Twelve games in this round up of Indie Games releases. Don’t forget you can rate the all the indie games on their Xbox.com marketplace page or on your 360 on the games information tab.
Must Try Release
Scribble Defense is a Tower Defense inspired game. You must protect the Scribbles from the evil Scrawls by placing towers in their path. The graphics are a kind of hand drawn sketch style and it works very well, giving a fresh look on the popular genre. Controls are simple with an easy to use placement system, you can place the towers anywhere on the screen as the pathways the Scrawls travel along can change during the game. A very well made game and a must try! Scribble Defense costs just 80 :MSPoints: and is a steal! More information can be found here and a trailer can be found on page 2.
Worth Trying
Avatar Penalty Kick is a football penalty shoot out game for up to two players. Each player takes turns to shoot or defend the goal and at the end of the shoot out the play with the most goals is the winner. Presentation and graphics are done well but it does take a while to load the shoot out part of the game which was a little annoying. I also found it quite hard to save the ball even when choosing the correct direction. Give it a try if you are a footy fan. Oh and can someone send a copy to the England team, you know we will go out to penalties so every bit of practice helps š Avatar Penalty Kick costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
Avatars Skate – Old Spice is an up to four player CPU or Human racing game. Plays skate around an ice based track with boosters to collect and throwing snowballs at opponents to knock them over. I found the game a little boring in single play vs. CPU but I think the game would be much more fun playing against some friends. Avatars Skate – Old Spice costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
Amoeba Generator is a simple that game where you play as an Amoeba who must grow in size by collecting smaller organisms and avoid larger ones. I found the controls to be a bit sluggish and there did not seem to be much game play to keep me interested. The price of 240 :MSPoints: seems quite high for what the game is. More information can be found here and a trailer can be found on page 2.
Classic Baker’s Dozen is the latest card game variant from Angel Z. This one is based on the game Baker’s Dozen which I have never played beforeĀ so I cant comment on how well it plays. The setup isĀ much the same as the other games with custom backgrounds etc. If you liked the previous card games or enjoy playing Baker’s Dozen then it should be worth checking out. Classic Baker’s Dozen costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
ElectronZ is a two to four player game, but controllers can be shared. This is a turn based strategy game where each player places Electrons on the board with the aim to control all the cells. It is an interesting game so if you like strategic games you should find some fun in this game if you have one or more friends to play against. ElectronZ costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
Kubrik 3D is a puzzle game similar in idea to Tetris but is played in a 3D view so instead of clearing a line you must clear a level of the cube like game area. The controls take a little getting used to as the shapes can be rotated in 3D so getting them in line in time was tricky. I think after a few games you should get the hang of it though. If you are a fan of puzzle games this is worth checking out. Kubrik 3D costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
Mind’s Eye of Jupiter – 02 is the sequel to the game released over a year ago (review here). It is a 3D adventure game where you must explore caves underneath a Roman Temple. Graphics are done fairly well and the UI seems to work fine. The original game was criticised for being too short so hopefully this has been addressed. Mind’s Eye of Jupiter – 02 costs 240 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here with a trailer on page 2.
Reversi is an up to two player CPU or Human board game. I think everyone knows how to play the game so I wont go into details on it. Graphics are a little basic but they work well enough for the game so no major complaints. I was not a big fan of the controls, instead of being able to choose your piece easily you have to press the D-Pad left/right and scroll through each piece. Other than that it seems to be an OK game, does what it says. Reversi costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
Solar Hoops is a puzzle game and proof that first impressions can be misleading. If you get past the basic graphics there is actually a good puzzle game. Basically what you have to do is catch a Meteor by select Stars which the Meteor bounces off, hopefully into your spaceships basket. A number of Stars can be chosen from, so chosing the wrong stars will mean the meteor will bounce off course. This is a nice game idea and despite the basic graphics it is fun to play. Solar Hoops costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
Words of Wisdom is a word based puzzle game which I guess could be compared to Hangman in some ways. You must guess the correct words by entering letters to progress. There are 4 different game modes with over 5000 words so there is quite a bit to get through. This is more aimed at kids so could be worth checking out as it only costs 80 :MSPoints: More information can be found here and a trailer on page 2.
Don’t Bother Trying
Penkin Ball Dodge is a simple game with very basic graphics. You control Penkin and must dodge the falling balls. There are a few modes to play but honestly is not worth the time. Give this one a miss. Penkin Ball Dodge costs 80 :MSPoints: and more information can be found here.
Titles that have received a software update or price change are Snail Shot Torpedo, Orbyx – Mystic Orbs of Chaos, Protect Me Knight, MotorHEAT, Bowling X and Gamerbots:Third-Robot Shooting.
Trailers for the new releases can be found on page 2.
