Yay!

TransSubversion - 240 MS points. TransSubversion is one part action platformer and one part puzzle platformer. As you progress, the levels become more reliant on an ability to rotate the world, allowing you to explore the level from a different point of view. Ok, maybe it's more leaning toward the puzzle side of things, but the rotating puzzles are excellent, highlighted by the colorful animation and world around them. Giving personality and life to robot characters is always a challenge, but TransSubversion accomplishes this wonderfully, with a surprisingly well written and entertaining story to accompany the adventure. Clocking in at 40 levels, it's a pretty good length for an adventure too. If you like a good 2D platforming game, or are one of those odd folks like me that has a tendency to sympathize with robots, then TransSubversion is well worth your time.

Bumblicity - 80 MS points. Bumblicity is one of my favorite word games to come out of the inde game channel. Blocks fall from the top with either individual letters or in pairs like "ea" or "ch" on a single block. It's your job to arrange these falling letters into words, at which point they will automatically clear from the screen. The thing that sets Bumblicity apart are those letter pairs that it gives you. I can't tell you how relieved I was when I saw "qu" blocks instead of just a q on its own. So in cases like that, it is much less frustrating to play this word game. But then when you get an "ou" block and all you need is one of those letters, Bumblicity still has quite a bit of challenge to it. The primary mode in Bumblicity is competitive, either against the CPU or a friend, though there is also an endless single-player mode for those of us that like to feed our word addiction alone. I can highly recommend Bumblicity, as it's like Scrabble and Tetris rolled into one fabulous game.

Alawishus Pixel - 80 MS points. Alawishus Pixel sends you deep into a cave, crossing any obstacle in your path, on a quest to save an unknown person leaving a trail of signposts like breadcrumbs along the way. You play as a yellow smiley face in a hoodie as he pushes blocks and avoids monsters to delve deeper into the cave. The aforementioned signposts tell much of the story of the game, often accompanied by a laugh, and the music will have you humming along long after you've turned off your 360. And of course, with pixel in the title the game makes excellent use of a pixilated 16-bit art style. It's like a long lost SNES/Genesis game magically appeared on your Xbox 360.

Muvizzle - 80 MS points. Muvizzle is a puzzle game that actually breaks away from the norm for a change. Each falling block in Muvizzle has a number on it. Your goal then is to place those numbered blocks into rows and columns that equal the number on that block. For example, if you place a 6 block down, that block won't clear until its column consists of 6 blocks, at which point it will disappear. This leads to some great combo potential, for example if there were also a 5 block after the 6 clears, then the 5 would clear too since the column would have that many blocks in it. This also works for rows across too, making for some unique and fun puzzle mechanics.

Hurdle Turtle - 80 MS points. If you remember the classic brawler Battletoads, then chances are you remember it's notoriously difficult speeder bike level. Hurdle Turtle is an entire game built around a more forgiving version of that level. But because it is much more forgiving, that also makes it much more enjoyable. It's still not a cake walk, but it doesn't punish you as harshly for failure so you can just keep on playing instead of throwing your controller at the wall in a fit of rage.

This Is Hard - 80 MS points. While I think that the "this" being referred to in the title is open to interpretation, this is definitely a hard game. A very, very hard game. And yet, thanks to quick respawn times and a lighthearted tone it never builds to the point of frustration. Instead of counting down how many lives you have left, the game gives you an infinite number of lives and counts up to tell you how many times you have failed. And that will happen a lot. Die too many times in one level and the option to skip to the next level even appears. For a game that prides itself on difficulty, This Is Hard sure is very accessible. And that is definitely a good thing.

Kong360: Gorilla Warfare - 240 MS points. Kong360 is an excellent multiplayer shooter. Normally I knock down games for being too multiplayer focused, but this one is good enough to overcome that. Plus, there's still a single player mode with some quite competent AI bots for those who play alone. With a wide selection of weaponry, plenty of modes to compete in, and a fun, colorful art style, Kong360 won me over as my multiplayer indie game of choice. Now if only there were other people to play online against.

Dino 'Splode - 240 MS points. Dino 'Splode tells the sad tale of a dinosaur named Sandwich that has been engineered by cavemen to have a nuclear reactor inside of him. Sandwich decides to get revenge on the cavemen who wronged him, and with his fireball abilities granted by his biological testing he has just the means to do it. Dino 'Splode is an action platformer at heart, with the occasional "push a rock on top of that switch" puzzle to break up the action. And while Sandwich has been granted great abilities, the reactor inside him also means that if he stays in direct sunlight too long he will explode. All platforms cast shadows, so a big part of the game is also dashing from one shaded area to the next while blasting as many cavemen as you can along the way. I've been looking forward to Dino 'Splode since I first saw the Dream Build Play trailer months ago, and it doesn't disappoint.

Towers - 80 MS points. In case the title didn't give it away, Towers is a tower defense game. Don't roll your eyes at me like that. I know there are tons of tower defense games out there, but Towers is definitely one of the better ones. It reminds me a lot of the PS3 hit PixelJunk Monsters. You control a wizard as he goes around turning trees into towers to defend against incoming hordes of enemies. The graphics are... not great, to put it nicely. But the core gameplay makes up for the slight misstep in visuals, making Towers a highly recommended strategy game for the 360.

Old School Racer - 80 MS points. Old School Racer is basically a smaller and less HD version of the hit Live Arcade game Trials HD. You control your motorbike through rolling hills and crazy jumps while leaning forward and back to preserve your biker's sense of balance. With 20 levels and over a dozen bikes to unlock, it's every bit as fun as it's XBLA cousin though, so for the $1 asking price it's definitely worth a look for fans of challenging motorbike balancing acts.

Orbit One - 80 MS points. Orbit One is a very simple game, but one that has me absolutely hooked. Your ship automatically orbits around the center, constantly drawing closer, and by pressing a button you extend your ship's orbit by moving away from the center. All the while, there are orbs to collect for points, and enemies to dodge, but no way to actually shoot at or defeat them. Collecting orbs gains points and crashing into enemies looses points, it's as simple as that. And that simplicity has me coming back day after day.

Ay?

Acupwnture - 80 MS points. Acupwnture is a very, very unforgiving puzzle game. I really like the core puzzle mechanics: match a square of like-colored blocks and that square will vanish in five more turns. During those five turns you can add more blocks to either expand the square, which resets the turns until it vanishes, or adding a trail of individual like-colored blocks that will also vanish when the initial square does. The goal of each level is to clear a set amount of each colored block, and this is where things get tricky. There is also a time limit for each level. And while the timer can be paused temporarily by stringing together combos, it can never be reversed or reset. On all but the easiest difficulty setting this makes the game extremely difficult. It's a matter of two conflicting design ideas: delayed clearing of blocks and clearing a set number of blocks in a restrictive time limit. If any one of those elements were removed, Acupwnture would be a highly recommended game, but the difficulty will just be too much for most gamers as it is.

いれかえまほちゃん - 80 MS points. In this platformer you play as a girl whose only abilities are to jump and throw stars. Those stars are quite useful though, as they allow her to swap places in the level with any enemy that they touch. This place swapping ability is the key to making yoru way through the game, as many of the levels will have enemies blocking your way or walls that only stars can pass through. Stars can be thrown either straight ahead or at 45 degree angles, so planning your own placement is just as important as aiming for the enemy you want to replace.

Strategy Soccer - 240 MS points. I've often wondered if I would enjoy sports games more if they were presented as a turn-based strategy game ala Final Fantasy Tactics. And thanks to Strategy Soccer, now I know that it's true: turn-based strategy gameplay makes sports much, much better. I really enjoyed Strategy Soccer, whether it be choosing the placement of players and their passing trajectories or moving next to an opponent and choosing the "tackle" command to steal the ball. There were some limitations though. For example, you are not using a full 11 person team, instead having 6 players on the field at a time. There is also no goalie player, which is kind of a big deal in soccer. It also seems to be a multiplayer only game, with no option to play against an AI opponent. While I think the game is best played with a friend anyway, the fact of the matter is that turn-based strategy games take a long time to play, and you can't always find a friend who is willing to sit down for the full duration. Strategy Soccer is definitely worth a look, but make sure that you have a friend to look with you.

Painting Beats - 240 MS points. Painting Beats is a unique take on the rhythm game genre. There are a number of songs to choose from, each in a different genre of music like hip hop or techno. Once you've chosen a song, you're taken to a 3D game board where you must move your cursor around to paint as much of the board as possible. The catch is that you can only move your cursor in time with the beats of the song. I really enjoyed how the music is integrated into your movement in the game, so I would easily recommend Painting Beats to any music game fan. But like any rhythm game, it's definitely worth checking out the demo first to make sure that you actually like the styles of music included.

Around the World - 80 MS points. Geography quiz games are nothing new, but this one takes a slightly different approach. Rather than pointing at a location and asking you what it is, Around the World will give you four locations (mapped to the four face buttons on the controller) and asks you to find them. You're awarded points depending on how close to the real location you guess, and then a new city is given for you to find. Because you have four location options at any given time, the game is easier since you can just skip the locations that you don't know. I'll admit that my geography skills are pretty terrible (hurray for the American public education system) so I will always advocate this kind of edutainment title.

Spell Find - 80 MS points. Spell Find somehow manages to successfully combine strategic combat with a simple wordsearch puzzle. As you find words in the puzzle below, those words form into your units to fight above. Spelling "cleric" produces a healer, while "vampire" drains your opponent's health. There are also spells you can cast, like spelling "shuffle" to mix up the puzzle board or "freeze" to hold your opponent's cursor in place. ASCII art is used for all of the game's graphics, which can either be a plus or a detriment depending on your tastes. I found it difficult to tell what exactly was going on during the battle thanks to the art style, but still loved every second of it. It is one of the most unique game designs to come out of the Xbox indie channel, and well worth at least downloading the trial version.

Stunning Stunts - 80 MS points. Stunning Stunts plays like an HD version of Excitebike, with jumps and tricks aplenty. Instead of racing live opponents, before each race you are shown the game's leaderboards and can choose a selection of ghost racers to compete against. This is great not only for competition, but also in allowing you to see what others have done to get their spot on the leaderboards. However, with only three levels, Stunning Stunts isn't so stunning in terms of content.

Ninja Escape - 80 MS points. The last game from this developer, Ninja Bros, is still my favorite indie game on the 360. Ninja Escape didn't have quite the immediate appeal of its sibling, but is still a fun game in its own right. In Ninja Escape you control a Ninja falling down a long tunnel. The tunnels have various obstacles, some which must be avoided and others which can be passed through with the press of one of the face buttons. The latter obstacles require exact timing, but give you a hefty reward for your ninja-like reflexes. With only 10 short levels to get through, Ninja Escape might not be for everyone. But if you're the type of gamer who always strives after those high score leaderboards, those 10 levels will last you a long, long time.

Adrenaline - 80 MS points. Adrenaline is a challenging platformer starring a stick figure. Let's get the bad out of the way first: the presentation is pretty ugly. Bland backgrounds and stiff animations aside, the platforming gameplay is actually pretty fun. There are some odd physics at times, but the simple pleasure of timing jumps between electrified platforms never seems to get old.

Star Hammer Tactics - 240 MS points. Star Hammer Tactics is, as the name implies, a tactical space combat game. There's a full campaign mode that will take you through and help you learn the intricacies of the different ship types, as well as a skirmish mode for jumping straight into the action. Like most turn-based tactical games, this one takes place on a grid with the player selecting where to move each ship and their trajectory for attack. One thing that takes extra planning in Star Hammer Tactics is how missiles are used, with friendly fire an easy mistake to make that can quickly take you out of the fight. Fans of turn-based tactical games will certainly enjoy it, but it doesn't do anything to bring non-fans any closer to the genre.

Legend of the Rune Lord - 80 MS points. Legend of the Rune Lord is fairly simple as RPGs go, though even that makes if far more ambitious than most indie games we see on the 360. It doesn't do anything particularly unique or noteworthy, but what it does it does well. Combat is turn-based in line with games like Dragon Quest while the characters and environments are in a more western 3D style. It's certainly short for an RPG, but as the saying goes, it's not the size that matters but how you use it.

PointsMass - 80 MS points. PointsMass is a twin-stick shooter with a gravitational twist. Your ship has the ability to produce either an attracting or repelling gravitational field, which can be used to help avoid enemies or gather them all into one place. You can also drop attracting or repelling bombs, which is the far more useful option since then enemies are attracted to a location rather than your ship. Unfortunately, gravity fields cannot be used to cause enemies to crash into each other, so the game still breaks down to the core twin-stick shooting that so many other games have capitalized on. It's still a fun game though, and above average for the genre, so fans of this style of game should still check it out.

Zap Zap: Pew Pew - 80 MS points. As far as vertical-scrolling shooters go, Zap Zap: Pew Pew doesn't do a whole lot new. The graphics aren't all that great either. What it does do well though is have a great sense of humor about the genre, making it a game that every vertical shooter fan should play at least once.

Nay :(

Zombie Sniper HD - 80 MS points.

Adrift -240 MS points.

Impact of Towers - 80 MS points.

High Stakes Zombie Monkeys - 80 MS points.

A Day At Grandma's House - 80 MS points.

Avatar Warriors - 80 MS points.

Pellets QuadraStack - 80 MS points.

Fishie Fishie Fifty - 80 MS points.

MathFlash - 80 MS points.

Dragoon - 80 MS points.

Ultimate Drums - 80 MS points.

Rocket - Episode 1 - 80 MS points.

Block Smash - 80 MS points.

PolyWobble - 80 MS points.

Combat Tanks - 240 MS points.

The Flow - 240 MS points.

Crisis in the Gulf - 80 MS points.

Avatar Jump! - 80 MS points.

ABC Fun - 80 MS points.

RC Airplane Challenge - 80 MS points.

Zombie Hunter - 80 MS points.

Falling Down - 80 MS points.

Avatar Blaster - 80 MS points.

360 Lines - 80 MS points.