 2, 2012, for 800 MS Points.

Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition releases May 9, 2012, for 1600 MS Points.

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Source: Kotaku