Xbox Indie Games Recap: Braaaaiiiiinssss…..

When you’ve been doing this as long as I have you start to recognise developer names. At some point I’ll probably start to create a Hall of Shame for the developers who consistently load endless piles of turd onto the channel. A few of the usual suspects show their faces this week, see how many you can spot amongst the 20 games that make up this week’s recap.

I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1
Jamezilla – 80 Points

Chances are you know this game. Top rated, current chart #1 and raved about by everyone the second you mention it. It’s the new game from James Silva, and if you don’t recognise that name then you’ll have to go play his last game. Dream Build Play 2007 winner and XBLA game Dishwasher: Dead Samurai. This is a dual stick shooter, however it is also a parody of and carries homages to several other games. The levels melt together with the music and new kinds of enemies seamlessly blend into the game. This is exactly how an arena shooter like this should work. For about 15 minutes I played in a kind of trance, only stopping to unlock the full game when the trial timer expired. In terms of addictive score attack games on Indie Games there is nothing better than this to play, watch or even listen to.

Gogs
Gogs – 80 Points

Knocking like coloured balls into each other to clear them sounds like a decent idea on paper. For the first few levels I was playing it played fine as well, not brilliant but there was potential there. However once I reached level 4 and more balls were added I started to notice the extremely dodgy collision detection. After hitting a ball a few times my controllaball (sorry) started to just pass straight through the balls it was supposed to hit. Moving onto other balls quickly had the same effect so I’m forced to file this under ‘Broken’.

Power Hour
GIGGITYGIGG1TY – 80 Points

Another week, another game about beer. The rules of this drinking game are that you consume 1 shot of beer every minute for 60 minutes. All the game does is keep time, pop up some quotes about beer and play music. Not even the music is decent as it cuts out each track after a minute. Get a stopwatch and leave this alone, or play a better drinking game.

The Drinking Game
North Squard – 80 Points

Lo and behold here’s another drinking game. This one however is just a slot machine. A beer appearing means a drink, 2 beers for 2 drinks and everyone drinks if a wench shows up. Really just not worth it. As if you thought it might be.

Zens 360
xMONOx – 80 Points

Simple enough, this just displayed a zen thought for the day alongside some calming music and imagery. If you meditate in the mornings or otherwise I can see it being somewhat interesting, but for everyone else this is pointless.

Johnny’s Minefield
North Squard – 80 Points

Within 5 seconds you have to memorise the layout of a minefield. Then the mines disappear and you have to walk from one side to the other. As a grid based game this sort of thing could work, but as a free moving game it starts requiring more precision in your memory than I think exists. The character’s expression changes when you’re close to a mine, but most of the times I noticed this and tried to move the other way the mine blew up anyway. Whether the mine is on a timer or the trailing arm is included in the collision detection is unclear. Before I noticed that it was dull, with that problem there it’s infuriating.

Livelayer Prototype
Kamadasyoko – 80 Points

I find this maze game strangely enthralling even though it’s really over thought. Basically there are 2 sides to the maze, A light side with no enemies, keys or traps where your health and energy recharges and a dark side where your energy drains. The skill in the game comes from using the keys you bring back from the darkside to unlock the right doors and escape the maze as quickly as possible. The other challenge is moving through the darkside sections quickly so you have the energy to bust out the keys. The problem is that the game isn’t that much fun when you think about it. However despite this I kept playing so there is potentially a game you may like here, I however find it kind of hollow.

Game Finder
UberGeekGames – 80 Points

The ability to sort and find games that interest you is just 80 points away. This is of course on Xbox Live where you need an internet connection so I’m assuming anyone using this has a browser somewhere. If that is indeed the case then ignore this and check out XBLARatings.com.

Goldens
Mark Westbrook – 240 Points

Now for some arena combat. Not shooting for once though. The idea behind this game is to mine gold nuggets from the mines that appear and disappear as the game progresses. Then it’s a case of sucking them up into your posession before shooting them into the mine carts that trundle along the track that runs through the maps. The mechanics are sound, the controls take time to get used to but work rather well, the bot AI is suitably dirty and competitive and the game is surprisingly nice to look at. Really this is a lot better than I was expecting, but I do say it’s much more worthwhile if you have friends willing to play too.

Shardscape Assault
Arthur Prescient – 80 Points

A token we have and a token we will utilise. Look out for this game getting the full review treatment soon. The email we got showed that Mr Prescient believes in the game though. I always like to see that.

1337 Ship Deathmatch
LocoPuyo – 400 Points

More multiplayer arena shenanigans now. Asteroids style inertia steering govern this simple shooter. A warping ability adds a bit of spice to the standard fly around shooting things formula but I can’t get past the fact that the game looks like ass. The blurb promises 1080p HD and 3D graphics, but the only thing 3D about this game is the timer. There are far better shooters of this kind around.

Wacky Karts
Krollware LLC – 400 Points

Once again we have been graced with a token for this kart racer. Naturally this means there will be a full NG Review coming soon. The stats are fairly standard though, 16 tracks split into 4 tournaments. I consider that the basic standard for XNA racers.

Atomhex
Escapist Games – 80 Points

More dual stick action now with a very pretty shooter. The basic idea of the game is that the white atoms are harmlesss as are the coloured hexes. However once the 2 combine they become a lethal enemy spawn point. Then your ship needs to be the same colour as the Atomhex to destroy it. Destroying hexes alone will allow you to change colour. The need to keep an eye on colours adds an extra bit of challenge to an already rather good shooter. Adding to the good stuff is the presence of awards, these achievementlikes have been in several Indie Games, but Atomhex not only has 100 of them but awards them with the achievement tone and flashes them on the bottom of the screen. I like that for attention to detail. This one comes recommended to dual stick veterans.

Arbor Vitae
Erpberger – 240 Points

“It Takes a Hero To Save A Tree.” With that eco-warrior message made blatantly clear it’s off into another dual stick shooter with another interesting twist. This time you’re not at risk of defeat from enemies, you’re now in charge of defending a tree. This involves more complex thinking than just shooting everything that comes to attack. You’re helped out by a group of wisecracking nanobots which can perform tasks like watering the tree or helping you fight off enemies that have latched onto the tree. The balancing of these nanobots tasks gets tougher as enemies become more numerous and that makes this game more than a dual stick shooter. The fact that the wisecracks of the nanobots is actually funny helps out there too.

Ninja Train
Dot Zo Games – 80 Points

I can’t help but wonder why games with awesome titles are never that good. Ninja Train is a constantly scrolling platformer like Jump was last week. However where Jump got a pass thanks to its charm and style, Ninja Train has none of that. The pixel art is nice at first, but a limited field of vision due to the action being viewed from a train window makes it hard to keep your character in view. The other problem is that there’s no challenge, no enemies or pits to fall down so finishing the game’s 3 stages within the 8 minute trial is easily possible. Japanese developers need to sort this problem out if they want any sales.

A Frog Game
Imagodespira – 240 Points

Jump from one lilypad to another and eat flies. Jumping just requires the A button and eating is done with the triggers. It’s unbelievably dull to play. There’s just no depth, no challenge, no entertainment and no point.

Crecendo Symphony 2
Nakfiv – 240 Points

You may remember Crecendo Symphony being a somewhat average shooter back when Japanese games first appeared on the service. It was very pretty if nothing else and this second visit to the Crecendo Symphony world maintains that. Rather than a shooter we now have an RPG style puzzle. Flipping tiles under your character provides attack or defence with special moves available which make it easy to launch special attacks. With all the story text in Japanese and only one battle here however it makes for another decent idea which just doesn’t do enough to deserve the points.

Zombies 2.0
Danthekilla – 240 Points

More zombie shenanigans now, this time it’s about defending a base from the living dead. Right stick aiming, right trigger firing is the control scheme we’re working with here. However, as with a lot of zombie games, it’s just as much about what you can see. Your character (a robot) has a torch which gives you a small field of vision. Other forms of light are available though, lighting barrels on fire will help as will flares. The ability to buy new weapons and make repairs with money earned from successful defence is also a nice touch. However the difficulty ramps up way too quickly for me to make this a full on recommendation. Definitely give it a shot though.

Dodge These Balls
Imagodespira – 80 Points

Move the red ball and avoid the black balls which gradually increase in number. A simple idea makes for a simple game. Unfortunately it doesn’t make for a fun game. What I’ve described is literally all there is to the game, just not worth its space.

Penguin Slip Slide Lite
SGN Casual Games – 80 Points

Refer to comments I made about the non-lite version of this game some time ago. For those not willing to track them down though here’s the basic idea. This is that sliding ice block puzzle used in several games (most notably recent Zelda games and Bionic Commando Rearmed) but stretched out into a full game. I don’t like this puzzle at the best of times and the tacky presentation that has become a hallmark of all the SGN games doesn’t do much to endear me to it.

Game of the Week? It’s tricky this week but I’m going to say that I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1 just edges it. That does it for now but keep an eye on NG throughout the week for some more Indie Game reviews.

If you’re a developer who wants a bit more exposure for your game then feel free to send us a token, every game we get a token for will get £250 a full NG Review. If you want to get in on the XNA action yourself then check out XNA Creator’s Club or Kodu Game Lab.