4th Place

Tennis Critters [by Nerdriot published by GarageGames]

Our Review

The best part about sport games in my mind is the challenge.  Once you have figured out how to beat the computer all the time, the real and lasting challenge comes from online play.  With so many different people, and the human errors that will often occur, online matches are more fun that playing alone could ever be. 

Tennis Critters unfortunately suffers a little from having too small of an online community.  You are not likely to catch people there at all hours of the day and will need to find a scheduled match in order to compete.  However, when you are able to play, it is fun experience to be had.

Score:  3.5

3rdPlace

Samurai [by Klear]

Review

Already the Best independent game of the year in the "other" category and the Independent game with the best Sound this year, Samurai has collected plenty of awards and fell short in this category, though it is clear that the game itself is not given to short-comings.

The online mode actually seemed totally unnecessary, as the computer AI, which is really the single-most amazing part of the game, doesn't leave you thinking that you are missing out in having great competition to play against.  However, online mode is always interesting in this type of a game.  Pitting your own strategy and great mind against another person in a thrilling battle of wits.  Samurai gives you a great battleground to carry out this thrilling battle, and is an absolute joy to play online.

Score:  2.67

2nd Place

Think Tanks [by Bravetree published by GarageGames]

Our Review

Think tanks is a tale of two games.  There is a normal 1-player mode, and then there is a killer online multi-player mode.  Playing by yourself isn't a great joy, and you'll probably never really get into the game and think it is a great game if you play it that way. 

Playing online with tanks zooming around and bullets flying is a great adventure in excitement that keeps players coming back for hours on end, and keeps the online servers very busy.  You definitely won't have a difficult time finding someone to play against in Think Tanks, and if you can out think your many opponents, you might end up the smartest tank brain of them all!

Score:  2.33

1st Place

Orbz [by 21-6 Productions published by GarageGames]

Our Review

Orbz was one of the most nominated games at the beginning of the awards, but judges opinions being what they are, it ended up in the middle of most every category it was nominated for.  That is it was in the middle until now.

One thing that everyone agrees upon is that there is no more fun online game than Orbz.  At first this may seem strange, as the game doesn't have anyone running around with guns and it doesn't involve blasting people to pieces.  However, the games simple but extremely addictive game play tends to ensnare the most un-suspecting of game players, who quickly find themselves dazzled by the wonderful graphics, great sounds, and the amazing challenge of the Orbz online community.  Rankings are cumulative based on matches played, and are continually updated online where you'll rarely ever not find several games going on.  Rankings only include the last 30 days of play, so the top of the list is always a changing item, and as soon as you start playing a few games, you'll find yourself quickly moving up the list.

The game features many different surroundings that are colorful and beautiful, even if the graphics are fairly simple.  Game play is centered around firing a single ball through the air as you attempt to hit stars that are floating in and all around different structures.  You control the speed and the direction that the ball will go.  Fire something away too fast, and you'll be flying way past your target, run it too slow and it will never get there.  Then of course there are those tricky up and over shots, or the nearly impossible bank shots.  It all of course gets much more difficult as you realize there is another player right next to you who is aiming for the same star you have in your sights!  The ensuing stress and excitement of the competition is something that has to be tried to be understood. Those who try rarely get offline in less than many hours.  Orbz is a wonderful game to play, and was an easy winner for the best Indpendent Networked Game of the Year!

Score:  1.33