Scavenger is one of those games that you can tell as soon as you start the first level is going to be great. It�"s the kind of game that really shows what indie gaming can produce. Indie, if you haven�"t noticed, does NOT mean amateur and Scavenger really showcases this.

Pi Eye Games have produced, in Scavenger, a sort of top-down, 2-D, side-scrolling version of Descent. You play the part of a ship pilot of a salvage team and have been hired to recover the energy source that once powered the now defunct and enormous ship, the Space Hulk. Once inside, you must navigate the tight corridors of the ship to collect gems (yours to take as long as you get the job done) and energy keys that will both unlock the doorways to the next section of the ship and provide you with a boost to firepower while they are in your possession.

Sound simple? Of course it�"s not. The Space Hulk it seems has become host for an alien race that at first seems to be nothing but growing on the ship like moss, but later reveals itself to be plenty hostile. You can pick up various shield upgrades and weapons upgrades as you travel to help get the job done, though.

The core of the game is very simple. Navigate your way to the keys and then to the exit of each level. That�"s it. The execution is where the title excels. There are six difficulty levels to play through in the game. In Beginner, you can move through the level like you would in any other top down game. In Gravity, your movements are trickier. The ship has gravity to it, so that as you direct your ship through the level, it�"s always being pulled towards the “floor” of the level, and watch those collisions, the harder you hit a wall, the more shields you�"ll lose.

Controls in the game are simple. Use the mouse to aim the ship, and use the arrow keys to power the main engines. The WASD keys can be used to control thrusters for minute control of your ship�"s position. This simplicity is critical in dealing with movement through the game with the gravity enabled.

From that difficulty point, things just get wicked in the difficulty settings. The next level up you play with gravity AND with limited fuel supplies (which makes things very tricky, very fast). The next one up from there has you playing the game in darkness, with only the headlights of your ship to guide you (which really gives them game a chance to show off it�"s great lighting effects). There are also two unlockable difficulty levels, but I was not hardcore enough to get through the game on enough difficulty levels to unlock them prior to review time. They�"re called “Three Lives” and “Motion Sickness”… so that should give you an idea of the pain that awaits.

The game looks fantastic, too. The graphics are crisp and maintain a very detailed, hand-drawn feel to the textures. The game ran very smoothly for me as well, while still maintaining some really great lighting effects. Glowing keys, laser bullets and alien creatures look really nice and the way the ship�"s headlights illuminate dark levels is really moody. It all works great for the game.

There are 80 levels to the game, but they go by quicker than you think, which is fine because of the replay value offered by the difficulty levels. Each level of the game is just your ship�"s journey through one “room” of the ship, so things are pretty well contained, there will be no getting lost in sprawling, hard to navigate levels. In fact, small arrows conveniently direct you to the locations of available energy keys.

All in all, the game is simply well done. It�"s fun to play, it looks great and it has a lot of difficulty settings that can drastically change the gameplay, as opposed to simply making the enemies do more damage. The control scheme (with gravity in the mix) is novel and a challenge all on its own. Add in the alien creatures and the tight level design and you�"ve got what can become a very tricky action experience. My sole gripe is that after 80 levels I�"d love more of an ending than “Yay! You�"re done, now back to the title screen”, which is pretty much all you get, but that�"s not much of a complaint at all.

Graphics:
Scavenger looks really excellent. Detailed level textures, a very crisp and clean feel to levels that could have just been dark and crowded and some really very nice looking lighting effects.

Sound:
Sound effects cue the gamer well in this game. I can tell when I�"ve hit a wall hard enough to take a good hit, I can tell when I�"ve managed to tag an alien that�"s off-screen. The music is a standard future-techno beat, but it�"s not bad in the least.

Gameplay:
The variable gameplay that comes from the difficulty levels is what stands out the most here. The game is radically different across the first three difficulty levels, giving the gamer new concerns to deal with in each rather than simply trying that much harder not to get hit by enemy fire. It�"s really dynamic and very refreshing to see that kind of gameplay range included here.

Concept:
Outside of the gameplay elements, Scavenger is very standard. There�"s a bit of a story, but it doesn�"t matter much, nor is much attention paid to it. Beyond that, it�"s a standard scroller all the way.

Value:
$20 is a steal for this level replayability and polish. Bottom line, a great deal.

Fun:
This is the kind of game you watch someone playing with their tongue hanging out of the mouth they�"re concentrating so hard on getting through a tough spot. The kind of thing that should nourish a true gamer�"s soul.

Overall:
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