Weekly Xbox Indies - 11/06/09
Hey all you closet indie fans, why not come out and show your indie pride? Check out the new Xbox Indies app on Facebook and show off your favorite indie games to friends. It's a great way to show indie game support, as well as get back at your friends for clogging up your news feed with pointless personality quizzes.
Yay
- Squid Yes! Not So Octopus! - 80 MS points. In my mind, the name alone makes the game well worth a look, but there's actually a very solid shooter here. Unlike the modern trend with shooters, SYNSO! does not use a dual stick control scheme. Instead you fire in whichever direction you are facing, making for a feel that is both familiar and refreshing at once, and just all around fun. There are also a ton of options in the game, ranging from difficulty level changes to how psychedelic the graphics will be. SYNSO! has actually been around for quite a while on PC, for free I might add, so you might also want to check it out (and it's sequel SYNSO!: Squid Harder).
- Antigrav Racing Championship - 400 MS points. Do you wish that the Xbox 360 had a futuristic racing game like F-Zero and Wipeout? Well now it does thanks to Antigrav Racing Championship which boasts 8 vehicles to choose from on 20 well-designed tracks. Anyone looking for their futuristic speed junkie fix need look no further.
- Space Milkman - 240 MS points. Space Milkman is a platformer with cute graphics and a nice selection of power-up abilities. Unlike other platformers, you can't just jump on an enemy's head. Instead you need to whip enemies in front of you, or use a move where you jump and slide into the enemies. This jump and slide move also becomes integral to navigating the levels since it is the only way to fit into smaller passage ways. The jumping physics felt just a little off to me, but it never caused a death in-game, and overall the game is just so fun that I can't not recommend it.
- Mirror - 80 MS points. Mirror is a unique puzzle game. Each level gives you a line that acts as a mirror, and you are challenged to predict where objects will appear when reflected on the other side of the mirror line. It's a simple and surprisingly fun concept that I highly recommend for people to go out and give a try.
Ay?
- Lodestar 1000 - 80 MS points. Lodestar 1000 is a Simon-style memory game that uses not only the face buttons, but both analog sticks and the d-pad for commands. As far as Simon-style games go Lodestar 1000 is the best on the Xbox, but are there really that many people craving this style of game? I can see it as a mini-game inside a larger experience, but to me this style in general isn't worth a purchase on its own.
- Snaker Ace - 400 MS points. Snaker Ace is a take on the classic Snake game. You collect eggs strewn around the level to make your snake get longer, which in turn makes levels more difficult to navigate without crashing into your own tail. The new twist on the game is both a blessing and a curse however with the ability to shoot venom projectiles. Shooting is a nice addition to the Snake formula, but shooting also causes your snake to careen at break-neck speeds so that you'll more likely crash into whatever you were trying to shoot.
Nay
- Scare Me - 80 MS points. Huzzah! Another screamer app. Sarcasm aside, Setup a scare sequence then put the controller down and wait for the app to scream at you and flash weird/creepy images.
- They Came From The Ground - 80 MS points. They Came From The Ground is yet another take on the Slime Volleyball style of gameplay. This version adds the ability to grow and shrink your character for maneuverability, but it doesn't save the core gameplay from being shallow.
Updates
Block Fight!
Puzzle DeFusion
Reef Rave
Light's End
CaveIn - Miner Rescue Team
Chick Chick Chicky
RC-AirSim
Project Alpha
Gamerbots: Third-Robot Shooting
Flash Cards for Kids
