Indie Games Round-Up
Since the release of GTA IV this summer, there’s been something of a gaming drought. There hasn’t been anything I’d call a true “triple-A” title, apart from maybe Metal Gear Solid (Kojima’s latest cut-scene heavy plot twist fest seems to have fallen foul of the buying public) and Age of Conan, which was, according to the project manager, not ready for review until three months after release.
So anyone with a thirst for new gaming experiences would be foolish not to turn to the independent gaming scene. The indie market has mushroomed in recent years, and with some of the biggest draws to the rival consoles coming from their respective download services (Geometry Wars, Super Stardust HD, Everyday Shooter, Rez, to name but a few), the big three are encouraging small developers to harness their technology.
When I first got a current-gen console, I was astonished by the crisp HD visuals. For about a month I oooh’d and aaah’d over Halo 3, Bioshock, Mass Effect and the like. But after the initial novelty wore off, I re-affirmed what I’d known for a few generations of console hardware – it doesn’t matter how shiny the graphics are if the gameplay isn’t up to snuff.
The indie gaming uprising is a testament to this. Most indie developers stick to 2D or simple 3D graphics, understanding that the visuals are just a wrapper, and if what’s underneath is good enough, it will make an impact without 1080p and HDR lighting.
It’s not much of a surprise therefore when a game like Braid comes along and blows much of the current release schedule out of the water. Don’t get me wrong, Braid is anything but an ugly game. I’d go so far as to say it ranks alongside Yoshi’s Island and even Okami in the way it overcomes the limitations of it’s medium (MS impose a limitation in file-size on XBLA games to cater for those poor souls stuck with a Core/Arcade without a HD).
Like Yoshi’s Island, Braid is set in a cartoony, blue-sky-green-grass world, but like Okami, it appears painted on – the aforementioned grass undulates with life, and with every increase in the speed at which you reverse time (oh yeah, did I mention you can reverse time?) the landscape appears to be painted in ever more watery colours. It’s 1200 MS points, but like other games at that price point (Puzzle Quest for example) it will provide that bit more entertainment than standard XBLA offerings. Penny Arcade’s take on MS’s pricing here.
My top five favorite free indie games are as follows (in no particular order):
N+ Now also available on XBLA, you can still get the PC original free. Hilariously difficult and unforgiving physics-based platformer – navigate your ninja through each stage, avoiding rocket-launching, electro-frying, laser-shooting robot death and large drops to death by dismemberment.
Toribash The deepest fighting game around – quick to learn but slow to master. Create your own martial art by individually manipulating the muscle groups on your rag-doll. The first time you literally kick your opponent’s head off is a special gaming moment.
Clean Asia Yes, it’s hard, and yes I haven’t made it more than about a minute into the game. I’ve played that minute enough times to say that Cactus has done enough to the standard shmup mechanic to make Clean Asia a stand-out title. Honourable mention goes to the music – midi has never sounded so good.
Battleships Forever 2D Spaceship pew-pewing, in Space! Great design and loads of content make this great value for no money.
Samorost Amanita Design’s beautiful flash game is a deceptively simple point-and-click affair, but never has so much atmosphere been crammed in to so few bytes.
