You could almost be forgiven for thinking that Limbo is something that Tim “The Nightmare Before Christmas, Corpse Bride” Burton has dreamt up! A fleeting first glance depicts all the elements of these dark brooding stop motion classics and then the nameless boy awakes. His eyes open, burning like white hot pin holes in a darkened empire, the edge of hell then he stands with such fluidity, this is no stop motion animation! This is wonderment on an unparalleled scale.

You play as the nameless boy and begin your journey in the middle of a forest, you are seeking your missing sister and on this journey, this quest you will have to negotiate some rather amazing puzzles, strange savage creatures and some very brutal traps which are sometimes sneakily disguised! Bear traps that could almost be clumps of grass. Trekking through a rather spooky silhouetted forest, climbing trees, swinging on vines, crossing murky, ghostlike waters in a rickety wood boat, through a cumbersome abandoned city, across neon rooftops dropping down floors, leaping over malfunctioning cogs and razor sharp blades in an old fiery factory Limbo is nothing short of Xbox Live Arcade’s game of the year!

The moment you step unsuspectingly onto one of these barbaric devices and get ripped limb from limb. The moment you misplace a delicate footstep and plummet to your death under the sound of breaking bones. The moment a spider like creature from the blackness stakes you through the heart you realise death is at every turn. The game maybe all shades of black and white, but your imagination is full blown colour, you will see red many times! This is were Limbo excels, in a world of high definition, 60 frames per second pursuits, Limbo uses the most powerful of CPU’s to full extent, your mind!

Developed by Danish studio Playdead, remarkably Limbo is Playdead’s first production with Arnt Jensen as Game Director.

A picture says a thousands words… so a video with must say zillions!

If you only buy one Xbox Live Arcade game this year Limbo must be it! Limbo is not only brutal, challenging and simply clever, it sets a new level for 2D side scrolling plaformers. with stunning physics and sounds effects, Microsoft’s Summer of Arcade has kicked off in tremendous fashion!