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What's New in Indie |
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Bringing you a singular look at Indie's newest games every month. |
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A game to check out if you have nothing
better to do during lunch |
A game worth
breaking a date to play (and it'll be more fun anyways!) |
Call your boss, close the shades
and turn on a great game! |
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December 2007: |
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Aquaria |
Aquaria
($19.95)
by Bit Blot
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Nearly a year ago Aquaria won the Independent Games Festival grand prize
for game of the year, and now it is finally making its way to the
public. Aquaria is an underwater game where players take on the
role of Naija in her adventure of self-discovery.
The
Verdict:
Aquaria
was well-deserving of the IGF Game of the Year prize, and has fully
delivered on the promise that the judges saw nearly a year ago.
The underwater adventure that has some similarities to Metroid and
Zelda, with tremendous amounts of exploration and discovery.
When it is working, which is most of the time, it is absolutely
stunning. The fluid swimming is matched with memorable tunes,
eye-popping hand-drawn beauty and perfectly delivered voice work.
In short, it's one of the best Indie games to come out in some time
and a must play title.
That's not to say it is perfect. The first 30 minutes are
difficult
as new players struggle to figure out exactly what they are supposed
to be doing. The lack of
general direction mixed with an open environment and mystifying
puzzles is likely to leave some players gasping for air and perhaps
surrendering to the pressure.
For those who stay for a longer visit, which is heartily encouraged of
everyone, Aquaria casts a rich spell on players that they won't want
to break free of.
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Arcade Race |
Arcade Race
($19.95)
by ArcadeStudio
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A top-down 3D race across different landscapes with a variety of cars.
Missiles and landmines help to make the races just a little more
interesting as you try to complete the laps before your competitors
beat you to the finish line, or simply beat you to a bloody pulp.
The
Verdict:
Somewhat
similar to this year's
Auto Cross
Racing in look, but the lower quality screenshots give away the
truth, this game isn't nearly as fun.
The physics leave a lot to be desired as cars bounce off each other
without seeming to have really hit each other. However, if you
are hit by a missile, you can become immediately pulverized. The
only strategy is to put as much distance between yourself and the
other drivers, because if they get near you, you'll find yourself hit
by so many missiles that you'll quickly drop back to near the end of
the pack. It's not quite racing and not quite destruction derby,
and not quite enough to keep you going for more than a quick break.
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Aveyond II: Ean's Quest |
Aveyond II
($19.95)
by Amaranth Games
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Aveyond II is a RPG and the sequel to
Aveyond.
It adds a whole new story filled with new characters and a new world
to explore, while maintaining RPG aesthetics reminiscent of the SNES.
Dozens of side-quests and over a hundred places to explore make it
another deep and content-rich title from Amaranth.
The
Verdict:
As
fun as the original Aveyond was, Aveyond II bests it in nearly every
way.
If there are to be any complaints, they are likely to be that the
game, in trying to meet the casual market, is a bit too linear.
However, that can only be said in the beginning as your character
heads out to find a girl who no one remembers existing.
The tale is full of memorable locations with music that is even better
than the music
in Aveyond and brings the whole world to vibrant life. The
graphics are also improved, clearing up some of the inconsistencies
from the previous game while keeping all the wondrous pixel-art charm.
However what is most important in RPG is the story, and Aveyond II
includes another fantastic adventure that draws you in immediately and
will keep you wanting to play to the conclusion. Highly
recommended!
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Band of Bugs |
Band of Bugs
($14.95)
by Ninja Bee
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Making its way from Xbox Live Arcade to the world of PC, Band of Bugs
has maintained everything that made it a fan favorite, including a
tremendous amount of tactical strategy as you command your warriors
forth on to battle.
The
Verdict:
So
right off I have to say I'm probably the wrong guy to review a tactics
game. While I LOVE strategy games along the lines of Advance
Wars, I've never been able to get into a tactics game, despite trying
multiple times (Gladius is probably the closest I've come to really
digging on).
Band of Bugs has a fun theme and does a good job of setting you out
with a basic understanding of how to succeed, but I quickly felt
frustrated trying to accomplish the goals set before me. Basic
tactical rules, such as taking the high ground and not letting your
enemy behind you, didn't seem to help much as I struggled to find
something that worked. The game play is slowly paced, as is the
case of most tactics games, and as usual, it gave me the feeling of
carefully flailing.
The theme is inviting enough to take a look at the game, but if you
aren't a tactics fan, this isn't going to be the game that converts
you.
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Eschalon: Book I |
Eschalon: Book I
($27.95)
by Basilisk Games
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Eschalon: Book I is a classic rpg and it stays very close to its
roots. Every action within the game is calculated by the role of
the dice, creating a game that should make old-time D&D players right
at home.
The game features sprawling dungeons and massive overworld areas that
will keep any adventurer busy for weeks as the set out on a quest to
determine why their memory has been erased and what type of life they
will now lead.
The
Verdict:
Eschalon:
Book I features some great pixel art that though still simple, is
exactly what I'd love to see out of the Geneforge series.
The menu gives you a sense of the care that has gone into the game,
and it is clearly evident everywhere. Lights will glow and
fireflies will come out as evening turns to night, and every item and
chest has been carefully placed to provide many rewards for
adventurers who set out looking to see what can be found.
However, I found the story to feel a bit flat. Certainly it
doesn't have the gripping sense of Spiderweb's RPGs. Still, Eschalon:
Book I is a fine game that is certainly enjoyable, and could easily
steal away weeks of your time if you let it.
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Fatal Hearts |
Fatal Hearts
($19.95)
by Hanako Games
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Young women keep turning up dead. Are you to be next? A
young man fills your dreams. Who is he? Fatal Hearts is an
adventure game of love and loneliness and violent bloody murders as
you decipher clues and work through puzzles towards one of 14
different endings.
The Verdict:
Fatal
Hearts is a pretty barebones Adventure game. There is a lot of
dialog, very little sound, and a lot of puzzles.
The game proceeds based on the choices you make as you are given
options through the game. It is a classic tale of questionable
trust as you have to determine who is your friend and who is not.
Unfortunately, the puzzles I found more frustrating than fun and the
story didn't quite grip me. Walking into rooms and being forced to
figure out what cabinet or item the game thinks you should click onto
to get the next clue of the mystery left me feeling like I decidedly
do not think in the way the game expects me to. An interesting
diversion, but not one that kept me interested for too long.
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Sleepless Hollow |
Sleepless Hollow
($19.95)
by Hamumu Software
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When his car breaks down outside a little town called Sleepless
Hollow, Brouapha has no choice but to enter the town, even after
finding a journal on the way in that clearly states everyone evacuated
due to the danger, and having to walk past multiple danger signs to
enter the town. Once inside, the mayhem erupts as frogs attack
from every side! Will Brouapha find a hammer in time to save his
life?
The
Verdict:
Brouapha
is back! For everyone who hasn't ever played a game staring this
goofy character, this is not the place to start.
The game came billed as gratuitously difficult, and it definitely
lived up to its billing. I'm a fan of Hamumu games, but I'd
recommend a list of them (Loonyland
2, Dr.
Lunatic Supreme with Cheese,
Kid Mystic) before I'd recommend this one just due to the
challenge being too tough for many to handle. If you've already
played the others, then give this a try. It has nice leveling
and progression with wickedly difficult puzzles that you often have to
solve while fighting off a never-ending line of enemies. The
typical "dumb" humor of Hamumu is present, with a deserted town filled with 'Mad Cows' and
quests to find the 'Headless Horseradish' keeping everything somewhat silly, but in
a good way.
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Soup de Jour |
Soup de Jour
($10.00)
by Digital Eel
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As a chef in France you have the great opportunity to cook your
favorite candy soup to your heart's delight. The soup is made up
of rubbery, stretchy things that must be moved around the pot until
they are matched up with their long lost identical twins.
Matching 3 together will cause them to pop and disappear.
The
Verdict:
Soup
de Jour isn't meant to be more than a light snack, and that is
really the only knock on the game. There are a very limited
number of levels and things don't change all that much as you progress
through them, other than the
difficulty getting cranked up quite a bit.
It's hard to resist the fun physics of the game. Game Play
consists almost entirely of using your mouse to click on items and
drag them to new locations. While that isn't uncommon, the way
that the items stretch and snap as the move is quite uncommon.
In fact, it's a ton of fun to play around with and definitely something you
really have to see and do (and should!) to fully appreciate.
Soup de Jour is more light fair than meaty meal, but the fun physics
make it a must download for anyone who digs stretching things.
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The Tuttles Madcap Misadventures |
The Tuttles Madcap Misadventures
($19.99)
by Legacy Games
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The Tuttles is a group project done by several indie developers, with
the majority of the proceeds going to charity. It features the
celebrity talents of Bob Saget, Jamie Lee Curtis, William Shatner,
Ashley Tisdale, and Dominic Scott Kay, each of who plays a character
in a game story told mostly through cut scenes, and then played out as
players take on the role of different characters through a variety of
environments.
The Verdict:
Done
for a charity organization, The Tuttles proves one of life's
well-known truisms, whenever you have a chance to use William Shatner's voice in a
game, you should do it!
Shatner is joined by an amazing cast of voice
talent, that is matched with a solid script that had me laughing
out loud on more than one occasion.
The story's cut scenes are really the driving
reason to play the game, though the game play isn't horrible. It
just doesn't have much depth to it. After 10 or so chapters
everything
starts breaking down and feeling horribly repetitive (right about the
time you finish off the many levels that closely resemble
Kenny's
Adventures), but the voice acting and script are good enough to
make it worth an evening of your time regardless of the rather
uninspired play. And of course it is all for a
good cause, which makes it doubly worth checking out.
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Treasures of Ra |
Treasures of Ra
($20.00)
by Kudos
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Using mirrors and other objects in the room, you must bounce rays of
light to the exit glyph. Of course things are not as simple as
they may seem. A variety of gems, obstacles and mirrors will
test your logic prowess.
The
Verdict:
Something
like Aargon, but mixed with Sokobon push puzzles, Treasures of Ra is a
unique logic game that will keep your mind bending for hours.
Light is always fascinating to play with, and the assortment of
mirrors make for an interesting time, but I have to admit my mind was
overwhelmed by the puzzles.
The puzzles include lots of extra items on them that can be collected,
which makes for a nice secondary challenge on each level and will push
your frazzled brain even further. Of course being able to
collect the ability to skip future levels makes for quite a nice prize
and can help get you past the puzzles that you can't shed any light
on. In the end I'd recommend Aargon before this one, but the
addition of Sokobon-like
pushing in Treasures of Ra is an interesting addition that makes for
some entertaining puzzles.
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By: Russell Carroll Posted: Thursday December 27, 2007
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