A good logic puzzle game with cute graphics (reminiscent of Metal Slug even), but with its PDA roots showing clearly. The main complaint I have is that the control scheme is awkward. I can see why it's this way instead of a gamepad type of scheme, but a little pathfinding would help. Having to click 8 times to cross an area with no dangers in it seems excessive. In addition, it seems to throw new gameplay elements at you without any explanation, leaving you to do some guesswork. However, the tricky puzzles were pretty fun to solve anyway. - MH

To call Little Soldiers a Lemmings clone with guns would be an insult to just how great a game Little Soldiers is, besides, I'm sure someone else on the panel has already said it. The graphics aren't the greatest, and in fact it's easy to miss important gameplay elements in the somewhat busy brick layouts, but they're more than adequate. The levels are extremely fun, even if they can be frustrating for someone who can't plan ahead, such as your truly. Giving a perfect 10 to a game with numerous technical and design problems? Sure, why not, today we're going to just say that 1 + 1 = 3. Sometimes a game is not necessarily the sum of it's parts, and in the case of Little Soldiers it's much greater than the sum of it's parts. Thank (insert random deity here) for Little Soldiers, it helps the pain caused by other games go away. - GM

The logic game trifecta is complete! This is a good puzzle game - sort of a cross between Sokoban and Boulder Dash with some original stuff too. It's got cute style, but one wonders why a Rock N' Roll game has no background music at all. It's not a fantastic game, but it's good and I didn't get stuck until nearly the end of the demo! - MH

A stylish push puzzle game. Nice graphics and audio. Has some good variety with maps with and without gravity. Cool game. - MK

This could be a good game with a lot of tweaking. The player is so underpowered! Unlike real golf where a hole will take from 3-5 strokes, the best I got here was 14! It's also very screwy to face the way you want and the camera is in too tight and your player will often decide the next best shot is in a random direction (which you can correct with arrow keys). It's colorful, and is really a silly game with a small relationship to golf. I think there is potential, but right now it is confusing and difficult to play. - MH

Ok, I am a sucker for weird looking games. Amju's not quite your regular mini-golf game, as you collect Hearts, Moons and other shapes found in Lucky Charms, and free animals trapped in tiny houses. You have a very short drive but a lot of swings, so it's clear the game isn't interested in punishing you the same way other golf games do. Graphically its reminiscent of Animal Crossing, as cute but much more girl themed (i.e. pink) than most indie games. That strikes me as odd, having worked on my share of girl games (not my first choice, let me tell you :D). For all I know, Amju Jason just might be a brilliant businessman, attempting to drive some profit from the untapped female gaming market... or an anime fan, either works for me. Stacked up against the other bizarre golf games, it's no Ribbit King or Super Monkey Ball (Mini Game) killer, but Amju is still a nice game. - MK

While it won't win any awards for originality, it does score points for bucking the hamster trend and going gerbil instead. This game is great (stressful) fun, and extremely well put together, with an awfully cute gerbil to boot. I have no complaints! - MH

Not a bad game in any definition of the word, but I couldn't help wishing I was playing Hamsterball instead.  The big difference between the two in my mind is that in that game you control the ball, in this one you control the platforms, which you tip in order to make the ball move...I know it's not that way, but that is how it feels.  Overall a good game that is worth a download, but if you are looking for this type of game there is at least one other game like this out there that you should check-out. - RC

Balance seems to be a key problem in a lot of indie games. In this game, I typically scored between 100 and 30,000 points on a level (not very consistent!). Except on one level, I scored over A BILLION points. Seriously. All because of one fairly large pop (worth 500 million, and then I got another 500 million as a bonus for doing better than the computer). It felt pretty good to get a billion points, I must say, but this game is weird. It's a click-3-of-the-same-color game. - MH

This is a really good game! It's vaguely (vaguely!) reminiscent of Icy Tower rendered as a side-scrolling adventure. The only thing keeping it from being a really classic game is that it gets a little tiresome going through very similar long levels (and then going through them again should you actually die!). The abilities Glace has and the way he attacks are all really simple and intuitive, but they provide you with a lot of crazy jumping around fun. - MH

The one game this month that you absolutely cannot go wrong with, after all it is free!?  Glace is a great platform adventure game that is quite entertaining and challenging despite the developer's statement that the game is for kids.  I think everyone ought to check this game out as it is one of the better adventure games to come out this year and great fun to play though.  With unlockable characters (just glace with more cool powers) that become available as you progress deep into the game there is a TON of game play here and it is fun!- RC

Dr. Lunatic as an RPG, even down to the "I'm Cool Cat Bad" remark. I might be experiencing deja vu, as I swear I've seen some of these monsters before. Ignoring that, it's still a nice game. It's unmistakably a Hamumu game, with it's share of 'dumbness' references and sarcastic/blunt humor. It's rather challenging at times too. - MK

Another game by Illustrious Panel member Mike Hommel.  Kid Mystic plays and looks a lot like Dr. Lunatic, though I was immediately a little more drawn to this one due to the Zelda/RPG influence.  There is many hours of time you can spend on this game and the variety of environments keeps it fresh and fun. - RC

A fantastic cross between bowling and mini-golf! With rockets! I always like to get in my complaints, so here they are: the course graphics are very bland, even ugly, and it's missing a great opportunity for some personality, since the bowlers are not visible, and there are no voices. But the style in the interface and the music make for a really great retro 50's feel that just enhances the fun of the simple and elegant gameplay. - MH

It feels strange to give Rocket Bowl a seemingly low grade, especially since I get the feeling that other members of the panel will rate it much higher. The game is just too bland to warrant a higher score in my opinion. When you first download the game it seems as though it's going to be some wacky out-of-the-box experience that we can use as an example of innovation in indie gaming. But nope, it's basically a bowling game with very basic controls and a few power-ups and bonuses tossed in for kicks. Graphics that range from excellent (the menus) to bland and uninspired (the game itself) don't help things either. - GM

A decent game with some flaws that make it just average.  There are some glitches with regard to jumping on the edges of platforms, no reaction from enemies when you hit them, and some clunky stuff in the menu interface (like ESC twice exits the game).  But the worst part was when I got to a boss level, and was excited to find that it had bosses, then died and was unhappy to find that running out of lives means repeating the entire level set over. The gameplay is pretty good, but marred by some glitches and flaws. - MH

Coin Planets has so much going for it that I almost feel bad not giving it a higher score. The extremely interesting levels, amusing enemies, and great backdrop made me think long and hard about giving it a mere 6. The reason it doesn't rate higher is that your character's movement is so sluggish that most of the enjoyment found in the game will be lost on slamming keys in a vain attempt to have the lethargic character get the lead out. One small change could easily make Coin Planets a 9. - GM

Astoundingly grand! If we were just comparing Breakout games, it'd be 10/10. Since it has to compare to all genres, it can only get a 9. But it's a well-deserved one. I have no complaints on this game, it even almost totally avoids the classic last-brick tedium (although most levels end up being a frenzied blast of power-up madness... but that's fun!). - MH

I am a huge fan of the Ricochet series, honestly. The snazzy graphics, the mostly unique power-ups, and mind blowing levels make playing the various Ricochet games a real pleasure. But for whatever reason playing Recharged was decidedly un-fun when compared to it's predecessors. The single biggest issue that the level design is so uneven, there's a ton of levels here but few of them are really enjoyable. The inclusion of such classic gameplay types as "hit one brick, everything blows up" or the always entertaining "last brick caught behind indestructible obstacle" makes for hours of pleasure. I'm not going to be a cynic and say that Reflexive is milking fans by releasing a bunch of fan-made levels and asking for money in exchange, I'll leave that up to you. - GM

A very polished trivia game! It's hard to find complaints, but I have two: one, it's a trivia game, so there's not much to it, just lots of questions to answer. Two, I would have liked to see tighter categories, to where you have more of an idea of what will be asked. For instance, instead of "Science", which nobody knows all fields of, there could be "Botany" and "Chemistry" and so on. - MH

Finally, some indies got the whole trivia right, well, mostly right. Trivia Machine has a slick interface that is easy to use, this applies to all aspects of the games' navigation, from the main menu to the top score screen you get at the end of the game. The biggest limitation in most trivia games is that after a short period of time you're bound to start seeing the same questions over and over. Fortunately the gang at HipSoft have included an option to download new questions automatically, his should really help the longevity. My only real gripe with Trivia Machine is the lack of a multiplayer mode. Every time I got a real brain bender right I jumped up and went to give the player next to me a high five, except there wasn't anyone there. I'm lonely HipSoft, give me multiplayer capability! Or a hug. - GM

I think low-key is the best word to describe this game. The challenge is very low-key (I never got less than 1st until the second to last race!), the graphics are subdued, sounds and music dull and relaxing, the speed of racing is slow, even the cars themselves are nice little Japanese subcompacts instead of powerful racing machines. I guess in the future people are more concerned about fuel economy than raw speed, which is pretty realistic. The announcer is hilarious! - MH

Excellent, a racing game! Look at those not-too-shabby graphics! That long list of tracks! The impressive array of car modifications! The split screen multiplayer mode! The crippling control! Hey, wait a minute, who put the world flakiest and least responsive driving controls into my beloved Jam XM? On second thought, I want my exclamation marks back, I'd rather use them on a less punishing game. Oh, and you know the "50 witty comments" mentioned in the features list? They're not that witty, so there! - GM