Found this interesting XBLA downloadable game recently, and I think it deserves a look. In the vein of Black & White and Populous, From Dust puts the player in the role of a terraforming deity. The world is still primitive and relatively untouched by civilization. Your worshipers are beset by natural disasters: floods, volcanos and rampant wildfires threaten their very existence. It's up to you - using your ability to mold the world around you - to lead them to safety.
For being a downloadable arcade game, From Dust displays some impressive technical muscles; I've never seen an arcade game with such fluid 3D animations and physics engine. As a deity, your main tasks will be absorbing elements of the earth around you (water, dirt, and lava are among your basic options), and then combine them with the natural world to allow your worshipers safe passage. For example, if your tribal devotees are blocked by a river, you can drop a mass of dirt onto the water, making a natural bridge for your people to cross. Pour lava onto a mountain and you can watch it roll down in terrifying waves, even as it hardens to form solid rock. Creating floods and even parting the seas a la Moses are evidently all possible through the game as well.
From Dust is available today, July 27, 2011 on the Xbox360. A PC version is in the works for later this year. Early reviews have praised the game's graphics and concept, while criticizing somewhat clunky controls and the AI pathfinding. Still, it seems like the game continues a streak of impressive Live Arcade additions to the 360 repertoire.
Check out the trailer, after the jump.
