toythatkills
Member
Especially for the new page, bonus December round-up!
December was always going to be a fantastic month for Xbox LIVE Indie Games, but I think it took everyone by surprise just how fantastic it turned out to be. There were already plans beforehand for a number of high-quality games to be released at once as part of the Winter Uprising, organised by the guys at Zeboyd Games (Breath of Death VII, Cthulhu Saves the World). While the plan was to release these at once at the start of the month, many of them missed the deadline and in the end they were spread out over the month, though no less brilliant for it. What was surprising was the number of unannounced games that werent part of this, games that appeared from nowhere and were as good as if not better than many of the Uprising games. And so, its probably been the best month for Xbox LIVE Indie Games ever, and this round-up is absolutely epic as a result. Enjoy!
Picking the best game of the month when there are so many contenders is not at all easy.
Astroman gets it, though. Its a Metroidvania. Youre stranded on a strange planet after you crash land and you have to visit different planets finding bits to repair it with so you can go home.
You do this by going around 2D platformer-like levels shooting enemies and jumping and the such. Unfortunately, youll find that even in the first level theres plenty of areas you cant reach, so after later planets when you find upgrades for your jump and things like that, you can revisit earlier planets to find all the stuff you missed first time around.
New planets are visited by flying to them in your ship, and the more parts of the ship you find the further you can travel from the starting point and the more levels that open up to you. The whole progression in the game is just brilliant.
The platforming is really good too. It looks fantastic and everything is really crisp and chunky, the controls are really responsive and it all combines to make something that works. The jumping is ever so slightly floaty but I can forgive it because it still feels fine, and hey, whos to say what the gravitys like out there?
It could do with a deadzone on the controller, as I was constantly walking left when I didnt want to, usually off of platforms onto spikes or into enemies. In spite of this, though, I had loads of fun with this.
Loads of content, plays brilliant, and an easy purchase.
=================
If you don't know already, Break Limit is inspired by Hypership Out of Control, so don't be surprised when it feels similar at first. It quickly becomes its own game though, as aside from the corridor-based nature of it, they're not really that similar.
It feels more like a shooter, this one. There's obviously still loads of walls to avoid but there's a quite generous shield (which is toned down in higher difficulties) which means there's a small room for error and so avoiding stuff isn't as essential (though still obviously fairly important.)
It puts more focus on collecting points and shooting stuff, basically. The faster you're going, the more points you get for the things you collect. The game is slower than HS, though, which makes collecting things a bit easier. It takes a while to get going but that's where the Break Limit can help. Collecting blue orbs fills your Break Limit gauge and holding LT activates it. At this point your speed doubles and you become invincible, you'll just smash through everything. Collecting anything at this speed, obviously, is worth a ton of points. It's just not easy to collect stuff at that speed!
There are different courses to shoot through, and different difficulty levels to play with, and leaderboards for any combination of the above. Graphics are really crisp and clear and so it's easy to see what's going on. The presentation is great, the music also is great and really suits it, it feels like there's a much more serious vibe to it, but there's some lovely little moments of silliness that offset it and make you smile.
One negative: the courses aren't quite as memorable as HSs waves are, because the style of it doesn't really lend itself to it as well. In HS where everything was bright and every wave was a different colour, everything stood out. Here everything's a bit more samey. This memorisation will come with more practice though I'm sure...
One other thing: at certain points you can change the direction of the game and head left/right/etc instead of up. It really changes the feel of it drastically and is excellent. I'm not sure if it has any effect on score or, well, anything, but it's really cool and a nice way to play differently.
Absolutely no reason not to own both these games!
=================
Score Rush is a mental shmup. Look at the screenshot. Look at it. See all those bullets? Theyre all trying to kill you and you have to avoid them. Its not easy to do, but its a ton of fun. Im rubbish at these games, but its always the dodging of bullets that I enjoy (failing at) the most. This game is perfect for that! While the on-screen action is chaotic as hell, its always clear and easy to follow.
Aside from the bullet hell, its a twin-stick. Youre moving with the left and firing with the right. That this doesnt feel like a twin-stick is testament to the developers skill in creating it.
Its hard enough trying to keep track of one ship, but it can played with up to four players. Insane but nothing but fun, surely!
In a horrible decision, theres no online leaderboards, which mean this game can never be game of the month. Coming from a dev that had been promising a patch for online leaderboards for one of their earlier titles for a year or so, this is unforgivable. Its still a fantastic experience, just one thats so much more shortlived when finding the competition that pushes you further is so awkward.
=================
Soulcaster II is the sequel to, erm, Soulcaster. It doesnt really change much, it just builds on what was a tremendous game to begin with and makes everything feel bigger.
That game comes with an unexpected twist. When you start, you expect some kind of retro-RPG, maybe with a Gauntlet kind of flavour. Then, it quickly becomes apparent that youre playing tower-defense. Its excellent, its the first retro-style game that Ive played where Ive genuinely never seen anything like it before, where its not just something thats not much more than a remake.
You play as a character who has no attacks, and you can summon three different warriors. These then remain in place (as towers) and attack anything that comes near until theyre defeated or recalled, at which point you can put them somewhere else. Its tower defense, then, but it doesnt feel like it when youre playing, so even if you dont like the genre its worth trying. It looks amazing too, and sounds as good.
Soulcaster II, as I say, doesnt do much more than the original. The maps feel bigger, and theres better enemy AI which makes your strategies even more important. The original was excellent though, it didnt need much more to make it perfect.
=================
Rainbow Ball into Adventure is a shameless Katamari Damacy clone, sometimes amazingly so, but its so lovely that I couldnt not enjoy every single second.
Ya see, while I was playing, I just got the impression that the people who made it were having an absolutely amazing time while they were doing it. It just feels like everyone involved was having so much fun.
Theres the constant sound of children laughing and shouting as you collect stuff, mainly calling out what you collected. Everything is hand drawn and is given a really nice 2D paper cut-out feel. It looks tremendous. Special mention to the lighting, which is just incredible. Dont know why, it just really strikes me while Im playing that the stuff Im rolling up is just lit so very well.
The aim of the game is to roll up everything in the small levels in the time you have. Sometimes there are some twists that make me think this could be a really nice educational game. In one level, you have to collect things in pairs. So once you collect a car, the only thing you can collect next is another car. Excellent for kids. Equally excellent for adults.
As a sign of how good this game is, theres Comic Sans in it and I dont even care.
=================
OSR Unhinged is the sequel to Old School Racer, which I awarded my very first Game of the Month award to. That was six months ago and I still go back and play it now, and OSR Unhinged is every bit as good and for all the same reasons.
People will accuse it of being a Trials clone, but they miss the point. While its similar, OSRU has a much more lenient feel to it, so rather than falling off all the time, many positions are recoverable. I know that Trials HD frustrates a lot of people and for them, this is the game they need. Its also got loads of other little tricks, like messed up gravity in some levels, night levels, that make it interesting.
Where its amazing though is in the sheer amount of stuff to do. There are loads of levels and medals to be won on each when youve unlocked the faster bikes. Bikes are unlocked by collecting tokens in each level which are hidden or placed around each course.
Soon, to collect all the tokens and compete on the online leaderboards for quick times, youll have played each level ten or twenty times. Theres loads of levels, some mini-games, its just content-city and its only 80 Microsoft Points. Essential.
=================
Cthulhu Saves the World is an RPG with 16-bit graphics, music, and it feels it. Thats where the 16-bit stuff ends though, as the developer takes everything that might have frustrated players going back to games from that era now, and streamlines it.
Random battles are there, but once youve fought so many in an area they stop, allowing you to explore unhindered. The battles are fun, though. Theyre fast, theres loads of different magics and techniques to use and youll have to, because the battles can quickly swing away from you if youre not careful. Complete battles quickly though, and youll recover bonus MP (HP is always restored). Battles are kept further interesting by a combo meter that goes up with every attack so youre always getting stronger, unfortunately, the enemies increase in strength by 10% each round of turns too this makes boss fights terrifying in the awesomest way!
Every level-up gives you a choice between two attacks, or two different sets of stat-upgrades, which mean you can customise your character any way you want. Its excellent.
The story sees Cthulhu lose his powers and go on a quest to become a hero, the only way to recover them. The story is introduced in a really funny way and the humour carries on throughout, as he meets a cast of funny, weird characters. The gameplay is pretty traditional RPG stuff. Go from town to town talking to people, exploring dungeons, opening chests, buying and equipping new equipment.
One thing I like is that you can save anywhere, but it has save points too. Basically this means that youve got a choice whether or not you play it like youd have played it in 1993. Its just full of stuff like this for gamers.
Its just great, is all.
=================
Return All Robots is a nice puzzle game with robots and the returning of said robots. You control a guy who can run around while robots face in his direction. Pressing a button then makes the robots move in the direction that theyre facing until they reach a wall.
Your job, is to lead all the blue ones to a teleporter. The red ones are BAD and must be led into some fire or something to destroy them. All this happens simultaneously, so youre trying to navigate the blue ones around while keeping them away from the red ones, and keeping yourself out of their way too. Some good puzzlin.
=================
B.U.T.T.O.N, or, Brutally Unfair Tactics Totally Okay Now, is a party game for between two and eight players. Can be played on one controller, or four. Its really nicely presented.
You put your controller down, walk a few steps back, and then the game gives you a task. Press a button. Press a button 14 times. Dont press a button. Loads more. You then run to your controller and try to do it while everyone else tries to do the same, or tries to press other peoples buttons to make them fail, etc. Its ridiculous but as you can imagine, its a stupid amount of fun, too.
Theres an adult mode that can be switched on in the options. Ive no idea what it entails.
=================
Casino Nights. Okay, a confession. While I was downloading these games I hovered on this for ages. Its a Casino game, what could possibly be worth my time trialling it? I already know what its like. But I downloaded it anyway. Then, when I was playing all the games I had exactly the same thoughts, but played it anyway.
Then I really liked it.
I think it was the graphics that got me, as theyre slightly pixelly which gives it a really nice feel. What youve got is six casino games from Roulette to Blackjack to Poker, and a $250 kitty. You just play whatever you want until your money runs out. You can earn awards (achievements) that increase your starting kitty.
The games are all really easy to play and the rules are explained very well in case youre not familiar with them. I suppose I was always going to get addicted to this, wasnt I? Ah well, its always better to lose virtual money!
December was always going to be a fantastic month for Xbox LIVE Indie Games, but I think it took everyone by surprise just how fantastic it turned out to be. There were already plans beforehand for a number of high-quality games to be released at once as part of the Winter Uprising, organised by the guys at Zeboyd Games (Breath of Death VII, Cthulhu Saves the World). While the plan was to release these at once at the start of the month, many of them missed the deadline and in the end they were spread out over the month, though no less brilliant for it. What was surprising was the number of unannounced games that werent part of this, games that appeared from nowhere and were as good as if not better than many of the Uprising games. And so, its probably been the best month for Xbox LIVE Indie Games ever, and this round-up is absolutely epic as a result. Enjoy!
Picking the best game of the month when there are so many contenders is not at all easy.
Astroman gets it, though. Its a Metroidvania. Youre stranded on a strange planet after you crash land and you have to visit different planets finding bits to repair it with so you can go home.
You do this by going around 2D platformer-like levels shooting enemies and jumping and the such. Unfortunately, youll find that even in the first level theres plenty of areas you cant reach, so after later planets when you find upgrades for your jump and things like that, you can revisit earlier planets to find all the stuff you missed first time around.
New planets are visited by flying to them in your ship, and the more parts of the ship you find the further you can travel from the starting point and the more levels that open up to you. The whole progression in the game is just brilliant.
The platforming is really good too. It looks fantastic and everything is really crisp and chunky, the controls are really responsive and it all combines to make something that works. The jumping is ever so slightly floaty but I can forgive it because it still feels fine, and hey, whos to say what the gravitys like out there?
It could do with a deadzone on the controller, as I was constantly walking left when I didnt want to, usually off of platforms onto spikes or into enemies. In spite of this, though, I had loads of fun with this.
Loads of content, plays brilliant, and an easy purchase.
=================
If you don't know already, Break Limit is inspired by Hypership Out of Control, so don't be surprised when it feels similar at first. It quickly becomes its own game though, as aside from the corridor-based nature of it, they're not really that similar.
It feels more like a shooter, this one. There's obviously still loads of walls to avoid but there's a quite generous shield (which is toned down in higher difficulties) which means there's a small room for error and so avoiding stuff isn't as essential (though still obviously fairly important.)
It puts more focus on collecting points and shooting stuff, basically. The faster you're going, the more points you get for the things you collect. The game is slower than HS, though, which makes collecting things a bit easier. It takes a while to get going but that's where the Break Limit can help. Collecting blue orbs fills your Break Limit gauge and holding LT activates it. At this point your speed doubles and you become invincible, you'll just smash through everything. Collecting anything at this speed, obviously, is worth a ton of points. It's just not easy to collect stuff at that speed!
There are different courses to shoot through, and different difficulty levels to play with, and leaderboards for any combination of the above. Graphics are really crisp and clear and so it's easy to see what's going on. The presentation is great, the music also is great and really suits it, it feels like there's a much more serious vibe to it, but there's some lovely little moments of silliness that offset it and make you smile.
One negative: the courses aren't quite as memorable as HSs waves are, because the style of it doesn't really lend itself to it as well. In HS where everything was bright and every wave was a different colour, everything stood out. Here everything's a bit more samey. This memorisation will come with more practice though I'm sure...
One other thing: at certain points you can change the direction of the game and head left/right/etc instead of up. It really changes the feel of it drastically and is excellent. I'm not sure if it has any effect on score or, well, anything, but it's really cool and a nice way to play differently.
Absolutely no reason not to own both these games!
=================
Score Rush is a mental shmup. Look at the screenshot. Look at it. See all those bullets? Theyre all trying to kill you and you have to avoid them. Its not easy to do, but its a ton of fun. Im rubbish at these games, but its always the dodging of bullets that I enjoy (failing at) the most. This game is perfect for that! While the on-screen action is chaotic as hell, its always clear and easy to follow.
Aside from the bullet hell, its a twin-stick. Youre moving with the left and firing with the right. That this doesnt feel like a twin-stick is testament to the developers skill in creating it.
Its hard enough trying to keep track of one ship, but it can played with up to four players. Insane but nothing but fun, surely!
In a horrible decision, theres no online leaderboards, which mean this game can never be game of the month. Coming from a dev that had been promising a patch for online leaderboards for one of their earlier titles for a year or so, this is unforgivable. Its still a fantastic experience, just one thats so much more shortlived when finding the competition that pushes you further is so awkward.
=================
Soulcaster II is the sequel to, erm, Soulcaster. It doesnt really change much, it just builds on what was a tremendous game to begin with and makes everything feel bigger.
That game comes with an unexpected twist. When you start, you expect some kind of retro-RPG, maybe with a Gauntlet kind of flavour. Then, it quickly becomes apparent that youre playing tower-defense. Its excellent, its the first retro-style game that Ive played where Ive genuinely never seen anything like it before, where its not just something thats not much more than a remake.
You play as a character who has no attacks, and you can summon three different warriors. These then remain in place (as towers) and attack anything that comes near until theyre defeated or recalled, at which point you can put them somewhere else. Its tower defense, then, but it doesnt feel like it when youre playing, so even if you dont like the genre its worth trying. It looks amazing too, and sounds as good.
Soulcaster II, as I say, doesnt do much more than the original. The maps feel bigger, and theres better enemy AI which makes your strategies even more important. The original was excellent though, it didnt need much more to make it perfect.
=================
Rainbow Ball into Adventure is a shameless Katamari Damacy clone, sometimes amazingly so, but its so lovely that I couldnt not enjoy every single second.
Ya see, while I was playing, I just got the impression that the people who made it were having an absolutely amazing time while they were doing it. It just feels like everyone involved was having so much fun.
Theres the constant sound of children laughing and shouting as you collect stuff, mainly calling out what you collected. Everything is hand drawn and is given a really nice 2D paper cut-out feel. It looks tremendous. Special mention to the lighting, which is just incredible. Dont know why, it just really strikes me while Im playing that the stuff Im rolling up is just lit so very well.
The aim of the game is to roll up everything in the small levels in the time you have. Sometimes there are some twists that make me think this could be a really nice educational game. In one level, you have to collect things in pairs. So once you collect a car, the only thing you can collect next is another car. Excellent for kids. Equally excellent for adults.
As a sign of how good this game is, theres Comic Sans in it and I dont even care.
=================
OSR Unhinged is the sequel to Old School Racer, which I awarded my very first Game of the Month award to. That was six months ago and I still go back and play it now, and OSR Unhinged is every bit as good and for all the same reasons.
People will accuse it of being a Trials clone, but they miss the point. While its similar, OSRU has a much more lenient feel to it, so rather than falling off all the time, many positions are recoverable. I know that Trials HD frustrates a lot of people and for them, this is the game they need. Its also got loads of other little tricks, like messed up gravity in some levels, night levels, that make it interesting.
Where its amazing though is in the sheer amount of stuff to do. There are loads of levels and medals to be won on each when youve unlocked the faster bikes. Bikes are unlocked by collecting tokens in each level which are hidden or placed around each course.
Soon, to collect all the tokens and compete on the online leaderboards for quick times, youll have played each level ten or twenty times. Theres loads of levels, some mini-games, its just content-city and its only 80 Microsoft Points. Essential.
=================
Cthulhu Saves the World is an RPG with 16-bit graphics, music, and it feels it. Thats where the 16-bit stuff ends though, as the developer takes everything that might have frustrated players going back to games from that era now, and streamlines it.
Random battles are there, but once youve fought so many in an area they stop, allowing you to explore unhindered. The battles are fun, though. Theyre fast, theres loads of different magics and techniques to use and youll have to, because the battles can quickly swing away from you if youre not careful. Complete battles quickly though, and youll recover bonus MP (HP is always restored). Battles are kept further interesting by a combo meter that goes up with every attack so youre always getting stronger, unfortunately, the enemies increase in strength by 10% each round of turns too this makes boss fights terrifying in the awesomest way!
Every level-up gives you a choice between two attacks, or two different sets of stat-upgrades, which mean you can customise your character any way you want. Its excellent.
The story sees Cthulhu lose his powers and go on a quest to become a hero, the only way to recover them. The story is introduced in a really funny way and the humour carries on throughout, as he meets a cast of funny, weird characters. The gameplay is pretty traditional RPG stuff. Go from town to town talking to people, exploring dungeons, opening chests, buying and equipping new equipment.
One thing I like is that you can save anywhere, but it has save points too. Basically this means that youve got a choice whether or not you play it like youd have played it in 1993. Its just full of stuff like this for gamers.
Its just great, is all.
=================
Return All Robots is a nice puzzle game with robots and the returning of said robots. You control a guy who can run around while robots face in his direction. Pressing a button then makes the robots move in the direction that theyre facing until they reach a wall.
Your job, is to lead all the blue ones to a teleporter. The red ones are BAD and must be led into some fire or something to destroy them. All this happens simultaneously, so youre trying to navigate the blue ones around while keeping them away from the red ones, and keeping yourself out of their way too. Some good puzzlin.
=================
B.U.T.T.O.N, or, Brutally Unfair Tactics Totally Okay Now, is a party game for between two and eight players. Can be played on one controller, or four. Its really nicely presented.
You put your controller down, walk a few steps back, and then the game gives you a task. Press a button. Press a button 14 times. Dont press a button. Loads more. You then run to your controller and try to do it while everyone else tries to do the same, or tries to press other peoples buttons to make them fail, etc. Its ridiculous but as you can imagine, its a stupid amount of fun, too.
Theres an adult mode that can be switched on in the options. Ive no idea what it entails.
=================
Casino Nights. Okay, a confession. While I was downloading these games I hovered on this for ages. Its a Casino game, what could possibly be worth my time trialling it? I already know what its like. But I downloaded it anyway. Then, when I was playing all the games I had exactly the same thoughts, but played it anyway.
Then I really liked it.
I think it was the graphics that got me, as theyre slightly pixelly which gives it a really nice feel. What youve got is six casino games from Roulette to Blackjack to Poker, and a $250 kitty. You just play whatever you want until your money runs out. You can earn awards (achievements) that increase your starting kitty.
The games are all really easy to play and the rules are explained very well in case youre not familiar with them. I suppose I was always going to get addicted to this, wasnt I? Ah well, its always better to lose virtual money!