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August
2005 Indie Game Monthly Round-Up
(by
The Illustrious Panel - TIP) |
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Water Bugs
(August 23)
by Retro64
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This is absolutely the tiniest conceivable improvement over Cosmo Bots.
Cosmo Bots was a great game, and thus this is too. There are only two real
significant differences, which I shall express in rhyme: the robot bugs are
cuter, and there are more bugs de la computer. The latter is what brings
this down to an 8 from the original's 9 (if not for the problems, this would
be just slightly superior to the original game). It's lots of little bugs,
like in collision detection and how things get filled and such. A couple
levels are actually broken to begin with, like one with a missing border in
one part, and another with a lobster stuck out in space spinning crazily.
It's definitely still playable and fun though. - MH |
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| Remember Cosmo Bots from the November round-up? This is literally that game with a water theme. The different areas now each have a unique background and impart a better sense of progress. It’s addictive and fun, my only grievance is I find myself loathing the wide-open levels because I have to wait an eternity to shoot. Beautiful smooth and fluid graphical effects.
- SR |
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| Yummy crunchy water bugs. Mmmm. A sequel to Retro64's Cosmo Bots, but
you already knew that. I can't put my finger on it, but I swear there's
something different about this sequel I like more than the original.
Perhaps it's just that I'm still in awe how they actually turned Qix in
to a fun game.
- MK |
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War World: Tactical Combat
(August 1)
by Third Wave Games
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Does size really matter? The developers from Third Wave Games seem to think otherwise - in War World, your mechanical fighters are only three meters tall, mere dwarves in comparison with their giant brothers from typical mech games. This international team lead by former Rare employees created a hybrid of lightning-fast action and tactical
game play, making War World a title possibly interesting to both FPS gamers and
old school mech aficionados. All in all, the graphics are almost impeccable, and without the annoying Windows cursor used to navigate through the main menu, it wouldn't be hard to convince yourself that you're playing a very pretty-looking console game.
- DF |
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| War World is a gorgeous mech themed FPS that let’s you customize your bot and then take him into a frantically paced battle reminiscent of Unreal Tournament. The single player experience is pretty basic so you’ll want to get online for the real fun. Gripes: All levels are outdoor and fairly simplistic, no doors or lifts to interact with. - SR |
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| This month's Mech themed 3D shooter. Graphically, the game's on par
with those in the Unreal Tournament series. If I had to compare this
against Lore, I'd easily take this one. You play from the 3rd person,
and it controls well, but something about the aiming didn't seem right.
I'm likely just rusty, and looking to blame the game. The weapon setup
interface is nice, allowing you to equip and upgrade your Mech between
missions. But, well, the allure of 3D shooters seems to be wearing off
on me. My time around the development a certain EA franchise has
certainly lessened my interest in them. Yup. - MK |
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Hot Potato
(August 26)
by Potato Entertainment |
| There's a great risk in creating an online-only game, and Hot Potato has
fallen afoul of it. There were literally no players online that I could
compete against! Luckily, it gives you a CPU enemy to try your luck against
in that case. Unluckily, it wasn't very fun. It's just such a simplistic
game that unless you're at home taking on your buddies and can trash talk
them, it's not really going to hold your interest for long. The fact that
you can neutralize any but the most perfectly timed throws simply by facing
the throwee really leaves it about as compelling as (and more frustrating
than) hot potato OFFline. -
MH |
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| This is a freebie multiplayer focused 2D overhead game where you throw a ‘hot potato’ back and forth, losing points if it explodes in your possession. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to find anyone to play with except the AI. The rules are very simplistic so I think its only chance of holding your interest is finding three other friends to play with. - SR |
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| Let me say, I was glad this game wasn't just a clone of Bomberman. It's
supposedly a multiplayer variation of the playground classics, Hot
Potato and Dodge Ball. I say supposedly, 'cause unfortunately, no one
appeared to be online when I played. Hey, it's possible my router was
blocking things, as it did choose to point out my LAN IP instead of my
Internet IP. It's played with Arrow/WASD + Mouse aim controls, and
plays fine for that matter. But the game isn't much fun without anyone
to play with. On the plus side, if you have no friends, they give you
an AI opponent to play with. Meh. I have a suspicion though, that this
game would be more interesting and have a greater appeal as a flash game. - MK |
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Little
Gods
(August 24)
Download Now!
by Grim Inventions
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| This is the most absurdly complex pong game I've ever seen! The biggest
thing wrong with this game is that there's simply too much to think about.
It's sheer mental overload. Imagine doing all this, while you're still
trying to bat balls back and collect assorted widgets (some of which you
shouldn't collect if you want the best score): hit a button to open a menu
of powers, cycle through the choices in the menu with the arrows, hit a
button to choose the one you want, then cycle through the possible targets
of that power with the arrows, then hit a button to activate it. I think
this game will come into its own when robots with several parallel CPUs
replace the human race as the dominant lifeform on our planet. -
MH |
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| What could have been an uninspired pong/breakout hybrid is made something special by many additional mechanic layers – mana, casting spells, totems, and a currency based on karma that allows you to unlock levels, opponents, spells and even difficulty modes. In the end, it has this fun pachinko-gambling feel of tons of balls and power-ups that had me addicted.
- SR |
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| The game is sort of like Pong, with bricks and junk in the way.
Hooray. I don't really like how the game starts matches. Essentially
you pick 2 players (human or NPC), pick where to play, and go. Yes, it
is a flexible system, and it works for some games (Scorched Earth), but
I think it hurts games that push a visual style. The said style is a
sort of dark cartoony look. I like how it looks, but the game has a
hard time keeping me interested. - MK |
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Flo!
(August 17)
by Level 8
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| A really standard "run around, grab stuff, and jump on heads" game, but with
very poor "control feel". For example, holding down the jump key makes you
jump again as soon as you land, and there is no slidiness at all to the
movement. I can almost see the control code in my head as I play.
"if(leftarrow) x-=3;", ugly. It's also very unforgiving, and for some
strange reason, has the most incredibly cluttered menu screens I've ever
seen!
- MH |
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| This game does a lot of things differently – cutesy characters (but also realistic skeletons rotting in cages), classic jump and run gameplay (but with slow meditative music). I guess what really bugs me is the collision boxes are very unforgiving, screwing up my timing completely. The GUI and English translation could use some polish. Embedding a sokobanish mini-game was an interesting idea though. - SR |
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| It's like other games, but it's a lot like Coin World. The graphics are
very shiny, and part of the cast is clearly from the M&M's candy
bloodline. Some of the animations are nicely done, and the soundtrack
is fitting. The game is secret crazy. Each full screen or multi full
screen level has at least a bonus room, and a secret passage. Not bad. - MK |
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Evil
Invasion
(August 8)
Download Now!
by VH Games
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| I wrote a review of this game, and then through the magic of telepathy, the
authors released an update addressing most of my concerns (and seriously
changing the game!). So there goes that review! Here's a new one: This is
a very cool major upgrade of Crimsonland. In contrast to my original
review, I now sadly miss the "return to level 1 at the end of each level"
gameplay! I do prefer the new system, where you gradually level up over the
entire quest, but I wish the old system was still in as an alternate mode,
because it had a certain charm as well. Anyway, it's a great game, and I
think I'll bump the score up a notch to reflect my approval of their recent
update. - MH |
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| This game takes the Crimsonland recipe and replaces the perks system with distributable points to upgrade your character and add more spells. If your primary skills aren’t fairly balanced you get creamed, taking most of the fun out of manual distribution. All in all, very solid, but it does bite to die right before the end of a fifteen minute long level. - SR |
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| Ok, this is an interesting combination. It's a Gauntlet like top down
shooter, with elements of Diablo 2 in it. Hordes of waves of enemies
come out of the sides of the screen, and with mouse aim, you shoot to
kill. Killing gives you experience and eventually levels. Raising
levels gives you 5 skill points, and another point to spend in the skill
tree, to unlock new spells and abilities. Many items, spells, and lots
of shooting. At times it feels slow, but you can enhance that with an
item or skill points. I like it. - MK |
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Axiomatic
(August 14)
Download Now!
by Ten Ninjas |
An astoundingly bare-bones space shooter! The "tutorial" offers a brief
explanation of the controls and 3 immobile targets to blow up. That's it.
Then if you go to gameplay, it doesn't get much better - pick one of two
super basic 'skirmish' type modes, and you're off. No story, objectives, or
campaign. I also, with my elderly video card, experienced horrible
choppiness to the point of unplayability in many situations (not the ones I
expected either, just random times!). This feels like a beta version to me.
- MH |
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| This space combat simulator looks and sounds excellent; the problem here is lack of content. Choose the ships you and the enemy will have (there are three ship types), then fight. That’s it. Things I’d like to see might be: A campaign, missions, upgrades, power-ups, scoring of some kind, and maybe a radar. The combat alone doesn’t cut it for me. I’d cut it more slack if it had multiplayer… - SR |
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| Yet another space dogfight game. I really must have missed some classic
game growing up which explains the interest in making these. Anyways,
like many others, this one visually looks great. A nice glowy planet
and everything. What's not so great about it is the mission playing
interface. You fiddle with some parameters and start a skirmish. Ya
know, there's something about having missions and a cheesy mission
briefing that's at least appealing, unlike creating your own scenario
without any back story. Sorry Axio, you look great, but you're no fun
to be around. - MK |
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Battles of Norghan
(August 3)
by Mitorah Games
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| Very very heavy game. This is serious strategy (or maybe it's all luck, but
there's certainly a ton of buttons to push!). I found it really difficult
to follow or develop a strategy - I think it doesn't do a good job of
pushing the most pertinent information in front of you. It's more like
being awash in a sea of numbers. I'm sure they're all important, but I can't
deal with them all at once! The battle controls are also very annoying,
until you discover the keyboard shortcuts hidden in the options menu.
Really an overwhelming game, but then, it's a hardcore strategy game, so
that isn't so wrong. -
MH |
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| Couldn’t review: Crash on load - SR |
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| A complex fantasy strategy game. It's very much like a computerized
version of the tabletop games Warhammer or Mage Knight. Psudo dice
rolling, weapons and items to buy, as well as options to tweak
characters for battle. An interesting oddity is you bid for units in an
auction, either signing them up for a short/long term contract, or
permanent membership. At the same time, you're competing with other
factions for the same people in the auction. If you dig those tabletop
games, you might get a kick out of this one. - MK |
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Desperate Space
(August 1)
Download Now!
by Jagged Blade Software
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| I really enjoyed this game. I sat here eating Doritos with one hand and
playing it with the other, and I was still getting gold medals! It gets so
frantic that there's almost no strategy or skill involved, but the all-mouse
input works surprisingly well, even when you get the Super Speed power-ups.
It's got some nice metagame elements as well, with unlocking and buying
weapons and ships, and opening up secret missions. Sadly, the most
significant complaint I can come up with is: the text speed on the mission
descriptions is too slow. Sorry, that's all I can do. Well, after (much
much!) further play, I can say that the last few bosses are really annoying
and tedious too. But bonus points for the final secret missions anyway. - MH |
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| 2D overhead space action. I like this game, the all-mouse movement system works well, the weapon and upgrade system are fun and keeps you playing. The physics of rubber-banding your ship around and dragging ships to safety is neat. A universal rule this game doesn’t follow: If you have text slowly typed to the screen, holding down a button should speed it up! - SR |
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| Desperately, I review this game. Since I've forgotten what other games
are like this, we'll call it StarScape'ish. Fly your ship around, fight
baddies, protect your ship, rescue allies, and upgrade your ship. All
in a days work. - MK |
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Moleculous
(July 21)
Download Now!
by Game Trust
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A strange puzzle game that just didn't click for me. For one, luck is a
major factor - the blobs bounce with quite a bit of randomness, so there is
no 'solution' to any given situation. For another, it's so stylized that it's
hard to find what's what on the screen (at first I was freaking out because
it was playing itself at high speed! Turns out that was a demo). And for
the last, the rules of the game are just so strange and arbitrary that I
felt a little lost. - MH |
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| Ok, now this game REALLY reminds me of pachinko. Balls fall down a pegboard into a beaker. I like the theme and semi-educational slant but, I gotta say, this game just isn’t much fun. Instead of wild lucky scoring like in Little Gods, you fight with questionable ball physics to meet boring goals. Nice presentation and a unique idea, but it just doesn’t work for me. - SR |
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| A science themed tweak puzzle game. The instructions at first striked
me as a tad overwhelming, but it's not so bad. I'm calling it a tweak
puzzle, as the puzzles really aren't as straightforward as piece goes
here or there. Instead, just fudging around until it works (i.e.
tweaking) is a fine way to play. It's reminiscent of that old "The
Price is Right" game Plinko (Pachinko). Neat. -
MK |
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Rock
and Roll
(August 12)
by Fun Pause
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This game is trying. By that I mean both that it's trying to be a good
game, and that it's also very trying to play it! An innovative concept
marred by icky controls, silly instant deaths (apparently this guy is very
attached to his wheel - it breaks and he dies of grief), repetitive levels,
a need to repeat the repetitive levels (dying makes you start the level
over, and losing all your lives makes you start the whole game over!), and a
whole lot of judging heights to decide if it's arbitrarily one tile farther
than you or your wheel can survive dropping.
- MH |
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| In this game you must herd a rock down to the bottom of the level intact. Cool concept but the gameplay seems awfully one dimensional; each level consisting of pushing the rock and following it by climbing down ladders. Is there more to it? Perhaps, because this is one of the most limited demos I’ve every played; I was done in ten minutes. Lovely graphics and music. - SR |
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| I like the idea of a caveman pushing a wheel, but I don't think I like
this game. In a way, it's like an upside down Icy Tower. You push and
drop your wheel, trying not to drop it too far. The game strikes me as
rushed, as visual glitches in the collision and physics are easy to
spot. Some slight flight and teleporting action. Also the caveman
appears detached from the wheel, moving it telekinetically. Usually I
can get by these sort of things, but they really bugged me in this
game. *shrug* What can I say.
- MK |
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PacRush
(August 19)
by Sébastien D'Heeger (Alawar)
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| The irony, you see, is that it's called Pac RUSH, when in fact the game
Pac-Man is significantly faster-paced! I wouldn't exactly call it delicious
irony, but it's there nonetheless, so partake as you will. This really isn't
a bad game. It's kinda dull due to the ironic and previously mentioned slow
pace, but it's got a decent set of arcade thingies to deal with, and it's
fun how you do flips when you jump. - MH |
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This is a perfectly playable, if sedate, pacmanish game. The 3D tiled world is functional but bland. On later levels there are overpasses where you’d love to do a spectacular jump to the floor below – don’t bother, magic invisible walls abound. Slow movement and visual weirdness like some objects missing lighting or shadows make this game a pass. - SR |
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| Walk around a "maze", and collect stuff to win. Sounds like a good
time, doesn't it? Alright, the game isn't awful, but it's nothing
special. You can jump, shoot, and move in 4 directions to collect
pellets and fruit, very much like Pac Man. A bonus point to the
developer for not copying Pac Man's look, but I take it away for calling
the game "Pac". Yep. - MK |
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Bricks
of Atlantis
(August 25)
Download Now!
by Arcade Lab
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| An improvement over the pretty good Bricks Of Camelot. It's still really
standard breakout action, but there's some spice in the various wacky fish.
It's very good about last brick syndrome, although pretty heavy-handed with
helping you out. That's not so bad though, since it is actually very hard
for a breakout game. Like other breakouts, the random power-ups you get
determine whether the level will be over in 2 seconds or take 2 minutes.
Only major complaint: enough with the instant death "power-up", people. It's
not fun when you have to avoid hitting the ball because to hit it means to
pick up a death power-up. Hmm, which way do I want to die? - MH |
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| This well-made brick-breaker introduces some things I haven’t seen before: Fish that help you complete levels by destroying bricks or excreting items to raise your score. The array of power-ups are fun and keep things moving. Downers: Some levels have dismal action, a little bit of ‘slow last brick’ syndrome and out of the many levels there really seemed to only be about five basic designs. Nice unlockable level system. - SR |
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| The Big Kahuna Reef of Breakout/Arkanoids. Thaaaaat's right! An
Arkanoid with fish!!! *cough* This appears to be the sequel to Bricks
of Camelot. Everything that made you go "hey, this one's not bad" about
Camelot is back, but fishier. The fish swim around and do helpful
things like drop items, break bricks and enchant your ball. I might be
on a mission to save the world from Breakout/Arkanoid's. But really, if
they're at least of this quality, maybe the world doesn't need me for
the job. - MK |
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Carl
the Caveman
(August 25)
by Ferocious Hamsters team (Alawar)
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| A fairly well-done game from the Stockboy genre, as I will continue to call
it. I like the graphical style a lot, but the bigness of the characters and
the scenery mean that you often can't actually logically solve the puzzle -
most of it is off-screen, so you have to make a guess and try one thing or
the other. There's also a very very uneven difficulty curve, almost as if
some levels were put in the wrong place - one level you just push a couple
blocks around, then suddenly the next, you're enmeshed in a multi-layered
teleporter puzzle. Then back to a straightforward run! And what is it this
month with cavemen dropping objects onto monsters to kill them?
- MH |
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| This is a side-view rock pushing logic puzzler. The presentation is in 3D and while a bit bland, it works out ok. There are no in-game puzzle solutions so if you get stuck, so be it. A rewind button would have been nice. Pretty average fare, solid but not especially noteworthy. - SR |
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| I wish I had more to say about this game. It's a push puzzle platformer
where you collect stuff to win. You're challenged with simple puzzles
where you must utilize pushing and hammering. I have to admit, the idea
that everything floats, and you need to use the hammer to make things
fall adds something of interest to the game. Neat. - MK |
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The
Illustrious Panel for this month:
MH- Mike Hommel -
Hamumu
Mike Hommel is known for his hilarious and bizarre games. Though
his site claims that all his games are just 'dumb fun' you'll find that
they are some of the more interesting games around, and will eat hours
away from your life without you realizing where they all went.
SR - Seth Robinson -
Robinson Technologies
Seth has spent the last fourteen years making odd games, including
designing and programming many independent titles such as the BBS hit
Legend Of The Red Dragon, the multiplayer Flash based web game Funeral
Quest, IGF finalists Teenage Lawnmower and Dungeon Scroll and the cult
classic RPG Dink Smallwood.
MK - Mike Kasprzak - Sykhronics
Coming from a game console background, Mike's responsible for bringing
to the market such oddities as Secret Agent Barbie for Gameboy Advance,
The Emperor's New Groove for Gameboy Color, and several other top girl
branded games (not that he's bragging). In indie land, he seeks
redemption. Mike's best known for his "cute but not girly" hamster
blasting game, PuffBOMB.
DF - Damjan Flegar |
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See a game that was missed? Though we do
our best, we are unable to cover all games. In addition, some games slip
through the cracks because we just don't know they exist. If you are a
developer, ensure this doesn't happen by
submitting your game or a
news item. |
