2004 Special Awards

The special awards allows us to do a few of things. The first is to award a few awards (how about 10?) for things that probably wouldn't be noticed otherwise. The second is to award a best of in some categories where we didn't feel we had enough solid competitors to do a full best five games of the category breakdown. Beyond those two goals it also gives us a chance to vent a little and of course chat about our favorite topic, Indie gaming.

Most Over-Hyped Release

There were a few games that we put up for this award. The first top candidate was for Dark Horizons: Lore. DH:L is considered by many to be the first real release of Garage Games, the group behind the Torque engine and the original Tribes. The only problem is, it hasn't been released. When it first came out there were quite a few bugs to clean up, and so Garage Games has put the game into what they call the "early adopters" stage, which means they are selling the game, but it hasn't been released yet (cough public beta). They have however made a lot of headway and made the game much better overtime, which leads us to believe that the idea is something that shows the strength of indie developers of supporting their product, however, since it isn't released yet we had to move our focus to another near professional indie developer, Reflexive and their breakout title Ricochet Lost Worlds.

Ricochet Lost Worlds is without a doubt on of the best looking breakout titles to come out in a little while, with a couple of interesting features and some slick level design. In fact it was good enough to end up 4th overall in our Arkanoid category awards this year. So why is it the most over-hyped release of the year? Well because frankly it received all kinds of lip-service from people who were convinced that it was the best breakout/Arkanoid game ever released. The interesting thing is that it isn't even close and those who state as such clearly don't play many games of this game type. The sales numbers certainly do show the following the game has had though, and it only proves further that people tend towards style over substance. RLW is a good game, but it finished 4th in the breakout category for the year, and it honestly doesn't deserve better.

Deja-Vu all Over Again Award

In the indie realm we see quite a few games that find their way to shelves multiple times. That isn't a bad thing in my eyes, as an ok game will often come back as a much better game. Take for example the game Orbz. This award winner from last year was first released as a multiplayer only game. Problem was that just weren't enough people playing online for you to be able to play the game (unless you wanted to scout around the arena by yourself for hours on end). The developers responded an gave us Orbz 2, which really wasn't a sequel, but a repackaged game that added a whole bunch of single-player levels. The game flat-out rocked and ended up among our Top 10 Games of 2003.

So fast forward to 2004, 3 games really caught our eyes as taking an old game and improving it, Starlines Inc was repackaged as Starship Tycoon, Dark Archon became Dark Archon -Invasion-, and Juno Nemesis became Juno Nemesis Remix. Of the three we came down to a toss-up between the last three on the list as far as which one was really the winner.

Juno Nemesis was a great game when it was first released in 2002. The graphics were sharp and the game was a fantastic evolution of the old Gyruss concept. The only problem was that the game was far too difficult. In addition to having to take out the inner circle, you also had to take out an outer circle. Moving back and forth between the two required swapping by using a button on your joystick. The problem came in because it was too difficult to keep track of both circles, and you quickly ended up dead.

Flash forward to the end of 2003, just after our cutoff for the 2003 awards. Juno Nemesis Remix was released and it is a breath of fresh air for the game. Not only were the confusing inner and outer circles reduced to just an inner circle, but the game also got a complete facelift that was topped off by cool power-ups and some slick navigation menus. The game unfortunately still hasn't been properly appreciated and you won't find it on any of the game portals. Demo Link

Dark Archon was an above average space shooter when it was released in early 2003. The game suffered from somewhat repetitive game play, below average 3D models and poor overall graphics despite some pretty cool special effects. While it did innovate some great game play that those who played it to the end enjoyed (playing as one member of a huge space army is still a blast that this game is appreciated for, army of one will only get you killed in Dark Archon) the game fell pretty flat in its target audience.

Flash forward to early 2004 and the game was also completely revamped much like Juno Nemesis. The graphics were redone from top to bottom with different ships, beautiful new backgrounds and even more cool special effects. Some of the less exciting play types, like the races, were removed and replaced with more cloak-and-dagger type missions into the enemies terrain. The sound was also redone with different sound tracks. The only unfortunate side to the change over was the removal of the co-operative two-player mode that the developer said was unused. Much like Juno Nemesis Remix this game has received a bit more coverage, but hasn't yet been properly appreciated. Demo Link

Best Intro

Definitely one of those awards that is in the eye of the beholder. There are more and more indie games that are trying to catch up with the mainstream by offering some cinematics at the beginning of the game. This year I of the Enemy was one of those games. Unfortunately, despite some great models and fantastic sound, the game's intro fell just short due to the texturing that was done, or rather not done on the models.

Best Intro this year instead goes to a game that most people will think has a very simple opening sequence by comparison: Flatspace. While the intro may be simple, it does an excellent job of sucking you right into the game and pushing you into another world. Most indie games skip the intro, which considering the budgets and the technology they have and have to compete against, seems appropriate. However, we wanted to reward Flatspace for going the extra mile anyway and showing why simple can still mean really cool.

Best FPSS (First-Person Space Shooter)

While there are more and more First Person Shooter games coming out every second it is interesting to note that the mainstream audiences have started to lag behind Indie games when it comes to Space Shooters. Not only in innovation, but also in quantity and even quality in some cases. Don't believe it? I would dare you to take a look at Starshatter and tell me of a better overall produced space shooter on the market today.

Beyond the glistening Starshatter there are a host of other really good space shooters, from the fan favorites Star Wraith series, to Riftspace, Chain of Command, Dark Ore, Galactic Federation, Rock Station, the stunning Sector 13, and of course the game we gave the 2004 Multiplayer game of the year award to, Void War. Even with that list there are a few titles of note that are missing. In the end this is Starshatter's award as it is clearly above the rest of the pack in several areas.

2004 RPG Game of the Year Award - Anito: Defend a Land Enraged

Last year we combined the RPG, Strategy, Simulation and Sports category into a single category and gave out a best of 5 in the category as there were so few games from each of those categories that we couldn't possibly come up with 5 games in each of them to even fill out the category, let alone to have a 'best five.' Of course combining the categories wasn't so bright either, so we didn't do it that way this year. Instead we bring you the best RPG game that came out this year without mentioning some of the other great Role-Player's this year, like Blades of Avernum. (oh wait...too late)

The RPG game of the year this year is a game that many might consider to really be an adventure game, and they wouldn't be all that far off. Anito: Defend a Land Enraged is at least as focused on the adventure that you are undertaking as it is in the real 'role-playing' elements. However, it is still based strongly enough in playing the role of either of the two main characters that we felt it fit more firmly in the RPG category than anywhere else.

Anito: DLE is a wonderful game that start to finish is one of the best Indie games to have come out in the last year in addition to being the best Role-Player. The greatest part of the fun of this game comes from getting involved in the story and really feeling like you have become part of the conflict. In many RPG games, talking to people was just something that you did to make it so that you could move on to the next scene. In Anito, talking to the other characters in the game is actually an interesting experience as the plots and tasks in the game are so interwoven with different people and full of character that the conversations bring excitement as you close in on understanding the mystery of where your father has gone and what is really happened in the land. The game gets even more twisted as you can play through as one of two characters, who are interacting in the same story, though in different ways. By playing each of the characters you come up with a completely different angle on what is happening (something akin to he said/she said, though that is a poor description at best). The game provides many hours of fun and is an absolute must for anyone who considers themselves to be a fan of the genre.

Our Review:
"For the number of hours that you will play this game, the depth of the game play and the overwhelmingly involved story, it is amazing that the game is only $20."

Best Strategy Game

We were real close to doing the best of strategy category as a full blown category this year. Like last year we had a couple of really good strategy games this year, but unfortunately we just didn't have enough to write out the full category (though that would have been a different story if the amazing game Oasis had been released as promised...what happened to that game anyway? PopCap had it and then ...oh the waiting...).

Some of the other solid releases this year included the interesting but not quite up to par Leylines, now you see it, now you don't game of World Fables (is there a new publisher for that one yet?), the very interesting, though ultimately short-lived Bontãgo, the wonderful sounding but thus far unappreciated I of the Enemy (that came this close to winning the award), and the winner...

Who is the winner? Well that is the question after all, but the answer isn't quite so easy. Slitherine Strategies has put out a host of really good games this year, the only problem is figuring out where one ends and the next begins. Beginning with the IGF decorated Spartan, Slitherine Strategies focused right in on their Roman theme for the year. They then followed that up with the Expansion Pack turned outright game Gates of Troy. The differences between the two games really comes down to Gates of Troy having more of a good thing, so that one is the game we selected here, but since it really plays more like an expansion pack, it was a tough call. Either way, if you are looking for a great strategy game this year that adds world-building and a great focus on detail, Slitherine Strategies' titles will leave you amazed that they are Indie titles.

Best Indie Console Game

It was a year much unlike any other. With the launch of the XBox live arcade service Indie games went prime time. The 2002 Game Tunnel Indie game of the Year award winner Mutant Storm joined a host of other Indie games online, such as the eye-poping Guardian and the previously discussed Ricochet Lost Worlds. Among the group was a game that many used to know by another name. Fuzzee Fever, the only indie game so far available exclusively for the XBox, was an IGF finalist earlier this year when the game was called Fuzzee Teevee.

The game features some great party game play for 2-4 players that involves both puzzle and action in such a way that the game I think is only described as a puzzle game by those who are having trouble figuring out just how to categorize the game. What isn't hard to categorize is just how fun the game is. If it was a little easier to get a copy it would have definitely been a strong finisher in our multiplayer category, but as it is, the game is a wonderful recipient of our Best Indie Console game award this year, beating out another great indie console game Alien Hominid.

Best New Character

Since when is tar a character? Well this year it definitely is, and Gish made a big splash (squish) when it became available to the public back in May. The game is wonderful, and the real reason for that is the amazing abilities that Gish has at his disposal. In addition to squishing down to a small size, Gish also can use his body and its amazing physics to pull down walls, swing across rooms and bounce up into new and interesting areas.

Much like another new cool character this year, Wik, Gish goes a long ways towards making the game a very singular experience to play. Being a cool new character is all about style and Gish has it in spades. In fact if we were awarding an award for the best indie website this year the Gish site would have one that one as well, check it out and see why!

Best Expansion Pack

We just cannot get enough of Alien Shooter. After finishing in the top five of our games last year, it was no surprise when the expansion packs started coming for Alien Shooter. So far we have seen two, and while unfortunately neither have added new cool weapons to the fray or multiplayer abilities, each have given a lot more levels to take on. The first of the two expansion packs, Fight For Life, was a pretty solid addition to the first game that added more great action.

The second of the two expansion packs, entitled The Experiment, did quite a bit more for us than the first did, by adding new monsters, new music and finally a little bit of a change of scenery. Here is to hoping that Sigma-Team keeps up the good work and aims for a sequel to this great game in the coming year.

Freeware Game of the Year

Freeware isn't really what Game Tunnel is about, but that doesn't mean we don't get the chance to play a lot of the indie freeware that comes out. In fact we got to play a decent sampling again this year and found another gem, much like last year's amazing game Notrium.

This year the good surprise came from a a new character that resembles nothing more than a water droplet. His name and Glace and in this game that is supposedly aimed for the teenage audience you'll find plenty of challenge to keep even the best gamer tied for some time. Glace is a side-scrolling adventure game that employs some low-color graphics, but gives out a big-time fun adventure. For those who yearn for the creativity of the side-scrolling 2D adventures of Super Mario, Glace is a game that you will definitely want to check out.

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By: Russell Carroll
Posted: Thursday December 30, 2004