Bastion begins Chrome browser gaming push

Narrative-driven isometric action game Bastion kicked off this year's Xbox Live Summer of Arcade to a glowing critical reception. The debut effort from developer Supergiant Games, Bastion is again leading off a promotional push. This one is for the Google Chrome browser's new Native Client technology.

Native Client provides developers with access to lower-level hardware than traditional Javascript and other similar Web coding languages. According to Google, this provides a significant performance boost for intensive number-crunching applications, such as games. Native Client is also said to facilitate the use of existing code in a Web environment, resulting in a less labor-intensive porting process for developers.

The Native Client version of Bastion launched via the Chrome Web Store yesterday for $15. Creative director of Supergiant Games Greg Kasavin said that this version is not compromised, uses the high-quality 1080p art found in the PC version, and runs as smoothly as the PC and Xbox 360 versions of the game.

Supergiant isn't the only gaming company jumping on the Native Client bandwagon. Square Enix announced that it too will be bringing games to the Chrome Web Store. Mini Ninjas for Chrome will be the first Square Enix game to hit the browser, with an open beta this month and more games promised over the next year.