A WIP vertical shmup … Chaos Streams.
There’s a distinct difference with this one. This game is done entirely in ASCII graphics. If you don’t know what that is, then go look it up. Now I’ve played games that use this graphics technique for years and years, and I have always loved it. Back with Rogue and a lot of the old bulletin board door games (even though that’s ANSII, but it’s the same general idea) to the newer Rogue-likes. I love it. But a “fast paced” shmup with all text based graphics I’ve never seen. The only thing even remotely close was a Space Invaders clone. And while it was done well for what it was … let’s face it. The original Space Invaders isn’t exactly the same kind of pace as something like 19XX : War Against Destiny or Radiant Silvergun.
Unfortunately, there aren’t any downloads for this yet. And it isn’t even anywhere near being finished. There’s a video and some (what the developer called outdated) screenshots after the jump, but if you just want to head over to the forum post for the game over at The Independent Gaming Source you can click right here and get all the same stuff, and updates if or when the dev puts them up.
Me personally, I hope this guy releases something because this looks kinda cool. I just hope he changes up the sound and music and whatnot in it, because it sounds like a 3 month old smacking a keyboard.
XBLIG Review - Night of Doom
This could have easily been done as a dual stick shooter, but they are a dime a dozen. This is an extremely simple game. Go into one of the three levels, and survive for 10 minutes. That's it.
There are no weapon upgrades, no multiplayer (unfortunately). The only item pickups you get are grenades, health and a timer that knocks 30 seconds off the time needed to survive, which definitely comes in handy on the harder the difficulties.
Night of Doom is almost comically bad. I'll say that right off the bat. It's made by the same developer who made Roid Riot, which is an Xbox Live enabled space shooter. It would have been cool as hell to see a Live enabled multiplayer mode in this game, just because it's so simplistic. Make it like a poor man's Left 4 Dead. :) The only real reason I say it's "comically bad" is because you do one thing, and that one thing is actually kind of fun. You shoot down the bad guys. Read on though. It gets better.
Windows indie game you need to play : Runman : Race Around the World
Yes, I am well aware that this is not an Xbox Live Indie Game ... but I never said I was specific to the 360. Look around the site and you'll find DOS games, Windows games, reviews for Wii games, etc etc.
This game is one of the most addictive games I've ever seen. Has Sonic got ya down lately with the new games that have come out lately that have been complete and utter crap? Do you want a fun, fast paced platformer with superb level design and great graphics? Look no further than here folks, this is some great stuff.
XBLIG First Impression - Totem
This is a puzzle game that's sorta/kinda like Bejeweled and Jewel Quest in the sense that you have to match things, but there's quite a bit more to it than just that. I had almost totally ignored this game to be honest, until I read the excellent review over at Indie Game Blog. So I went, downloaded the trial loved it and used what few MS Space Bucks I have left to snag it after playing through it. You essentially have a number of different totem poles, with figures falling on top of each from the top of the screen. You have to match them. They can be anywhere on the pole itself, so long as they're grouped together. And I've seen a few times where figures on other poles get destroyed too. I'm about halfway through the game, and so far I've seen elemental stuff that gets in the way a little bit making them harder to destroy. But thanks to the fact there is NO documentation of ANY kind in the game telling you how to play, I'm still figuring this stuff out as I go along. The only thing close to documentation there is is a screen with a controller telling you what buttons do what, and I have to give it credit. The control scheme is very intuitive once you get the hang of it.
Xbox Live Indie Games Review - Dr. Popper
Hmm, I wonder what two things they got the inspiration for the name from? ;)
The first time I played a game like this was on the Sega Dreamcast. The game was called Sega Swirl, and I'm WANTING to say that it was on the Dreamcast Web Browser Disc, but I can't say for sure. And I was hooked instantly. For a guy who hates puzzle games, I sure to play a hell of a lot of them.
Xbox Live Indie Game Review - Organon
Now this is what I'm talking about. This game is just ... weird. Quirky as hell and equally as hard to describe, but I'll do my best. Among all the crap I've downloaded lately (like that stupid fucking Zombie Mania game and "pebbledash" ... I didn't write one for that technically. I said this on Twitter ... "Xbox Live Indie Game Trial Impressions - pebbledash. Ever played Boulderdash? Enough said."). This game came down in price recently otherwise I would've never noticed it (Thanks XBLARatings btw). It's now 80 points, and while I have to say if it was the next step up 240 points it'd be a hard sell, for 80 there's just enough quirkiness here.
Xbox Live Indie Game Trial Impressions - Destruction Tank
Yeah, stupid name.
Despite the fact that this is quite possibly the most retarded name for a game I've ever seen, it's halfway decent.
Bricks4Ever - Xbox Live Indie game review
Now let's not kid ourselves, there is a LOT of crap in the Indie Games section of Xbox Live. Everyone knows it. It is rare that you find a game in there that is even worth LOOKING at let alone downloading. bricks4ever by Running Pixel on the other hand breaks that mold delivering a great game. I've been a Breakout fan since the Atari 2600 days (I still play it with my Atari 2600 TV game paddle thing from time to time), but a lot of the recent attempts at remaking this classic game go WAY overboard graphically. Or they botch the gamplay to almost an unplayable state. Or they just have boring unimaginative levels. bricks4ever on the other hand keeps the simplicity of the game in tact. Yeah, it's got the powerups (and the "screw you" stuff along with it. The things that drop down and shrink your paddle for instance. Or make the ball go faster at just the wrong time), which are a welcome sight when done right. This game delivers.