2005 Independent Game Mid-Terms
As we have reached the mid-way point in 2005
Game Tunnel takes a moment to pause and look back at the first six months and
how things are going in the Indie gaming world with our yearly Mid-Term Report
Card. While the number of Indie titles seems to be growing at an
astronomical rate is the quality of Indie games also improving?Â
We take a look at each of the categories and
break them down with report-card styled grades and a look at the best two games
that each genre has to offer (listed in alphabetical order, we're not getting
ahead of our year-end article). Want to know the whole scoop? Just
keep reading! You can also use the report card to the right to navigate
the entire article.
As
is commonly the case, Indie games tend to show their stuff in the Action
Category. There are few places outside of the Independent Gaming world
where you can find quick action games like the arcade games of yesteryear.Â
Those yearning for the arcade experience, without having to plop in all the
quarters should not miss out on this year's offerings, which are highlighted by
the games below in addition to more mainstream offerings like
Dark Horizons: Lore
Invasion. Overall Grade: A-
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Clash 'N' Slash |
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Why is it that simple things are often the most
entertaining? In Clash'N'Slash you control a single ship
trying to save your planet from an endless alien onslaught!Â
Originality at its best! The game play though is quite
different than your typical shooter. The ship stays in a tight
orbit around your planet moving as you direct it and blasting
the enemies. A good number of planet and ship upgrades take this
game from being mindless game to a great game that is simply fun. |
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Ultratron |
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This clearly is a Robotron clone, so why all the
fuss? Well there are million 'Doom' or FPS clones out there,
but there are some that stand above the pack because they of all the
intangibles that simply work. Much of the same can be said in
regards to Ultratron. This Robotron-esque game takes all the
fast action of Robotron, but makes it a lot more fun than the
original could have hoped to be with graphics and power-ups.Â
At $9.95 it's an easy buy. |
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What we're looking forward to: Alien Shooter 2 |
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Alien
Shooter was one of the best games of 2003, and after a couple of
great
expansion packs expanded the Alien Shooter world in 2004 we were
left wanting and wanting for more. In 2005 the wait ends with
the expected release of the Alien Shooter 2 expected in December.Â
The graphics are visually stunning, among the best looking
screenshots I've seen in an Indie Game showing great lighting
effects in the Diablo-esque graphic world. Definitely one to
watch for! |
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Our
inclusive adventure category that also includes both quest and platform styled
games has suffered this year. Each of the last two years some of the top
games of the year have come from this category (such as last year's winner
Gish and the
2003 winner Starscape).Â
However this year, despite a couple of good games the overall performance has
been pretty average. Look for that to pick up later in the year,
especially if the games everyone is waiting for, the clay graphics game Cletus
Clay Overall grade:Â B.
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Deadly Rooms of Death:Â Journey to Rooted Hold |
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Those who only look at the screenshots or the
in-game graphics of DROD and walk away just don't deserve what the
game has to offer. DROD plays something between puzzle and
adventure with a strong medieval theme. You must carefully
take your character through dungeons filled with enemies and traps,
each move must be carefully planned to clear each room. A
great game for a slow afternoon, and one that embodies the Indie
spirit. |
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Summer Schoolgirls |
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Hanako Games continues to make games that your wife
would love to play if she knew they existed (and husbands would
probably find themselves more interested than they would have
thought). Summer Schoolgirls is more of a digital
novel than a game, where you try to create friendships with other
girls in the dorms before starting at the university. The 'game'
is in trying to understand each of the game's rather singular
personalities. Different, but that's not a bad thing. |
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What we're looking forward to: Cletus Clay |
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Anyone who has played the now-dated, but extremely well-known
Platypus
has already seen the work of
Squashy Software.Â
As good as that game looked, Cletus Clay looks to be a generation
beyond what we saw in Platypus. While graphics are all nice
and good, without good game play it hardly matters. From early
reports of those who have been privileged to play Cletus, the game
play will not disappoint and it may be the best game released this
year...if it somehow is released this year...which seems unlikely,
but here is to hoping! |
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This
year has the impossible task of following up on
BreakQuest, an
arkanoid game that was so much better than any other arkanoid game ever that
it wound up on many people's top 5 lists of the best games available last year
(and it topped quite a few of those lists). So how does 2005 follow up
on such success? Well so far not very well. There has been the
usual smattering of Breakout styled games, many of which are good and
entertaining, but nothing that has really stood up to last year's
champion...and again, following in those footsteps is not a task anyone should
envy. Overall grade: C+.
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Bricks of Camelot |
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Bricks of Camelot is the follow up to
Bricks of
Egypt. The concept is one that I found immediately
approachable. It takes the game of arkanoid and applies a cool
medieval theme. The game play offers a few new twists here and
there, enough to keep you playing for a good bit. Overall it
is a worthy addition to the arkanoid world that maintains the
addictive nature of this genre games that keeps people coming back
for more and more. |
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Sunny Ball |
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Reflected Games went a slightly different route with
this game focusing on a more graphic-centric approach. The
result is a solid arkanoid game that has some very-well drawn levels
that you break your way through. Typically brick-busting games
try to make pictures from the bricks, this one make bricks from the
pictures, and the result is definitely visually appealing. The
upbeat sound ads to the game making it very sunny indeed. |
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each of the games released so far this year has merits and faults and all
deserve at least some of your time, but the jury is still out on how solid
this year's puzzle game crop will be. To this point we can see that the
production quality of the games in the puzzle category, like other categories,
has improved greatly. The Clay-esque graphics of Harvest Lines and
interesting quest and normal modes of Chromentum both show some of the
strengths in the group, while Treasure Fall is what I think to be the first
"cool gamer's" puzzle game, meaning that you can play it without getting
called a wus for playing puzzle games. Overall grade: A-.
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Wonderland Secret Worlds |
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Don't let the colorful graphics and Mr. Potatohead-inspired
characters with silly hats fool you, this game is definitely not
meant just for kids. Wonderland Secret Worlds offers just the right
combination of old-school arcade gameplay and extremely challenging
puzzles to succeed in being appealing to a very broad player
audience. No matter which player category you belong to, once you
start playing, you'll probably keep at it until you finish the game,
and when you do you'll feel a sense of loss when it's over. |
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Zzed |
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Tired of playing Zuma and Luxor yet? Well Zzed
may be just what you are looking for. This game does share a
little in common with those two games, but the good news is it is
WAY better than either of them. The ability to move your ship
about and the space theme fit me just fine and made this game a joy
to play. This is another case that while there are always a
lot of games that seem similar, some stand head and shoulders above
the pack. |
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What we're looking forward to: Mr. Robot |
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The farther this game gets into development the less it looks like a
puzzle game. In fact at this point it is really a stretch to
be putting it here. Nevertheless it was first announced as a
logic puzzle game with adventure undertones (the latest addition to
the game was an RPG element...I'd currently call the game an
adventure platformer with the logically connected puzzles.Â
Either way, this game, the first from Moonpod since their amazing
Starscape looks to be a sure winner, and there are plenty of people
following along the
monthly
updates being posted by the developer. |
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the indie world RPG games tend to be the ones that EVERYONE starts and that
really no-one seems to finish. This year is really is more of the same
on that theme with only a new title in the Geneforge series to showcase the
RPG category. Due to the lack of titles, and not the lack of
quality of the one real title that was completed, the score here is pretty
low. However, hope always springs eternal, and we'll hope for the
completion of a couple more games we have our eyes on by the end of the year.Â
Overall grade: C-.
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Geneforge 3 |
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Those who are seeing the Geneforge series for the
first time here are likely to quickly decide that the graphics are
not up to par with what they expect out of a game and to dismiss the
game entirely. Again this is a case of "it's your loss."Â
The Geneforge series has been going on for some time, with game
after game coming from the heralded Jeff Vogel to a rabid fan base.Â
Why are they rabid? For those who go past the graphics you'll
quickly see why. |
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What we're looking forward to: Mount & Blade |
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Mount & Blade's
screenshot certainly contrasts with Geneforge in the graphic
department. Looking at the screenshots it is sure to illicit
thoughts of the horseback riding scenes from the upcoming Zelda:
Twilight Princess. This one actually was entered into the
IGF last year as Warrider. The game focuses on many RPG
aspects, including journeying from town to town to carry out quests,
but the real highlight is the horseback battles. We're hoping
to see it finished by the end of the year, and it really does look
plausible, which should be a good thing for gamers. |
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So
what is it about Tennis? Strangely, there have been 4 Indie Tennis games
released in the last 2 years. What is odd about that is that it is
nearly 1/3 of all the Independent sport games that has been released.Â
Sport games in the independent world continue to elude developers, and the
slow marketplace for independently created sport games probably won't score
any big winners in the near future. Overall grade: C-.
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Anime Bowling Babes |
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Focusing on graphics before game play Anime Bowling
Babes certainly looks well above average for an indie game.Â
Combining that with the Tokamak physics engine anticipation was
running high for this title. Unfortunately the game comes out
a bit stilted and will likely leave players wanting for something a
bit more entertaining. The focus on the 'babe' aspect of the
games is a bit overdone while the focus on the game has been a bit
underdone. |
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Future Pool |
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Future Pool actually plays a bit more like a game of
marbles than a pool game, not that that is a bad thing. In
fact Future Pool is really an entertaining little game that takes
the game of pool, and puts it into a different arena...a round
arena. The whole game is done with a minimalist theme that
keeps the focus on the game play. Adding multiple players
makes it a pretty enjoyable game.Â
Future Pool is different and Indie sport games could do with a few more titles like this
one. |
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What we're looking forward to: Universal Soccer Manager 2 |
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Unfortunately there isn't much info on this one, but what we do have
is a track record that is really quite solid. Winter Wolves
has become the indie developer of sport games releasing 2 last year
Universal
Boxing Manager and
The
Goalkeeper to go along with Universal Soccer Manager which was
released the year before. They have a definite flair for
understanding the SIM side of sports while mixing it with action as
the opportunity presents itself. So while little is known
about USM2, it's a very safe bet that you will more than get your
money's worth out of it. |
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Getting
two games here was a bit of a stretch. Depending on how you define
simulation one of these games may not even be a sim in your book. It's
been an interesting year for sim games. Unlike last year which saw some
of the top games available come through the sim category (with the
presidential elections in the US) this year has one very strong, very obvious
sim game; other than that pickings are slim . Overall grade:Â
B.
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Cellblock Squadrons |
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Cellblock Squadrons is a space combat sim (ie space
shooter). What really sets this game apart is the focus on the
story, which has you living as a prisoner and fighting your way back to
freedom. The goal isn't to reach the end-boss and save all of
humanity, it is actually to save your own character from either
death or imprisonment while working with your squad of inmates.Â
It is a great premise and the graphics, especially the lighting, are
really quite amazing. |
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Democracy |
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Unlike the presidential simulators last year that
only went through the election, Democracy takes you through your
entire presidency and multiple elections as you try to lead the
country to a better life. Want to ban same-sex marriages?Â
Legalize marijuana? You call the shots and watch what happens.Â
Will you be impeached or lead the country to greatness?Â
Democracy is one of the best political sims ever created! |
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Also Consider:Â Tots 'n' Togs |
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What we're looking forward to: Wildlife Tycoon: Venture
Africa |
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The game that we are looking forward to most here is
Wild Earth, however, with that game picking up a worldwide
publisher, the indie status of the game is now in question, so we'll
talk about another wildlife-based game that also happens to be set
for release this year.Â
Wildlife Tycoon:
Venture Africa sends you to Africa to solve puzzles and lets you see
the world through the eyes of any of the animals. The game
has no people in it, so the entire focus is on the animals.Â
Those playing on Mac/Linux will see the game before the Windows
crowd for a change, hopefully within the next couple of months. |
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Strategy
games this year have been absolutely amazing. Darwinia generated a lot
of press with good reason, but it certainly isn't the only great indie title
out there. Beyond the three we mention there are two other great games you
can't go wrong with:
Supremacy and
Tribal Trouble. These in addition to the games featured below
are not only among the best strategy games, but among the best games
released this year, mainstream or indie. It is easy to see why this
category received such high marks. Overall grade: A.
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Darwinia |
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Darwinia is a unique game. It's a mix of different
genres and is presented in a graphic and game play style that is
so distinctive that it is hard to classify it. It's moddable, it's beautiful, it's intuitive. Darwinia
is a masterpiece of gaming and a tribute to how innovative indie
game developers can be. If you are looking for a game that will give
you an experience that is totally unlike anything else
available, and is top-of-the-line in terms of quality Darwinia is
your game. |
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Oasis |
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Oasis is actually a game we thought was going to
be released last year after it won the Game of the Year award at the
IGF. Despite the long wait the game hasn't been tarnished at
all and it doesn't take long to see how remarkable it is. It plays like
a game of Civilization in 3 minutes flat without sacrificing very
much in terms of depth. A simply amazing game that, like Darwinia, is among the best games (not just indie games) available so
far this year. |
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What we're looking forward to: Trash |
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The game that people have been waiting and drooling over for years
is now nearly complete! With the game in Open Beta, many people
have been able to check out this RTS and all are coming away with
glowing feedback. With solid graphics and maps that scale to
the number of players...to a maximum number of 24, Trash is
a great game. The real treat comes in the game play that has
been tweaked and improved for the last couple of years and presents
a game that is sure to find its way to many LAN parties once it is
released...and the time is soon at hand! Read our
preview for a deeper look. |
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Conclusion...?
This year has been a little different for Indie
games. In our Monthly Round-Up there hasn't yet been an Editor's choice
winner, and until we hit April we were starting to wonder what kind of year we
were going to experience in Indie games. Thankfully
April
showed off a good number of quality indie titles, and the rest of the year looks
to improve on that strong month with a number of sequels that we are excited about.Â
Often the games that we don't hear about until they are
released end up being the most amazing, so keep your eyes here forÂ
things to come.
By: Russell Carroll
Posted: Thursday June 30, 2005
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