Weekly Xbox Indies - 10/9/09

Yay

• Slingstar - 80 MS points. On first appearances Slingstar looks like a typical space shooter, but that couldn't be farther from the truth. In fact, during the entire game you will never fire a single bullet or shoot an enemy. Instead your ship has two little pods following it around that you must sling into enemies using your ship's momentum. Essentially, the faster you move, the farther they fly before coming back. Admittedly, this method of control takes a while to get used to, but the game gives you unlimited lives and early levels are easy enough that you should be able to get your bearings. And even when things get to the more challenging of the game's 60 levels, you have infinite lives and a quick respawn to alleviate what could have easily turned into frustration. The enemy types vary throughout the game with some, like the occasional octopus creature, are stunningly beautiful in their appearance and animation. If you're looking for something a little bit different, then do yourself a favor and pick up Slingstar.
• Kaiten Patissier - 80 MS points. What is it with the Japanese and condensing pure joy into a digital form? First Green Island a few weeks ago, and now Kaiten Patissier, which is another puzzle/platformer with a super cute 2D sprite art style (from the same developer no less). In Kaiten Patissier you control a pink-haired girl as she jumps through levels to collect cakes and other treats. The catch is that you can tilt the entire level 90 degrees in any direction by leaning against a wall and pressing a button. Rotating the levels becomes an integral part of the game's progression with excellently designed levels throughout the entire experience.
• WhipCrack - 240 MS points. WhipCrack is a game about, what else, whips. Specifically, space whips. You control a whip and swing it around with the left analog stick, then press A to crack it on enemies. The whip also has a secondary function similar to Half-Life 2's gravity gun that you use to collect your enemies' remains for upgrades. There's a story mode that's actually pretty funny with 19 levels of whipping action, with a multiplayer added into the mix for some added replay value.
• Slam: Indie Edition - 80 MS points. Much earlier in the year the game Slam arrived on the Xbox indie game channel bringing a new twist to the Arkanoid formula with circular levels and high production values. It also brought with it a hefty price tag that probably discouraged most gamers from giving the game the attention it deserved. Slam: Indie Edition is essentially half of the original game, 50 of the original's 100 levels, for a fraction of the price. If you've gotten tired of brick breaking games over the years, then Slam is an excellent reboot to make it all feel fresh and new again. And with the Indie Edition's lower price there's really no reason not to give it a try.

Ay?

• Elfland Reloaded Vol. 1 - 240 MS points. Elfland Reloaded Vol. 1 is a remake of the 1992 MS-DOS game Elfland. It's a fairly basic platforming adventure game where you control either a male or female elf on a quest to get rid of some troublesome trolls by throwing flash berries (think Zelda's deku nuts) at birds, snakes, and other nasties. The graphics have been updated from the pixilated sprites of the original, though I'm not sure that is a change for the better. Overall, it is still a fun game that retro gamers will appreciate.
• The Visualizer - 80 MS points. Generally I hate apps like this in the Xbox indie games section, but I'll give credit where credit is due since The Visualizer is probably the best I've yet to see on the service. The light show that it plays with your music is impressively seizure-inducing, and the developers wisely give you some control over the visuals. If you absolutely need a replacement for the 360's built-in music player then The Visualizer is the one to get.

Nay

• Fields Reloaded - 80 MS points. Fields Reloaded is a remake of an earlier Xbox indie game Fields: Soldier of Time (which has since been removed from the marketplace). That's not the best foundation for a game, since the original was a shooter that was almost as bland as it was full of glitches. Admittedly, Fields Reloaded fixes a lot of the issues with the original version and adds a "gangsta stylized" (developer's words, not mine) fresh coat of paint to make the game look and play much better than the original. However, while it's better than the original the bad AI, stiff controls, and inconsistent aiming keep the game from every really being good.

Updates
Plasma TV Break In - price drop to 80 MS points.
I Heart Shift
Astro Taxi
Arbonium Party - price drop to 240 MS points.
Bobby Says - Dance With Me! - price drop to 80 MS points.
Veks and Silence
Karnn Age Lite - price drop to 80 MS points.
RotorMania - price drop to 80 MS points.
Groov - price drop to 80 MS points.
2060 Cyber Racer - price drop to 80 MS points.
FallDown - price drop to 80 MS points.