When Double Fine Studios announced that they would be moving away from developing larger budget console titles and focusing on smaller downloadable titles it left fans of the developer scratching their heads. But when we saw that those downloadable offerings would be games like Stacking and Costume Quest, much of that confusion wore off, and was instead replaced with a "gimme more" enthusiasm.
Double Fine has since completed their quartet of downloadable titles that they planned on releasing — which included the aforementioned titles, Iron Brigade, and Sesame Street: Once Upon a Monster — but it appears that they are not yet done with the Kinect. In fact they have a new title called Happy Action Theater that is right around the corner.
Happy Action Theater is more of a collection of Kinect mini-games rather than a focused experience, but it still looks like a ton of fun -- and now it even has a release date (February 1st) and a price (800 MS Points).
A lot of what makes the Double Fine developers unique personalities is contained within the experience of Happy Action Theater. The game essentially looks like a combination of Yoostar and Kinect Adventures with less of an emphasis on competition. Kinect hasn't exactly fared too well in the downloadable space, with the real standout being The Gunstringer, but it's definitely high time for some more downloadable treats on Microsoft's motion control device.
With this being a Kinect title, Happy Action Theater will only be found on the Xbox Live Arcade, and based on the lack of a focused narrative or any real "game" the price tag could be a little steep. But if any of Double Fine's previous efforts are indication, you're not going to want to miss checking this one out regardless.
What do you think of Happy Action Theater, the newest title from Double Fine? Would you like to see Double Fine continue delivering Kinect titles, downloadables, or work on a fully-fledged console release?
Happy Action Theater will be available February 1, 2012 on Xbox Live.
Source: Kotaku