A bumper indie games round up today with 18 releases since Sunday! This might be the last indie game round up of 2009 so enjoy, the round ups will be back in the New Year!
All releases are played for the eight minutes allowed in trials and impressions are made from that. Note to developers: we have a backlog of several games to review so there will be a delay for any new reviews until mid to late January. If you still want your new game reviewed we are happy to do so but please expect a delay until we catch up.
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Adventures Of Sid XMAS Special is a platform game with a character named Sid the Tomato. It is your traditional platform game with fairly good Christmas themed graphics with some puzzle elements thrown in. The game plays well but I did find the jumping a little floaty and combined with the sliding on everything it can be a little tricky to land on single brick platforms. Worth checking out as it costs 80 :MSPoints:, more information can be found here.
Arcade Snake is a Snake style game where you eat the food and your tail grows longer. A little twist in this game is instead of moving either left, right, up or down you can move in 360 degrees. As well as the more traditional levels there are also maze like levels to mix things up. It is not a bad game and if you like this genre you may be interested. Arcade Snake costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
Arkedo Series – 03 PIXEL! is the third in the excellent Arkedo series. This is a platform game where you play the character of a cat in a blue pixelated world that kinda reminds me of old Gameboy Mono games (except its blue and not green). As always the standard of the Arkedo series is very high, the game is a great platformer with some puzzle action which can be found by zooming in on certain areas. Don’t bother with the trial, just buy it straight away as you wont regret it! Arkedo Series – 03 PIXEL! costs 240 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
Avatar Aquarium is an aquarium for your avatars, they swim around and you can interact with them by feeding them and tapping the tank. In the full version you can fish for them and drain the tank. This is fun for a few minutes, unless you need a screensaver I wouldn’t bother with this one. Avatar Aquarium costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
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Ball Wing is a mix of arkanoid and a shooter. The game is played on a horizontal scrolling screen and you fire a ball which bounces around the screen and kills the enemies, if you do not return the ball you loose a life. It is an interesting idea and worth checking out at the least. Ball Wing costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
Block Fight!! is some kind of game where you must bash into each other and something happens. I have no idea what this game is about and it is a waste of time, one to avoid! Block Fight!! costs 80 :MSPoints: and if for some reason you want to play it you can find more information here.
Chipmunk Christmas is a small arcade whack a mole style game where you must match the coloured tree lights to the buttons on your controller to fry the Chipmunks. It is fun to play for a few minutes but it doesn’t get any more difficult or bring anything new. I would give this a miss. Chipmunk Christmas costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
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Felix: Tale of the Night is a scrolling beat em up where you play the part of a fox called Felix. The main game felt a bit lacking in gameplay, run to next area, fight and repeat. The battle mode is more interesting and plays like the smash brothers games, could be fun with a few friends. Felix: Tale of the Night costs 240 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here, a trailer can be found below.
PerlMania is an experimental puzzle game which starts from the menu screen. The aim of the game is to get your character into the exit by exploding a bomb to create momentum and move or bounce it to the exit. It is a good idea for a game and if you have a bit of patience this could be a decent game as it starts off a little slow. Worth checking out as it costs only 80 :MSPoints:, more information can be found here, and a trailer can be found below.
Pixel Whirled is a retro style shooter that plays a little like space invaders. There is a twist in that you control two characters which can be changed by flipping the screen upside down to shoot the enemies for that character. It is a nice game idea and is fun to play keeping your eye on the other characters enemies while shooting the players enemies. Pixel Whirled costs 240 :MSPoints: and is one to check out. More information can be found here and also check out the funny trailer below.
Planet Pinball is of course a pinball game with just one table. Graphics are a little basic and I found the table lacking in content and design. I love pinball games and this is unfortunately one I will not be buying. Planet Pinball costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
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See The Light is a puzzle game where you must place objects to reflect light into the objective, it reminds me a little of the classic Deflektor game. Although the graphics are a little basic this is a fun little game and I enjoyed it a lot. I think I have minor OCD with reflection games. Well worth checking out at 80 :MSPoints:, more information can be found here.
Total Monarchy is a turn based strategy game to build the most successful empire against rival kings. It was hard to play the game in the eight minute trial but I got the general idea of the game fairly fast. Each turn you place a item on the grid such as treasure, hazards and castles until the board is full. Your gold is calculated at the end of the game based on your building positions in relation to treasure and hazards. It looked a fun game supporting up to four players locally or online, if you like strategy games you should definitely check this out.Total Monarchy costs 240 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
Venatio Creo is an application that allows you to create your own games. While I did not have the time within the trial limit to create my own game I tried the included sample games and found them to be very basic. Not too sure if this is worth the time, Kodu would be a better choice. Venation Creo costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here, a trailer can be found below.
Winter Holiday Slots 2009 is a Christmas themed version of Avatar Casino Slots #1 which was released in late November. Like the original it features five slot machines with minigames, online slots and awards. If you liked the original you should check this one out, or if you just fancy a Christmas themed slot machine game check it out as well. Winter Holiday Slots 2009 costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
Slot machines can be a source of great fun so if you like to play casino games you should consider buying Winter Holiday Slots 2009.
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Xtreme Polygon 2 is a twin stick shooter for up to four players locally. Only the Arcade mode was available in the trial and I found it to be fairly boring after a few minutes play. The other modes may be more interesting but I was unable to play them. The game might be more fun with a few players but you will have to take a chance and buy to see the rest of the game. Xtreme Polygon 2 costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
Zombie Outhouse is a shooter, you are stuck in an outhouse and zombies are attacking, armed with a shotgun you must defend yourself. There are 25 levels and five weapons in total to use, unfortunately by level four I had enough as it is just the same thing over and over. Some different enemies to shoot would have been nice. Zombie Outhouse costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here, a trailer can be found below.
Titles that have received either a software update or price change are Words In A Word, Sqong Christmas, ZenHak and Revenge of the Evil Aliens.
Trailers for new releases can be found below:
Felix: Tale of the Night
PerlMania
Pixel Whirled
Venatio Creo
Zombie Outhouse
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