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Callabrantus on Xbox Indie Game Review of Adrift – Does This Modern Take on Pirates Float Our Boat?

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 20:38:48 +0000

Developed by: Wicked Smiles Studios Genre: Action & Adventure Countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States Price: 240 Microsoft Points (US $3.00) Languages: English Players 1-4, Co-op 2-4, Features: HDTV 1080i, Custom Soundtracks

Developer Summary:

Adrift is an arcade style action oriented 3D game. Players control boats loaded with weapons and command a squad of ai assisted boats. The campaign tells a story of a young Somali pirates climb through the ranks of a deadly pirate organization based in the Gulf of Aden. Invite your friends to join you in co-op story play or fun packed party mode.

What we think:

Pirates of the So-mal-i-a...n....

When I think of a pirate game, some of the first things to come to mind are ummm...parrots...eye-patches...cannons...planks... swashbuckling, I could say more but I would only be serving to further the cliché. I guess what I’m getting at is there are very few games that have ever delved in to the more current pirate genre. Well Adrift is here and they’re swapping cannons for AK’s and planks for..... well... more AK’s. You play as a nameless Somali pirate who is trying to shoot, steer, and steal his way up through the ranks of a powerful pirate organization who is currently at war with multiple other pirate organizations but mostly against those dogs the Gode (shakes fist in anger)....I honestly never knew that pirates were so organized, but I stand corrected. Along the way you encounter other characters who ask for your help as you amass stronger ships and raise your reputation. But the question is, did I want to sail into the sunset, or throw myself overboard?

Rainbow Ships Ahoy!

On the surface (pun intended) this is a good looking indie game. The core graphical element and the environment that you spend all of your time navigating is the ocean, and Adrift does a fine job of recreating your watery warzone. A simple shimmering effect on the ocean’s surface as well as the appearance of a slight cloud-cover overhead help to give the ocean a sense of depth, and If you sit still long enough you can watch tiny ripples scatter about in the sun and your ships rise and fall with the tide. There’s also a nice variety of day-time/night-time missions and although the water is the exact same (just different color) in each setting, It’s a solid enough paint-job to make you feel like you’re in another location. [caption id="attachment_668" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The sea... she’s angry tonight....."][/caption] One slight graphical mis-step comes as your boats carve through the water, at first glance the wake that your cruisers create is well handled and it helps to bring about a sense of speed as the tide extends back further the faster you go, however at times while you’re not really moving, or are just circling about, giant blotches shoot out from your ship for no reason and it looks as though your vessel has been equipped with a Photoshop smudge tool. However the rest of the game sees enough care in other aspects such as a variety of ships types in various colors, each, although simplistically modelled, are varied enough to do a good job of alerting you to what type of ship you’re commanding or consequently what type of enemy you are encountering. Textures are also solid on the boats, water, and even small islands that you come across. The mission briefings are also highlighted with some really well drawn character sketches. Overall the game doesn’t have a stand-out artistic aesthetic, but the core mechanics are solid and do a good job of creating a consistent environment. My major gripe with the games presentation however is in the games audio.

Aflac, Poor Yorick:

I think what started as a minor irritation is slowly turning into a pet peeve for me, and that pet peeve is this: Even though people may have more access to Pro Tools and a microphone, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you should be voice acting your games especially when the voice acting is painful at best. This is unfortunately the case with Adrift. Each mission is briefed to you by one of three different voice acted characters; the bad-ass female pirate, the wise general, and of course... the fat crazy Russian...? Each one however sounds as though they are reading word for word from a script, complete with awkward pauses and fumbled words, leaving it somewhere below the original Resident Evil, without the campy horror value (No! Don’t open that door!). Don’t get me wrong, I like the ambition behind it all (and again I know it’s fun to hang out with buddies and read scripts), but if you are going to be selling your games to people, you should make sure that whatever you put into it is quality. The in-game voice clips were so bad they had me laughing at first, and then wanting to mute my TV shortly afterwards. I think I can sum it up this way: I would rather read Hamlet in peace and quiet than have Gilbert Gottfried screech “Alas, poor Yorick” in my ear. In short, there is no shame in using a scrolling text box. I used to love old RPG’s simply because I could create what the characters sounded like in my own head and not have to cringe at the poorly delivered Japanese translations. On the other hand, the in-game sound effects work fairly well , with a variety of boat sounds and water crashing to keep things lively out at sea. The gun sound-effect could be a little more convincing though, especially as you level up in weapons power, but for the most part the sound effects help to add a layer of immersion to the often pretty looking scenery. The music is also really well done and deserves a nod.

It’s a Pirates Life for Me... and Three Friends.

Apparently the life of a pirate is nothing if not dangerous. Adrift absolutely backs this theory up in it’s initially punishing difficulty level right out of the gate. Upon starting the game I found myself trying desperately to destroy enemy ships only to be sent plummeting down to Davy Jones’s locker time and time again. No matter what I did, whether it was trying to stay back and fire from a safe distance, or juke and jive with finesse around enemy ships, their sticktoitive, magnetized AI and higher powered weaponry always seemed about 20,000 leagues out of my reach. The good thing about adrift however is you get to keep whatever loot you make after each run and in turn use this money to upgrade your fleet's weaponry, speed and shields. As I was able to gradually beef up my ships offence and defence, encounters became less intimidating and much more fun. I found myself luring ships away from the stashes that they were guarding and into open waters where gun fights now became a test of skill and positioning. This is the ultimate compliment that I can give to its game play, where as in many top-down shooters the action just boils down to a chaotic fire-fest, I actually found myself trying to strategize my enemy encounters instead of just launching myself in all willy-nilly. As you become more and more powerful, you may find yourself taking on more and more opposing ships at once, however it’s never a good idea to just launch yourself into a full-fleet of angry Gode as you’ll more than likely find yourself bunking with the Edmund Fitzgerald. [caption id="attachment_669" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The legend lives on from the Chippewa on down..."][/caption] There’s a healthy mixture of mission types in this game as well that range from simple loot and pillage runs, to defending your base from enemy onslaughts, to craft retrieval and escort missions. I found that each level did a good job of making me play the mission with slightly different tactics, with only the looting/pillaging and territory defence scenarios feeling vaguely familiar to each other and in turn repetitive. The big bonus to all this though is the ability to play any of the missions with up to 3 friends (quad split screen) or local multiplayer VS games.

At Least it’s not Water World.

Upon listening to the initial mission briefing, I feared the worst for this game. I almost didn’t want to give it a chance, however after trudging through the games frightfully difficult opening level and putting some time into the game play itself I grew accustomed to my new sea-legs. Though a few moments of repetitive game design, and the unfortunate use of voice acting made me, at times, want to abandon ship, the game play itself made it worth taking this skiff out to sea if only for a couple of hours. Who knows? Costner may have a script for this one yet. [xrr rating=3/5]

primofimo on Nomis: The Legacy Islands - An Xbox Indie Game Review

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 02:29:54 +0000

Nomis: The Legacy Islands Developer: Robot Food Games Genre: Platformer Countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States Languages: English Price: 240 Microsoft points

Developer Summary:

2D side-scrolling action game. Defeat the robot general before he can resurrect a weapon hidden long ago. Play through 20 levels and engage in boss battles, local co-op and upgrade your character and weapons.

What We Think:

In the Year Three Thouuuusaaaaaand:

Somewhere in the near future, evil robots (lead by a more sinister nameless half-robot) have begun to overthrow the peaceful islands of Nomis. Their mission involves scouring a variety of different locales across the slumbering archipelago in search of a secret weapon hidden long ago. Why there is an ancient weapon hidden deep within an island full of nothing but leaf wearing sheep riders (see jungle level)is a matter however that is best left unsaid, as this is a light hearted game that you definitely shouldn't take too seriously. The problem I found in this however is that the developers seemed to have somewhat of that same care-free mindset when it came to creating the game. The entire package feels somewhat slapped together and rushed, with a number of good concepts that unfortunately fall fairly short of creating a cohesive experience.

Welcome to Nomis, Here we have Mountains, Oceans and Murderous Robots:

If there’s one thing that Nomis: The Legacy Islands does a good job of, it’s providing a variety of locations and creatures. Each Level is crafted separately with a background pallet all its own and a distinctive tile set for the characters to traverse, enemies are also given a proper makeover so that each fits in a little better with their current environment. It’s a commitment to the game that often gets overlooked in indie game development and it`s nice to see designers pushing forward and attempting to make sure that each level provides a unique experience. [caption id="attachment_611" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="So many islands, so little time."][/caption] That being said however, I can’t exactly say that this is one of the prettier games I`ve played and though I`ll applaud it for it’s ambition, sadly the aesthetic quality of each environment could have used a little more polish. Certain touches like the foreground weather/environmental effects serve as more of a distraction than an immersive element. On occasion I would be moving up and down a ladder only to notice that the rain/snow or debris particles were moving right along with me. I have to go with the theory that if something doesn’t add to the overall appearance of your game then it really doesn`t need to be included. At times as well I found the background to be a little too busy or noticeable and it would interfere with the actual level design. In certain levels I found myself wanting to walk across a ledge that was in front of me, only to realize a little too late that the ledge was actually part of the background painting, thus sending me plummeting to an untimely demise. The music is fairly well done, and it’s straightforward synthesizer approach definitely adds to the idea of a tyrannical/oppressive robot threat, The sound clips and home-performed foley effects however could have used some more work as they became tedious and some downright annoying (hearing a robot scream LOLZ upon his death, may seem quirky at first, but it grew old fast). I understand the humor in wanting to provide your own sound-effects( lord knows me and my friends have over-dubbed movies in the past and have had a damn fun time doing it), but the sound quality here seemed a little jarring and sadly seemed to take me out of the experience more than anything. [caption id="attachment_612" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Who knew robots would even say LOLZ when getting blasted in the face with a shotgun."][/caption]

Popular Mechanics for Indie Game Developers:

Like any well-tuned robot, Nomis: The Legacy Islands, provides you with a hefty set of functions and features to utilize as you see fit. You can run, jump(even double jump), fire 2 types of guns in almost any direction, turn stealth, breath underwater and the list goes on from there. This is wonderful in concept however when it all boils down I found myself needing nothing more than the stealth/melee technique and a tiny bit of patience. You can literally one hit kill any enemy in the game (boss battles excluded of course), this coupled with the ability to hide in shadow and move directly behind (or even through) your opponent, and suddenly you are transformed into the greatest robot killing machine since Keanu Reeves. I burned through all the games 20 levels in less than an hour without so much as batting an eye. And though you have the option to upgrade your weaponry and health meters by collecting money and parts from your fallen foes, there’s almost no incentive whatsoever to do this other than to possibly take down the bosses slightly quicker. I will say though that each boss does provide a somewhat unique encounter and they would definitely be considered a highlight of the combat here. The platforming that’s laid out in the level design can provide a slight challenge, however once you realize that you have the ability to double-jump (even while falling) the game ceases to be much of a challenge and you may find yourself breezing through entire levels without stopping. On the plus-side there are a number of hidden treasures scattered about each level and you can even purchase treasure maps from the local merchant to aid you in your quest for much-monies. It’s nice to see depth in the systems that have been created here, however I would have loved it if the game-play and level design had forced you to make use of all of it.

May be in Need of a Tune-up:

From a conceptual stand-point this game has a lot of stuff going for it. With its ambitious level/character design, and multitude of features like an upgradeable arsenal with various special items and local co-op option there was incredible potential for this to be an epic robot invasion. Sadly though, there was a lot going on inside this bot, but the cogs just didn’t seem to be clicking together. This game is by no means bad or broken and other than the horribly repetitive sound clips there really aren’t any major flaws. In the end however the package seems a little rusty and could have used more time in the shop. [xrr rating=2/5]

primofimo on Urban Space Squirrels - An Xbox Indie Game Review

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 20:12:32 +0000

Developer: DTA Entertainment Genre: Platformer Countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States Languages: English Price: 80 Microsoft Points

Developer Summary:

It's about a super-powered squirrel with bombs, in a semi-urban setting of puzzles. Somehow or another space is involved. Why haven't you played this game yet?

What We Think:

The Few, The Proud, The Squirrelly

Cute, fluffy...highly destructive? Other than the small paragraph provided by DTA Entertainment about Urban Space Squirrels, there was little for me to go on in regards to just what this game was going to be about before I played it, it was left completely up to my imagination. Thankfully, the creation of this game was left completely up to the imaginations of the people of DTAE. You play as agent 1337, a highly agile, incredibly intelligent super-squirrel with an armament of bombs so vast that only the Bush administration could have possibly provided it to him. However the twist is that these are antiparticle bombs, and rather than blowing up everything in sight, you use your bombs to flip switches, open locked gates, and propel yourself to otherwise unreachable heights. If you were hoping for mass squirrel destruction or a long-lost episode of Happy Tree Friends, forget about it, but don’t let that deter you, what’s waiting for you in this game is far more gripping, challenging and crafty than anything you will find in one of today’s uber-violent button-mashers. This game will test your brain, your fingers, and your patience... and I mean that in the best way possible.

It’s Your World, Squirrel

Although not exploding (pun intended) with colourful creatures, or crafty character/level design, I still found this to be a highly polished and visually appealing title. Agent 1337 is well drawn and animated and his environments may be simple in concept, but they have a colourful bubble-gum visual aesthetic and help to add greatly to the ambiance. Objects and enemies are also simplistic in design, but do well to correspond to the look of the scenery, giving the title a somewhat 50’s approach to space design. I half expected Marvin the Martian to be a cameo, if not an end boss. Even the menu screens have a pleasantly appealing cartoonish theme, somewhere along the lines of Dexter’s Laboratory or Clone High. Funny fonts, and simple background drawings help to add to the fun simplistic nature and really contribute to creating a light-hearted but well conceived design scheme. Though this game will look best on higher resolution screens, It can be enjoyed on nearly any TV because of its basic approach. My TV sucks and I thought this game looked great.

Extreme Animal Testing

The game may not have been given much of a storyline, so here’s my take on it. Somewhere in the near future, scientists have realized that running a mouse through a wooden labyrinth in order to find a piece of cheese at the end is no longer a sufficient means with which to test an animal’s capacity for learning, Instead they arm them with endless bombs and set them loose in one of the craziest, mad-cap laboratories ever invented to see how they fare. What ensues is some of the most intense, skill-testing platforming action available since games like Ninja-Gaiden, or (dare I say it?) Castlevania. [caption id="attachment_571" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Squirrels don't fear the Reaper"][/caption] The game starts lightly enough, you can run, jump and deploy a single bomb to flip a switch, open a gate or launch you in the intended direction. It’s a well calculated control scheme which helps to keep things simple at first. Run with the left analog stock, jump with the A button. The right analog will aim the bomb in which ever direction you push it, and then you simply hold the left trigger to send your bomb off in that direction. The Bomb will continue travelling in the intended direction until you let go of the left trigger, the right trigger explodes that bomb. It kind of works along the line of the puzzle bobble games, except you control the distance for how far the bomb is launched, and you can (and will have to) move while launching. That’s it: the entire game is mapped to 5 buttons. Seems simple, right? The game becomes much more advanced however as you pick up multiple bombs , which then forces you to use these bombs in succession, or conjunction with each other to solve a variety of brilliantly crafted puzzles which are just as, if not more, intuitive than what you would find on the early NES platformers. After a couple of levels you’ll be thanking the sweet scientist above that you only have to worry about 5 buttons, as the puzzles move so quickly sometimes that any more would melt our tiny little brains, though the game may be pop-rock in design, It’s heavy-metal in game play. Some of the more brilliant puzzles involve use of the old Metroid-launch-yourself-in-the-air-with-bombs tool, the twist on this is that now some puzzles will force you to precisely place those bombs at certain spots in a puzzle, and in the proper order of detonation(bombs only explode in the order they are launched). Other puzzles require impeccable timing and hand-eye co-ordination as you traverse your way through narrow corridors lined with death-rays. One puzzle had me so flustered (though it was about 3 A.M at the time) that I was forced to retire for the evening, however I ran it over in my head so many times that I was able to figure it out while I wasn’t even playing. To me that is the true sign of amazing and highly addictive game design. There were multiple moments in this game, where I swore I was ready to tear my hair out, but all the while I had a smile on my face. It’s a relentlessly challenging game that will push your skills to the limit, yet it will never feel like success is completely out of your grasp. [caption id="attachment_572" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Even red-necks will love this game. YEEEHAWWW! Fried squirrel!"][/caption]

No Squirrels Were Harmed in the Making of this Game

That’s actually a lie. This is the kind of game where you will die, and die a lot. The designers however have taken this(and your sanity) into consideration. Kindly they have put a number of checkpoints throughout each level, which you will instantly warp back to as soon as you are electrocuted, fried or squashed, however you may only save at the beginning of a level, so you may want to persevere and finish a level if you feel like you’ve made considerable progress through it. Starting again at the beginning of a level can be a might frustrating.

Squirrel Trumps Hedgehog

If it were up to me I’d crown a new king of animal-based platformers. This is Classic-platforming action at the top of its game. Without a doubt DTAE has created something special, and although this game only took me a day to beat, It would be more than worth it to re-visit and try to best my top times and scores. I’m sure that if they continue to make games in the Urban-Space universe, this squirrel is gonna fly. [xrr rating=5/5]

XNA-Game-Freak on Flotilla - An XBOX Indie Game Review and Dev Interview

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 06:04:42 +0000

Developer: Brendon Chung / Blendo Games Genre: Strategy & Simulation Countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States Languages: English Price: 400 Microsoft Points

Developer Summary

Lead your orbital battleships to victory in Flotilla! Discover new planets, battle bounty hunters, and explore the tactical richness of 3D fleet maneuvers.

Flotilla - Synopsis

You are an intrepid space traveler with seven months to live. Time to settle some score in the galaxy before the clock runs out. Developed by Brendon Chung working under the title Blendo Games, Flotilla is a turn-based science fiction strategy game. Chung's previous work includes the dapper and surprising, free-to-download Gravity Bone (direct download link) built on a customized Quake 2 engine and an indie darling.

Flotilla Gameplay

After a little time with the game, you will find, as the developer demonstrates in the attached video, that the key strategy in Flotilla is about getting behind and below the enemy. One might assume that most turns should involve diving as low as possible in order to, ironically, get the upper hand, but in Flotilla there is no fixed up or down, and enemy ships may roll over and change the meaning of "attacking from below". Suddenly the seemingly simple three options to move and fire, remain somewhat stationary and concentrate fire or forego weaponry in favor of significantly increased ship displacement, emphasizes the fact that this is a turn based STRATEGY game. Another seemingly innocuous but ultimately critical option is the ability to use "hard" objects on the battlefield as a defense mechanism. Such barriers include space debris, or asteroids or remnants of old spaceships that are scattered arbitrarily around the play field. These are particularly effective against otherwise devastating albeit short-ranged beam canons. Once your battalion includes ships that can fire missiles used in concert with this hide and seek strategy, victory quickly becomes more likely. Some might argue that discovering these basic characteristics to success means that Flotilla quickly becomes disappointingly simple, but this reviewer feels that the style of the game, meaning the balletic pacing and contemplative music, help it transcend the basic impulse to pwn the opposition. Which may in fact be the salvo for Flotilla at this stage of its development, as the AI opponents tend to become predictable too soon, more likely to go for the attack over more creative defensive maneuvers. A human opponent would be more likely to out-think you, especially if they know you well enough, and this is why a remote multi-player version of the game would add huge dimension to the possibilities that Flotilla promises, making it more of an ambient, celestial rendition of the board game Stratego (and that would be awesome). That said, Flotilla is not so easy that there won't be some legitimately tough conflicts; larger battles, especially those where the enemy outnumbers your fleet by a high margin require some real planning, though really you are just managing the aforementioned maneuvers on a larger scale. One of the bewildering design options was to create "adventures" that are meant to played as short sessions, as opposed to campaigns that can be built upon, so that there is no option to save progress. The fact that the player can procure upgrades and modify the roster of ships in the fleet, or I guess flotilla suggests that there would be room for this kind of development, and in my opinion, make for a richer game. The fact that new play session means starting over from scratch took away the value of all the legitimately entertaining enemy types (fleets of pirate Penguins, slave-trading Panda Bears, bounty hunting rhinos or angry chickens whose family reunion you have disrupted); I would love to see some sort of development in building reps with certain factions or races. Again, not a huge thing, but something that would embolden the brand and add another layer of complexity to the Flotilla universe. I am not sure if the fact that maps are randomized creates a barrier to this kind of linear narrative development, but I can think of a few ways that such things as alliances or bonuses could be implemented merely to add some extra color and variety to each encounter without breaking the underlying framework. Sure, presumably the existing yes or no choices you make in taking on a particular fleet have minor effects on the adventure as it unfolds, but that only underlines the fact that they could be developed further, with greater implications. That said, the little narrative bursts that do pop up before every encounter are legitimately funny and afford some welcome personality to the proceedings.

A Quick Interview with Developer Brendon Chung

We decided to ask developer Brendon Chung directly about future developments for the game and what inspired its creation: XBLIGR: Have you thought of implementing a remote multi-player mode? I'm presently working with someone on adding remote multiplayer. XBLIGR: How long did it take you from inception to launch? The entire project took about six months. XBLIGR: What were some of your primary influences putting this title together? Star Control II, Cowboy Bebop, and submarine movies. XBLIGR: What do you think of Solar, Osmos, Gratuitous Space Battles? Osmos is one of the most relaxing games I've ever played. GSB is a very interesting twist on the space combat genre, it's a real breath of fresh air. I haven't tried Solar yet. XBLIGR: We bring up Solar, one of our best of 2009, because, like Osmos it has a meditative quality to it, something that your title also evokes.

Does the Flotilla Deliver the Goods?

Flotilla is a very pretty, hypnotic and well-designed turn based strategy game set in its now distinctive orange-colored cosmic setting. Taken as a sort of interactive screensaver, or break from stressful real-life concerns, it delivers in spades. But it is a tease; the addition of save points, purchasable upgrades, deeper storylines or missions in a true campaign mode and remote multiplayer gaming would push this title into the domain of true excellence. It should be noted however, that this is a small one-man development team and that multi-player mode for a game of this complexity for the XBOX Live Indie platform is a Herculean task and that because maps, encounters and locations are randomly generated, a deeper storyline may not ultimately make sense. Save points would be nice though! Simply for the fact that it brings a little of Kubrick's 2001 into the Xbox Indie Gaming marketplace, Flotilla the game and its talented, creative developer both deserve your meager four dollar investment and attention. See also: Solar, Osmos, Gratuitous Space Battles, Sins of A Solar Empire, Weird Worlds, Freelancer Flotilla is also available on Steam

Callabrantus on OLU

Sun, 02 May 2010 15:19:11 +0000

What they say:

Dive into this rhythm-based rail shooter and track down an artificial being born in an isolated network. As the music drives you and you will drive it. Feel the pulse as every action is represented through rhythm, visuals, and rumble feedback. Straddle the analog and digital worlds to prevent the artificial life-form from gaining control.

What we think:

The thing that most impresses me about the Xbox Live Indie blade is the ability of some developers to make a mash-up of two fundamentally different genres and still create something so satisfying. When I first read OLU described as a rhythm-based rail shooter, I could almost hear the big publishers shuffling in their seats. But so help me, it works.

In OLU, you take control of a hacker who is coasting through network after network in an attempt to track down an insidious AI that will do all in its power to thwart you. Security drone programs will strike back at you, and can be identified as either digital or analog. By switching between your digital and analog tool, you can select the weapon opposite the nature of the current wave of opponents to cause more damage. By locking multiple enemies in your sights at once, you increase the amount of points awarded, and you build towards a weapon burst from each of your hacking tools. One is capable of spraying out a large scale attack on several enemies at once, and the other allows you to lock enemies in place for a few precious seconds. The latter really comes in handy when you find yourself taking on dozens of enemies at once. You control a different interface tool in each of the games levels, and as you chain together attacks on enemies, I noticed that my “cursor” was gaining fortification. This is handy when you are confronted with larger enemies found later in the levels, but it also means you need to be really cautious early on.

The music is bass-heavy, and pulses with your assaults. Chaining enemies adds to the musical score as they wink out of existence to the ever-present beat. The graphics are austere, lending just enough to generate an atmosphere that conjured up what I imagined cyberspace looked like when I read Neuromancer years ago. You feel like you are afloat in giant tunnels of the information network, picking off waves of tiny attackers piecemeal, until suddenly you find yourself boxed in, and are confronted with one of the game’s epic-sized boss battles. The larger enemies were what impressed me most about the game’s design: they appear truly massive, and easily dwarf both the player and the smaller enemies, but you never lose the sense that they’re just as much a digital (or analog) creation as anything else in the game.

I didn’t find OLU to be incredibly difficult. The on-rails format kept the game from getting overly complex from a control perspective. However, this didn’t take away from the enjoyment. You’ll still be craning left and right to keep up with the sudden appearances of multiple combatants, and the end-of-level battles will keep you on your toes. When the screen fills up with digital and analogue minions, OLU becomes a tantalizing dance of light and sound.

OLU – by Red Button Games

Available on Xbox Live Indie Marketplace
240 Microsoft Points

Rating:

Callabrantus on Avatar Hunter from MageStick Games - An Xbox Indie Game Review

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 22:58:45 +0000

Developer: MageStick

Genre: Puzzle & Trivia

Price: 80 MS Points

Countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States

Languages: English

Developer's Summary: The evil Teddy has kidnapped avatar twins from around the globe and it's up to you to free them from his devious clutches. Reunite the avatar twins and help them escape from the depths of Teddy's mansion! Stimulate your imagination and explore multiple thematic realms of mystery in your quest to free all avatar slaves! What We Think: Avatar Hunter puts a modern spin on the classic Memory game, and provides a slew of options to keep you flipping cards and delving for Doppelgangers. Time Attack mode will test you on how you handle recalling details on the fly, or you can test your luck and see how many twins you can rescue with a set amount of attempts. Chain your rescues to multiply the bonus and earn additional chances. There are also a number of different theme-based levels to choose from, and with various styles available to play, you’re bound to find one that will trip you up. I found trying to pick out twins when the hairstyles are all that distinguishes them from other sets of twins to be particularly tricky. Picking out twins in a bunch of tie-died hippies will keep your eyes furiously darting back and forth. The creepy mood is sustained with the background music, though there only seems to be the one looping track. The voice clips were a little sparse, and they started to repeat really quickly. It’s hard to improve on a classic like Memory, but there are some enjoyable modifications to be found here. For the bargain price of 80 Microsoft Points, Avatar Hunter is an agreeable way to spend some time flexing your brain muscles while striving to beat your best time or score. [xrr rating=3/5]

XNA-Game-Freak on Bricks4Ever - Xbox Indie Game Review

Tue, 13 Oct 2009 04:00:12 +0000

Title: Bricks4Ever Developer: Running Pixel Genre: Action & Adventure Price: 80 Points Countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States Languages: English Developer Summary: A whole new light on the breakout style games world. Play with the double stick mode, enjoy the coop modes and the 50 levels. Play for ever with the neverending mode and the relaxing Zen mode; hours of fun for all the blocks/bricks games fans! Ready for the challenge? What Our Reviewers Think: Bricks4Ever is a classic arcade-style brick breakout game. At fifty levels, plus a randomly generated infinite level mode, its a decent sized game for the price. The graphics are a little on the retro side, but rightfully so. Mixed with higher resolution and bright colors, they add a great overall feel to the experience. The co-op mode seems tacked on. This is the style of game you play by yourself. As much as I enjoyed it, I can only give this one a two for originality - it's not hard to go wrong with a classic proven game-style especially when many of these XNA developers are essentially retro modding already working templates; the breakout game has been done and redone so many times they all kind of blend together and there is nothing ground-breaking about this latest execution which will likely fade away into obscurity. On the positive side, it has a great soundtrack, some decent glowing neon graphics and a list of power-ups that seem to comprise almost all the iterations you have seen in previous versions, rolled into one package. Twin stick mode? You will love it or hate it - imagine another platform on the opposite side of the field that you also control. You can use it to steer the ball from both sides for more accuracy, but purists may find it just gets in the way. If you feel like revisiting Arkanoid, this time with extra KoolAdeTM crystals, then 80 Microsoft points will be a small sacrifice to pay, it is among the better breakouts on XBLIG, not that that's saying much. [xrr rating=3/5]

XNA-Game-Freak on Paint Boll - Xbox Indie Game Review

Wed, 07 Oct 2009 04:29:27 +0000

Title: Paint Boll Developer: CandelaCreations Genre: Shooter Price: 80 Points Countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States Languages: English Developer's Summary: Shoot paint balls at your opponent and hit the most splashes or collect max bonus points to win. 5 independent levels including level customization for personalizing challenges. May the best player win! What We Think: For this game you need two players, so scratch out playing if you are a lonely gamer looking for some "shoot-em-up fun." It's a basic set up with minimal places to hide and in the end I found it rather boring. I do like the premise and I think the creators should elaborate on it, make it for 1-4 players with more hiding areas...or obstacles in the way that would defer your attention to your opponent. With all the amazingly artistic and creative indie game ideas emerging on the market, I give it 2 out of 5 stars. For the idea, the work that was put into it...but I think it is a work in progress that has room for further development. I'd definitely want to play this game if it was more exciting, or in other words, elaborate. [xrr rating=2/5]

Ighuaran on Review: I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!1 for Xbox Live Indie Games

Sun, 27 Sep 2009 05:12:17 +0000

Wonder how this will stand up to Zombie Apocalypse. Zombies are at an all time peak in popularity. Well, short of the 70's drive in scene.

XNA-Game-Freak on Review: I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!1 for Xbox Live Indie Games

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 02:19:47 +0000

Creator: Jamezila Genre: Top Down Shooter Players: 1-4 Price: 80 Points Countries: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States Languages: English Developer Summary: This video game product represents a culmination of years of intensive psychological research, bleeding edge engineering, and artistic collaboration by over two dozen internationally recognized art houses, using such technologies as the HYPERMAGIC 3.0 engine to power never-before-seen eye candy with the MEGACORE X parallelization processor for smooth-as-glass presentation. What We Think: I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1, more commonly referred to as I Made a Game With Zombies, is a relatively recent addition to the growing XBLA Indie Game lineup. Featuring a twin stick shooter setup, the action will be immediately familiar to anyone who has played the XBLA game Geometry Wars. In Zomb1es you play the part of, well, a tiny character running around a landscape riddled with zombies. There are numerous weapon power ups at your disposal, including such zombie bashing classics as the flamethrower, the shotgun, and the machine gun, while adding new favorites like a missile launcher and a weird green tri-attack-star-shooting-thinger. You’ll also enjoy the occasional extra life, speed boost, and temporary shield. As you shoot more zombies, the game begins warping to include netherworld like backdrops and puddles of green slime, among other odd creatures. In all of the simplistic glory that unfortunately too often comes with an Indie Game, I would hesitate to call title truly original or even mildly thought provoking (unless of course you aren't fluent in l33tsp3Ak and are caught in the headlights by the game's actual title). That aside, Zombies still has a lot of good things going for it. The graphics are both polished and smooth, the controls are very responsive and the addictive soundtrack is comprised of one long song hammering on about making a game with, well, zombies in it. At 80 Microsoft points, the zombie killing is frantic, the pace is unyielding, and most importantly, the game costs 80 points. Next time you're thinking about getting a candy bar, a can of soda, or 1/3rd a gallon of gas, save yourself the trip and purchase this game instead. [xrr rating=3.5/5] Get I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!1 at the XBOX Live Marketplace