2005 Independent Game Mid-Terms Grades  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?
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.
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!
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.
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.
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).
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: B.
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Deadly Rooms of Death: 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.
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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While
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.
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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