Microsoft today have revealed that a brand new event will be coming to Xbox Live Arcade in April, bringing with it quite a few games that may just catch your interest. Titled Arcade Next this event……eh, well, it’s just four games released in four weeks, really. But as an added bonus these four titles will be the first to make use of Microsoft’s new policy of allowing Arcade games to have 400-points of Achievements.

Kicking off the event on April 18th (we were right, then) is Trials Evolution, which is sure to please the legions of Trials HD fans around the globe who have been clamouring to learn when RedLynx  vicious sequel would be arriving. It’ll be kicking down the door of Marketplace with a price-tag of 1200MSP.

“Trials Evolution is on every front, the next dimension of the smash-hit, award-winning Trials HD. Bust out of the warehouse into an outdoor world of night and day, curved driving lines, and spectacular scenery. Multiplayer comes alive in your living room or on Xbox LIVE. Build your own tracks with the in-game editor or download those of any other player from the new Track Central. Customise your bike and rider with awesome gear and unique parts, enjoy innovative skill games, try ghost racing, beat your friends’ scores and more! Don’t miss the madness!” states the press release from Microsoft excitedly.

Following Trials Evolution on April 25th is Bloodforge, a hack ‘n’ slash title that’s not been getting very much attention from the gaming media, but looks set to something rather special. It’ll be releasing with a price-tag of, yup, you guessed it, 1200MSP!

“With a brutal combat system, stunning art style, and a deeply compelling story, Bloodforge empowers you to slaughter hordes of demonic soldiers, deformed worshippers, and the gods themselves, using ferocious Rage Kills, devastating Rune attacks, and furious Weapon Combos. Help seal Crom’s fate – and the fate of the rest of the world – in this dark, visceral story of revenge, betrayal, and destiny.” whispered the press release in an awed tone.

Next up is another game whose existence and release date were accidentally revealed by Xbox.com not that long ago. The game I speak of is of course Fable: Heroes, a hack ‘n’ slash game that supports four-player co-op set in the Fable universe, which presumably means that they’ll be an abundance of toilet humour. Hurrah!  It’ll be releasing on May 2nd and, presumably to ease the blow  of the next game’s impressive price-tag, it will only cost 800MSP!

“Fable Heroes is an action-packed, hack-and-slash adventure built for Xbox LIVE Arcade. It delivers a fresh spin on the Fable franchise with a unique art style and gameplay that takes playful competition to the next level. Whether on the couch or using Xbox LIVE, up to four players work together to defeat enemies while also competing with one another to collect gold coins and level up. Precious gold collected in Fable Heroes can be imported into the forthcoming Kinect title, Fable:  The Journey, providing players with a valuable head start from day one.” Said the press release with gusto.

The final title in the Arcade Next line-up, launching on May 9th is none other than Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition, finally making its way to consoles so that millions of people can spend millions of hours constructing millions of pointless things out of millions of bloody blocks. Millions. Still, while the thought of playing Minecraft with your Xbox friends might sound great, the price-tag sure as hell won’t: a whopping 1600MSP is what you’ll have to pay to get your hands on the Xbox 360 version of Minecraft.
“The infinite possibilities in Minecraft just got bigger. Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition brings the global phenomenon to console gamers for the first time. The Xbox LIVE Arcade version of the game features an innovative new crafting interface, natural controller movements, a full Tutorial mode to teach the basics and for the first time in Minecraft, split-screen multiplayer as well as over Xbox LIVE.” said the press release in a futile attempt to draw  eyes away from the price.

So there we have it, three weeks of awesomeness and one week of “OMG, it broke my wallet”. Are you planning on picking any of these babies up? Are you going to get all of them, or will you perhaps laugh at Microsofts attempt to capture your interest and simply go get drunk at the pub instead?