tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47400029391455379302024-02-03T01:35:14.959+01:00Indie Lairskaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comBlogger28125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-56552864726153554062018-10-21T16:53:00.000+02:002018-10-21T17:14:51.181+02:00Review: Mutant Blobs Attack<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This is one angry blob. And he means business. After endless torture in a research facility on Earth, this gelatinous, one-eyed organism of extraterrestrial origin finally manages to escape. The alien thirsts for revenge and its appetite is so great that it will devour anything that gets in its way.</div>
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At the beginning of 2D platformer <b><a href="http://www.store.steampowered.com/app/206370" target="_blank">Mutant Blobs Attack</a> </b>from developer <a href="http://www.drinkboxstudios.com/" target="_blank">drinkbox Studios</a>, the furious alien is only as big as a tennis ball. But while jumping through the levels, the blob can absorb objects that are smaller than itself. The character grows a bit each time he absorbs stuff, so it's quickly possible to eat larger objects as well. To proceed through the 24 levels of the game, it is usually necessary to reach a certain target size, and so the blob swallows countless items, creatures, vehicles and ultimately even entire buildings on its way through a small town, a desert, a military base and a metropolis during the course of the adventure.<br />
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In order to advance, other abilities have to be used skillfully, too. Thanks to its elastic body, players can also force the alien through narrow passages such as pipes, and by changing its polarization, the creature can adhere to or repel metal surfaces with its magnetic properties. In some sections, the blob can even fly, and from time to time puzzles have to be solved by operating or manipulating switches and other equipment via electrification. All of these mechanics are really fun and grant a lot of variety during the four to five hours it takes to beat the game.<br />
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The charming presentation with its beautifully drawn cartoon graphics and amusing animations is just as appealing as the weird background music with its catchy tunes. The blob's controls feel great with a gamepad and react promptly. Some of the puzzle sections can be a bit fiddly, but they are never too hard and can always be solved after some attempts. In general, the difficulty level is pleasantly demanding, especially in later sections, but almost never frustrating. If you're into platformer games, you won't have any major problems leading the alien to success on its vendetta. But beginners will also be able to enjoy this science fiction adventure and will be rewarded with fresh game mechanics and a humorous presentation.<br />
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-80584355513074434672018-09-26T21:33:00.000+02:002018-09-26T21:33:42.716+02:00Review: Velocity Ultra<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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At first glance, <b><a href="http://www.store.steampowered.com/app/244890" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Velocity Ultra</a></b> from developer <b><a href="https://www.futurlab.co.uk/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">FuturLab</a></b> looks like your standard retro space shoot'em-up with a classic top-down view, in which players take on hordes of enemy vessels with their own spaceship, blasting them into the infinite vastness of space with well-aimed shots while maneuvering their ship through the onslaught of enemy fire. These game elements can also be found in Velocity Ultra, but this indie game stands out from other representatives of this long-established genre by introducing a novel game mechanic and focusing on solving switch puzzles.<br />
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Its science fiction story is told in anime style comic strips: a black hole near a human colony has collapsed, many colonists were able to survive in rescue capsules and are now floating in space. As the pilot of the so-called Quarp Jet, the player sets off to save these survivors. His ship features unique teleportation technology: pushing and holding a button brings up a crosshair on-screen, which can be placed on any spot unoccupied by level geometry, releasing the button instantly teleports the Quarp Jet to the desired location. Using this technique is absolutely necessary, as you may be able to regulate the speed while flying through asteroid belts and huge space stations, but you can never entirely stop your ship once you've started a level. Since many routes lead you into dead ends, you would inevitably crash into walls or other obstacles.<br />
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In the first few of overall 50 levels you'll learn how to use this ability with pleasantly direct controls that mostly work well, at least with a gamepad (haven't tried mouse and keyboard), although aiming the teleports can be tricky at times. Soon you will come across force fields that destroy the ship immediately on impact, but which can be deactivated if you disable the corresponding generators in the correct order by dropping bombs on them. This requires some thought and skillful use of freely placeable checkpoints, between which the Quarp Jet can teleport back and forth. Careful exploration and memorization of the many intricate level sections is essential for eliminating force fields and finding all the survivors.<br />
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Due to its clever level design, <b>Velocity Ultra</b> is almost more of a puzzler than a shooter. However, many shoot-outs with extraterrestrial looters loosen up gameplay and make for a well-balanced experience. Only in the last third of the game, shooting sections become a real challenge and the puzzles get a bit more complex towards the end. But they can always be solved without bigger problems with just a little patience. Graphically, the game is reminiscent of classic space shooters from 16-bit times with a slight comic book style, but generally its visuals are rather unspectacular and lacking in variety. The game can feel a bit monotonous after its first half, as there is hardly anything new to discover, but the slowly growing level of difficulty keeps the sci-fi action interesting up until the finale. I also enjoyed the chiptune-heavy techno soundtrack a lot, which is also available on Steam and is a perfect fit for the action (and is worth listening to on its own). After seven to eight hours, experienced players should see the credits rolling, but if they're inclined to speed running and obtaining all the gold medals, too, it will take much longer.<br />
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-38101550376955169812018-09-19T00:50:00.000+02:002018-09-19T01:40:09.626+02:00Review: MotorHEAT<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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Let's get behind the wheel, then. This won't take long as there is only one car to get into, a Laborghini look-alike, and the developers promise that it's the fastest car in the world. You can give it a new paint job and admire it in the parking lot for a bit before taking it for a spin and stepping on the gas. Actually, the latter isn't necessary because your vehicle accelerates automatically. You only have to steer and boost and keep an eye out for the oncoming traffic.</div>
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The endless roads of <b>MotorHEAT</b> are divided into levels of specific lengths. Cover a given distance within the time limit and you will level up, granting improvements to your car's handling and speed. You can also pick up time and score bonuses, multipliers, boost energy and even invincibility power-ups scattered across the highway that will help you reach the next level in time and increase your score. Points are accumulated by passing traffic as closely as possible, with near misses giving you more points and boost. Crashing will not only reset your multiplier and empty your boost but will also result in a penalty of ten seconds, so you'll have to weigh risk against potential reward within the blink of an eye while racing at breakneck speed.<br />
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The controls are really tight and responsive and the car has a very direct feel to it, which is rather arcadey and not very realistic, but a perfect fit for this type of gameplay. The longer you drive, the denser traffic becomes and some cars will even changes lanes, spoiling your best-laid plans. As if your dried up eyes are not enough already, weather and daytime will change, too, reducing the visibility of oncoming hazards even more, which makes for an intense experience.<br />
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Considering its age (the game was initially released in 2010), the visuals are still nice to look at although the landscape is rather bland with not much variety of objects on the sides of the street. When boosting, the heavy use of motion blur conveys a really nice sense of speed, though. The music is rather forgettable and doesn't really do much to support the thrill of the ride, but I guess that's a matter of taste. In the end, it all comes down to the intense gameplay on endless highways, an incredible speed rush and the infamous “just one more attempt” effect, that will make you grab the steering wheel again and again because you want to find out how far you can drive on your next attempt. There's definitely an Outrun meets Burnout vibe to this game which is a good thing in my book. But there are major downsides to the only version still available to purchase for PC.<br />
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<b>IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER:</b> Two main features of the game that I assume many players would consider essential are not or only partially working in the PC version of this game: 1. The online leaderboards are working on a peer-to-peer basis: you'd have to play the game at the same time as other players to be able to sync scores, which is very unlikely to happen, so you'll keep staring at empty leaderboards. Also, there are no local highscores. 2. The awards (in-game achievements) can be unlocked but not viewed from within the menu. The game seems to expect you to be logged into Xbox Live.<br />
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So why review this game at all? On the one hand, even without being able to earn bragging rights, the game can still be enjoyed purely for its gameplay experience, which I still find highly enjoyable. On the other hand, I'm hoping for an updated Steam version or even a sequel that expands upon the concept. Also, this title was part of the phenomenon called Xbox Live Indie Games, a service shut down by Microsoft about a year ago, and in my opinion it's a good idea to appreciate and preserve its legacy in some way. This review is my contribution. So go and see for yourself what <b>MotorHEAT</b> still has to offer even with some features missing now. But don't forget your eye drops.<br />
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-13565246640998553822018-09-16T19:58:00.001+02:002018-09-19T00:57:02.153+02:00Review: Shoot 1UP!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0w37wQ5o2ABEHjah5dN9SyMZBQiwU7TtWGxG9QwY3nrk05fZeYuoxAcEs7vrD_HTw7smIWcmBM5OB7-bELU_ue3Uf6qkJl7hH4OFXLd4LLzYuXanZZUsGrutVxRWZICycO2FePbdcosWu/s1600/shoot1up_boxart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="120" data-original-width="85" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0w37wQ5o2ABEHjah5dN9SyMZBQiwU7TtWGxG9QwY3nrk05fZeYuoxAcEs7vrD_HTw7smIWcmBM5OB7-bELU_ue3Uf6qkJl7hH4OFXLd4LLzYuXanZZUsGrutVxRWZICycO2FePbdcosWu/s1600/shoot1up_boxart.jpg" /></a></div>
This shoot'em-up by <a href="http://www.mommysbestgames.com/">Mommy's Best Games</a> was literally a blast in its original release on the Indie Games channel back on Xbox 360 and its <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/373610/Shoot_1UP/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Steam port</a> is just as much fun. The game lets you control a phalanx of up to 30 ships at the same time because whenever you gain an extra life, it immediately joins your fleet on screen. Using the combined firepower by arranging the formation of the fleet is a lot of fun and a unique gameplay twist you won't find anywhere else.<br />
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MBG's unique visual style of hand-drawn graphics impresses just as much as in their action platformers <b><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/373600/Weapon_of_Choice/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Weapon Of Choice</a></b> and <b><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/373620/Explosionade/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Explosionade</a>. </b>The game's six levels consist of weird alien landscapes and odd machinery which can be finished in just one session, but they also offer branching paths to explore. A really nice feature is that players can adjust the game speed to their liking, upping the ante or making it a piece of cake.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiSHryaX8u8oonLd5O3OiaZHeCSFsNdWRH6dDACc0EsG7vSVNXYSja-St1_tj_YkA3btzwMXQMGEkOKPj4SZscOTafzsWP9rTnMy_jgjUolUtNX_p4SEuAIK9T_efOwjNI7gQWKSNEF4r/s1600/shoot1up_screen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="253" data-original-width="450" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyiSHryaX8u8oonLd5O3OiaZHeCSFsNdWRH6dDACc0EsG7vSVNXYSja-St1_tj_YkA3btzwMXQMGEkOKPj4SZscOTafzsWP9rTnMy_jgjUolUtNX_p4SEuAIK9T_efOwjNI7gQWKSNEF4r/s1600/shoot1up_screen1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Boobs.</td></tr>
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If you ever wanted to fight a giant, robotic chick with her boobs relentlessly firing at you, <b>Shoot 1UP</b> is your weapon of choice! This game is a must buy for fans of colorful, insane action games and shmups in general, although it may be rather short and not as challenging or bullet-hellish as other games of this genre.<br />
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<br />skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-16675788153291933342018-09-09T19:11:00.000+02:002018-09-26T23:44:11.149+02:00Review: 404Sight<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHkSub7pIK_03yWfT3FNjfxLZtcjpuVkIV_a4A-KSSZBKxqV2ozfNcq0D3Hf-910Sd8rnBkNGrU4nJNadGOSw8kaPcMomVpUtkK59HwBqcjsfyszURcJfFMjGbbSBnffN4zpu6VQd6horm/s1600/404Sight_Title.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="154" data-original-width="326" height="94" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHkSub7pIK_03yWfT3FNjfxLZtcjpuVkIV_a4A-KSSZBKxqV2ozfNcq0D3Hf-910Sd8rnBkNGrU4nJNadGOSw8kaPcMomVpUtkK59HwBqcjsfyszURcJfFMjGbbSBnffN4zpu6VQd6horm/s200/404Sight_Title.PNG" width="200" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span lang="en-US">Anyone who has ever
wanted to run through the Internet at breakneck speed, performing
daring jumps over abysses and obstacles in a Parkour manner, will
enjoy action platformer <b><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/361630/404Sight/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">404Sight</a></b>, a free game available on Steam and developed by
graduates of the University of Utah. The premise s</span>ounds abstruse?
It is, because in the game the player's task is to save the free
internet by delivering important data to distribution points in the
internet as quickly as possible.</span><br />
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<a name='more'></a><span style="font-family: inherit;">The story, a statement on the
subject of net neutrality, is primarily conveyed via text insertions,
but is rather secondary anyway, since the game's focus is on the
action. Not only the "architecture" of the virtual world,
which is reminiscent of the Tron movies, represents an obstacle for
the player. Also, the Internet Service Providers try to prevent the
transport of the data by putting so-called inhibitors and
deceleration fields in the way of the protagonist. As long as the
bandwidth display is full, these fields can be traversed with a boost
or the inhibitors can be destroyed, but without boost the character
is slowed down or reset to the last checkpoint by the inhibitors,
which is why you have to run around or jump over them.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisExl3coLbqFshgJ1zw6aazcopu4Y3kSj5wKXPVMDLVyGy4z4dDZNcMPZWVWxUv9fNAa596lDPM23cfkX7Foup4z1rfU1szVVvnDAuJfKvTs3zpUZBKxDlAvE5Tq9CVQfZaswjTrsTrp94/s1600/404Sight_screenshot_1.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisExl3coLbqFshgJ1zw6aazcopu4Y3kSj5wKXPVMDLVyGy4z4dDZNcMPZWVWxUv9fNAa596lDPM23cfkX7Foup4z1rfU1szVVvnDAuJfKvTs3zpUZBKxDlAvE5Tq9CVQfZaswjTrsTrp94/s400/404Sight_screenshot_1.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Your avatar
achieves maximum speed only by using the "Ping" ability,
which can be activated at any time. Not only does it reveal the
dangers of the virtual world, but it also makes acceleration and jump
fields visible and usable, allowing you to move in a particularly
fast and agile way. Since obstacles like slow-down fields only have a
negative effect on the avatar while "Ping" is activated,
the use of the ability has to be weighed in a matter of seconds to
cross an area as quickly and safely as possible. If you don't make
any mistakes, you will experience a visually impressive rush of
speed, accompanied perfectly by the driving electronic music.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2xOr_yIEN0DQNS5ZbMH5EpmxYizRLEx8S5ZrpWXo7Ozs9zvwWTXLCHZxZVJiwPi58cy9FmQtCMsDXzX9kkTsyivPHlL0KmEHHBsdulsbOlSJUpGLiv7N3za8kgxXqpcquvFDjosnY4vEz/s1600/404Sight_screenshot_2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2xOr_yIEN0DQNS5ZbMH5EpmxYizRLEx8S5ZrpWXo7Ozs9zvwWTXLCHZxZVJiwPi58cy9FmQtCMsDXzX9kkTsyivPHlL0KmEHHBsdulsbOlSJUpGLiv7N3za8kgxXqpcquvFDjosnY4vEz/s400/404Sight_screenshot_2.png" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /><span lang="en-US">Don't expect to
be overly wowed by the graphics. Still, the game's virtual world is
staged coherently and its reduced, stylized visuals actually help
navigating it. The controls can be pulled off easily either with
mouse and keyboard or gamepad. The moderate degree of difficulty and
fair checkpoints hardly cause any frustration. Unfortunately, even
relatively inexperienced players will have played through the 14
levels within an hour (depending on skill). However, after finishing
the game you can still explore alternative routes through the courses
and try to beat your best times. I highly recommend checking out <b><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/361630/404Sight/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">404Sight</a></b> if your into fast 3D platforming action.</span></span><br />
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-36346081367432900082018-09-09T18:28:00.005+02:002023-03-23T01:11:32.131+01:00New Release: Echoes III now available on Steam<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHz2kp45lC8c4nlH7WTkxDguioz9DOF4iKFBiTobSc2If2yw6koJX73anFeMV75CyBGXgt2iFUdbeOxtjOslT4PH_XMCuaoWRAsILX8WRwRYrSvWlJdc9QxS0yva2wEGrNNxMCseVyV9xI/s1600/echoes3.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHz2kp45lC8c4nlH7WTkxDguioz9DOF4iKFBiTobSc2If2yw6koJX73anFeMV75CyBGXgt2iFUdbeOxtjOslT4PH_XMCuaoWRAsILX8WRwRYrSvWlJdc9QxS0yva2wEGrNNxMCseVyV9xI/s200/echoes3.png" width="200" /></a></div>
Shoot'em-up afficionados rejoice: a new challenger has entered the arena! Last week, the third iteration of <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/841950/Echoes_III/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>Echoes</b></a>, one of my favorite twin-stick shooters, was released on Steam. I was not even aware that this game was in the making as developer <b><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33043184" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">binary zoo</a></b> hasn't been promoting the title much except for a few tweets on <a href="https://twitter.com/BinaryZoo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>. His website doesn't even mention the game and it certainly isn't easy to find among the many new releases on Steam. If you don't want to miss out on this retro shooter, head over to its store page and check out the trailer, which unfortunately can't be found on YouTube.<br />
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This entry in the series was updated with shiny 3D graphics, even more intense visual effects and some interesting gameplay tweaks. Players can test their skills in five solar systems and four game modes. 50 Steam achievements, which I usually don't care for, are crucial for progress in this game, as unlocking them will upgrade your ship and allow for higher scores. The gameplay is white-knuckle tight, the controls are precise and I immensely enjoyed my short trial session with the game, although I still utterly suck at it. So if you have any love for SHMUPs or well-made, polished indie games in general, treat yourself and get the game for a -25% discounted launch price (£5.39 / 6,14€ / $7.49 until September 12th) on Steam. If you're still on the fence, check out its <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/338000/Echoes/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">free prequel</a> <b><a href="https://indielair.blogspot.com/2018/09/review-echoes.html">Echoes+</a></b>, which is very similar and should give you a good idea of what to expect.<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">On a side note, I wish the developer would step up his game and raise more awareness for his work because he has some serious talent. Chris, I'm probably not your only fan and certainly you want more people to enjoy your game, so please update your website and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/BinaryZoo" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">YouTube</a> and keep them tweets coming! It might also be a good idea to get in touch with <a href="https://twitter.com/IndieGamerChick" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Indie Gamer Chick</a>, who is doing an amazing job promoting indie games with her <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/IndieSelect?src=hash" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">IndieSelect</a> event on Twitter. It would be a shame, if your games did not get the spotlight they deserve.</span></div>
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<br />skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-66632400301801806272018-09-08T15:18:00.004+02:002023-03-22T22:34:04.998+01:00Review: Echoes+<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9H77UCOO3cWjOSYgGgJ_Y5AQ8SCtyohGnpjFHvRmoobhSnNUu3hNnCO-TEEbAvhnlF5soe0-fYFk_kWbyclMwTt41NQrT6c_fV1dwFpldTDuTx8Krajg23oiBmwTevpo11dldjlcRlblo/s1600/echoes_title.png" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="143" data-original-width="180" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9H77UCOO3cWjOSYgGgJ_Y5AQ8SCtyohGnpjFHvRmoobhSnNUu3hNnCO-TEEbAvhnlF5soe0-fYFk_kWbyclMwTt41NQrT6c_fV1dwFpldTDuTx8Krajg23oiBmwTevpo11dldjlcRlblo/s200/echoes_title.png" width="200" /></a></div>
Back then, one of the first games that got me hooked on the now extinct Xbox LIVE Indie Games channel on Xbox 360 was <b><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/338000/Echoes/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Echoes+</a></b>, an excellent twin-stick shooter by one-man developer <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/curator/33043184" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"><b>binary zoo</b></a>. It was an eye-opener with regards to the kind of quality that could be found on the service amongst all the rubbish that used to be prevalent there. Quality-wise, the game is easily on par with <a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/8400/Geome" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Geometry Wars</a>, which was a huge success on Xbox LIVE Arcade at the time and obviously served as an inspiration. <b>Echoes+</b> doesn't need to hide behind <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bizarre_Creations" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bizzare Creations</a>' game, though, neither in terms of gameplay nor amount of content.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Actually, I couldn't summarize the game better than the developer himself, who put it like this: "A spoonful of Asteroids, a pinch of Geometry Wars, a load of shooty shooty." This pretty much nails it, the latter in particular because you'll never stop shooting once you start any of the six game modes. <span style="font-family: inherit;">Your task according to the developer: "</span>Destroy the universe in a rainbow of sugar rush colours, viewed through psychedelic sunglasses in a cheap 80’s nightclub." This dev knows how to intrigue me.<br />
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<a href="https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/338000/ss_5f78700896cd20db9b2593f8af5f6a1d57637089.1920x1080.jpg?t=1498745541" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://steamcdn-a.akamaihd.net/steam/apps/338000/ss_5f78700896cd20db9b2593f8af5f6a1d57637089.1920x1080.jpg?t=1498745541" width="400" /></a></div>
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The heart of the game is Echoes mode, in which you progress through 10 levels, each one introducing a new threat to the player. You'll start out easy with just a few asteroids to blast out of existence, but soon enough the screen starts filling up with different and more challenging enemy types. Things start to get really interesting at around level six, when asteroid snakes start following you relentlessly and the space to navigate gets ever more crowded. Not long after, you'll get sucked into black holes, chased by planetoids and burned by blazing suns until you're overwhelmed by the absolute chaos surrounding you. Shouldn't come as a surprise that the universe isn't too fond of getting destroyed, therefore fighting back with all it has. But don't worry: using a gamepad, the controls are spot-on, allowing to swiftly needle through these stellar hazards.<br />
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Occasionally, killed enemies drop power-ups, which increase the power and spread of your weapon and restore lost ship energy. If you care about your score, make sure to hit the shooting stars randomly soaring across the screen. They drop multipliers, which are essential to getting your score up and your name on the leaderboards. But for an average gamer like me, it's nothing but intimidating to see how utterly out of reach the scores on there are for me. At least, there are four difficulties to pick from, but anything above Normal is way beyond my skills. Funny how much I like this game considering how much I suck at it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTuyy2qs3MD8LvnXFYtwmQ9TlwU5XXGnM4iOSdmZ7Prd1lE69Rd2dTn4EQAHS73hgXXpU70XbMV1a92isHMPq7QO-63_0RJrEjAuo0mn2yFkNSdQ8KkjR80ntILypxufSw9Aa5-BCWdfC/s1600/echoesplus_4.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="588" data-original-width="1042" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaTuyy2qs3MD8LvnXFYtwmQ9TlwU5XXGnM4iOSdmZ7Prd1lE69Rd2dTn4EQAHS73hgXXpU70XbMV1a92isHMPq7QO-63_0RJrEjAuo0mn2yFkNSdQ8KkjR80ntILypxufSw9Aa5-BCWdfC/s400/echoesplus_4.png" width="400" /></a></div>
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The other game modes are variations on Echoes such as Time Attack (3 minutes to score as high as possible) and Survival (endure as long as possible with one life) or focus on specific enemy types like asteroid snakes and meteor waves. Classic mode is exactly what its name promises: a throwback to old-school Asteroids with green monochrome graphics and inertia-based controls that are completely different from the rest of the game. There are also 100 achievement-like challenges called Trials spread across the various modes, so there's quite a lot of content to sink your teeth into if you're that type of gamer.<br />
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Overall, this free game is a well-rounded, impressive package, featuring colorful neon retro aesthetics with an insane amount of objects and particles on screen. A scanline filter emulates old CRT screens, which is a nice detail but unfortunately can't be switched off. There's also quite a bit of screen-shake when things explode, which they do. A lot. The soundtrack consists of only a few tracks, so the music gets repetetive rather quickly. Nevertheless, the pumping electro beats are a perfect fit for the action and serve their purpose of increasing the player's adrenaline level very well. <b><a href="https://store.steampowered.com/app/338000/Echoes/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Echoes+</a></b> is an audio-visual rush for your senses and its frantic gameplay will keep you on the edge of your seat until that unforgiving Game Over appears on the screen. But you will simply hit the Retry button to fail better the next time and enjoy the intense rush all over again. And again. And again. And again...<br />
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-91647925840971346212011-11-11T12:13:00.001+01:002018-09-19T00:58:49.940+02:00Elysia Flash Prototype Demo<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qrOzeo4GpZ8rt_iEAbKtyT66iwy3jrFjkFOO8lrDc4vt5IEbQznWSbRsf_5gu39uBbrrr89rITba0rnYVhebrVW4yErE_FCdNEO3EC53Mj6bCHMC37TvgCqqMFag5C_Vjvbm_tclPsmx/s1600/elysia_quiff_whisp_small.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qrOzeo4GpZ8rt_iEAbKtyT66iwy3jrFjkFOO8lrDc4vt5IEbQznWSbRsf_5gu39uBbrrr89rITba0rnYVhebrVW4yErE_FCdNEO3EC53Mj6bCHMC37TvgCqqMFag5C_Vjvbm_tclPsmx/s1600/elysia_quiff_whisp_small.PNG" /></a></div>
Remember my <a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/03/heard-whisper-co-op-platformer-elysia.html">preview of Whisper Studio's platformer <b>Elysia</b></a>? Back then, I recommended keeping it on your radar but somehow I lost track of its progress myself. So I was surprised to find out that Whisper released a prototype flash demo about two months ago, offering a three level preview of their title. Of course, the demo does not represent the quality of the final product that's going to be released on XBLIG but allows a first glance at the gameplay, the level design and the general atmosphere you will experience. Although you will encounter some bugs in the prototype, it delivers an enjoyable first insight. If you haven't done so already, you should <a href="http://www.susurration.net/supply/ElysiaDemo/Elysia_Demo.html">take a look at it here!</a> If you're too lazy or can't be bothered to play a platformer with a keyboard, watch this video showing one of the levels available in the demo:<br />
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Initially,<b> Elysia</b> was scheduled for a release this summer but has been postponed and I couldn't find any information on a new release date. However, I'm confident it will be worth further waiting.<br />
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-18550918209406663532011-07-13T20:12:00.000+02:002018-09-19T00:59:07.827+02:00'They Bleed Pixels' debut trailer released<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/02/spooky-squid-games-working-on-bloody.html">Back in February</a>, when I discovered <b>Spooky Squid Games</b>' blend of intense platforming and ultra-violent combat called <a href="http://www.theybleedpixels.com/"><b>They Bleed Pixels</b></a>, I was instantly overcome by a thirst for blood that only the release of this game would ever be able to quench. The developer has not specified an exact date yet, only naming Summer 2011 so far, but release seems to be nearing as they have released a lovely debut trailer. Watch a little girl with claws dismembering countless enemies in various imaginative ways, almost making Wolverine look like a tame kitten in comparison.<br />
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Besides the impressive ways of killing, the trailer also shows off the girl's extraordinary jumping skills, which seemingly enable her to slide down a wall above an abyss, fall down at the bottom of the wall and still perform a jump in midair. This twist in the game's jumping mechanics opens up new possibilities in terms of level design and will provide some fresh and demanding platforming challenges. Another novel and unique approach is the checkpoint system, demanding that players fill a checkpoint meter by killing frequently and by incorporating the environment when killing to earn a checkpoint. The developers believe that "action games should offer a genuine challenge. We wanted to create a game that demands that players excel at both combat and platforming", and it seems <b>Spooky Squid Games </b>will live up to these claims<b>. </b>Keep your eyes and ears open so you don't miss the release of <b>They Bleed Pixels</b> and enjoy the new trailer in the meantime.<br />
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-36233690628710455412011-07-10T20:37:00.000+02:002018-09-09T15:35:58.571+02:00IndieWatch videos now on gamepro.de<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndS1WY-lMsNVOhxK2B-T9RgcqDCUjsHIkq2E6bbDm1_03_nv_KqZ2lNtB5xJkmHiYKz-aeFKi1qfgKlrDKgLlrBPRYaLZNK-o_5x6LyZE6Fd7L4EOnbRbuZswf_IXLTxY1MG6cZLhDxjQ/s1600/gamepro_indiewatch_logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="112" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndS1WY-lMsNVOhxK2B-T9RgcqDCUjsHIkq2E6bbDm1_03_nv_KqZ2lNtB5xJkmHiYKz-aeFKi1qfgKlrDKgLlrBPRYaLZNK-o_5x6LyZE6Fd7L4EOnbRbuZswf_IXLTxY1MG6cZLhDxjQ/s200/gamepro_indiewatch_logo.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>In my articles on <a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/search/label/IndieWatch">GamePro's IndieWatch series</a> I'm trying to spread the word about this german dashboard promotion for Xbox LIVE Indie Games. The articles never actually mention what is said in the videos, but rather show my opinion on the games presented in them. Due to the lack of a video capturing device, I have not been able to present the videos here, but recently GamePro started posting the <a href="http://www.gamepro.de/news/spiele/xbox360/indie_watch_jetzt_auf_gameprode/1969918/indie_watch_jetzt_auf_gameprode.html">videos on their site</a>, so anyone can watch their recommendations now without needing to visit the Inside Xbox channel of the german dashboard, but note that all audio commentary is in german. Funnily, the website is four episodes behind although it is a bi-weekly series, which makes me wonder what takes them so long to update and if they will keep posting the videos.<br />
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I have updated all my articles on IndieWatch to include the corresponding videos at the end of the posts. So in case all the german words on <a href="http://gamepro.de/">gamepro.de</a> make you dizzy, you are welcome to watch the videos and read my thoughts on the games featured in them here in our cozy Indie Lair.<br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/search/label/IndieWatch">All articles on IndieWatch>></a></b> </span></div>skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-58493896055120819032011-07-10T20:33:00.001+02:002018-09-09T15:35:58.712+02:00IndieWatch Episode Six<u><b>Is it a joy, joy if one shoots up at giant, robotic boobs?</b></u><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRGTKC2kaJD0nuKo3Trkco23VZJPphl5t6bCnWSrrF0zLRG5PtbiE8OYufIj4pq31J-a0-aqgzSnWhGjFwDaWSs0IlBKqpj0wihO_JjDNZ6nSDBJneNpyL5lxGas9zrFPSxziArFeLxzR/s1600/indiewatch_06.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIRGTKC2kaJD0nuKo3Trkco23VZJPphl5t6bCnWSrrF0zLRG5PtbiE8OYufIj4pq31J-a0-aqgzSnWhGjFwDaWSs0IlBKqpj0wihO_JjDNZ6nSDBJneNpyL5lxGas9zrFPSxziArFeLxzR/s200/indiewatch_06.jpg" width="200" /></a>I've been so busy over the past few weeks (and still am) that I've been severely neglecting the Indie Lair and now have to catch up with GamePro, which is still promoting selected Xbox LIVE Indie Games on the german dashboard in a bi-weekly video series called <a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/search/label/IndieWatch"><b>IndieWatch</b></a>. With episode six they slightly changed the presentation, inserting the GamePro logo on the startup picture on the Inside Xbox channel and shortening the title to "#06" (instead of "Folge 06", which is german for "episode"). Due to time constraints, I will quote marketplace descriptions for most titles but will also state my personal opinion in a few words - a few more when I think the title deserves it. I usually have played at least the trials of the featured games (if not stated otherwise) and will give recommendations based on my experiences. You can also find the video at the end of the article. So let's take a look at the line-up of episode 06!<br />
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<a name='more'></a><b><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/radiangames-JoyJoy/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550505?cid=search">radiangames JoyJoy</a></b><br />
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Marketplace description:<br />
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Experience the fluid and intensely satisfying action of radiangames JoyJoy, the happy twin-stick shooter. This is the first game in the radiangames series. radiangames JoyJoy was the #1 US-ranked game in the 2010 Dream.Build.Play competition. <br />
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My opinion:<br />
<b>JoyJoy</b> will give you what its title is promising because experiencing the game is pure joy in every aspect. Great, colorful graphics with an unusual color palette and stunning effects set this game apart from all the glowing neon visuals of <b>Geometry Wars</b> imitators. Gameplay also differs in that you can switch between several weapons, are able to charge your shots and collect upgrades for your ship and weapons. Every few waves you will have to fight a boss, but even if one of them should kick your ass, the game will never make you feel bad about it as it always keeps telling you how awesome you are, even if you suck at it. There are several difficulty settings and modifiers to adjust the game to your skill level and with unlimited continues everybody will be able to enjoy blasting through all of the waves and bosses. The game used to cost 80 MSP, but since radiangames started the <b><a href="http://radiangames.com/?p=656">Bizarro Sale</a></b> on June 28th, the prices of all of their games have been raised to 400 MSP, which is still a fair price for any of them.<br />
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<b><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Shoot-1UP/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550455?cid">Shoot 1UP</a></b><br />
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Marketplace description:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr53nXYsnWjtJAx3vJucNST6xLxMJRVgFyVl0EShrOOnS5niUG8QjmIol-y8iclA9FBHJQTVA3pC0X5v_sf_34-sJEBaai8JLBm4saK1ro8q_Xtf2eZaRYQIOj0M0tq8UqyYzhgcgI-zY1/s1600/shoot1up_boxart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgr53nXYsnWjtJAx3vJucNST6xLxMJRVgFyVl0EShrOOnS5niUG8QjmIol-y8iclA9FBHJQTVA3pC0X5v_sf_34-sJEBaai8JLBm4saK1ro8q_Xtf2eZaRYQIOj0M0tq8UqyYzhgcgI-zY1/s1600/shoot1up_boxart.jpg" /></a>Why play shoot 'em ups one ship at a time? Launch them all at once! Unleash an entire armada of ships in Shoot 1UP! - * 1UPs INSTANTLY ENTER THE ACTION! * Command over 30 ships at the SAME TIME! * Arrange ships to charge the devastating PLASMA AUGER! * 2 Player coop play for over 60 SIMULTANEOUS player ship INSANITY! * 6 BIZARRE levels! * Manic Shooting for NORMAL GAMERS! <br />
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My opinion:<br />
This shoot'em up by <a href="http://www.mommysbestgames.com/">Mommy's Best Games</a> lets you control a phalanx of up to 30 ships at the same time. Using their combined firepower by arranging the formation of the fleet is a lot of fun and a unique gameplay twist you won't find anywhere else. MBG's unique visual style of hand-drawn graphics impresses just as much as in their action platformers <b><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Weapon-of-Choice/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550102">Weapon Of Choice</a></b> and <b><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Explosionade/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550684">Explosionade</a></b>, and if you ever wanted to fight giant, robotic boobs firing at you, <b>Shoot 1UP</b> is your weapon of choice! At 80 MSP, this game is a must buy for fans of colorful, insane action and shmups in general.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">So wrong - yet so right!</td></tr>
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Powa-Volley-Classic/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550399?cid"><b>Powa Volley Classic</b></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUGx_HPn2gvPJpCFLNbyeYtopSWlECBGc3W2_VnepmZ7yIPgAg9IAmmR19H6prEPIUapiitDtVPEWIQSkAyeKDr5K0k-v35JGF9Zw1hcIjHPNygWvTYp48J_2aH-jJLvHll6wp8jz4CJi3/s1600/powa_volley_classics_boxart.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUGx_HPn2gvPJpCFLNbyeYtopSWlECBGc3W2_VnepmZ7yIPgAg9IAmmR19H6prEPIUapiitDtVPEWIQSkAyeKDr5K0k-v35JGF9Zw1hcIjHPNygWvTYp48J_2aH-jJLvHll6wp8jz4CJi3/s1600/powa_volley_classics_boxart.jpg" /></a></div>
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Marketplace description:<br />
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Powa Volley Classic is a 2D volley game. It features two different fields with special gameplay elements. Train alone against the computer or with the training mini game, and prepare to face up to four players on local or online matches.<br />
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My opinion:<br />
At 80 MSP, this is a solid variation<b> </b>of the Pong formula by french developer <a href="http://www.kydosstudio.com/">Kydos</a>. I found the trial rather boring, but I guess it could be fun with multiple players. Presentation is pretty basic and far from the high level Kydos has established in their follow-up games like <b><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Soul/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550426?cid">Soul</a></b> or <b><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Lumi/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585505a7">Lumi</a></b>. Give it a try if you have some friends around to check out the multiplayer.<br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Avatar-Snake/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550812"><b>Avatar Snake</b></a><br />
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Marketplace description:<br />
Snake Game, with Avatars!<br />
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My opinion:<br />
I don't know just what has gotten into the GamePro editor to include this game in the video when there are so many better titles on XBLIG. It's disappointing to see them waste precious promotion space for Avatar shovelware. But everyone to his taste, and maybe he actually had fun with Avatar Snake. At least, it's only 80 MSP.<br />
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-42099113432185435592011-07-09T14:06:00.002+02:002018-09-19T01:00:01.206+02:00Trial impressions: Zombie Death Car<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih205SCaToWn7fxf1BSOlVHDMTnUBbE_5UydMlpg6rMnkOU-iBi7sMQVsPgg3w6SJU5SdRwxDBLMjIWsplg-WJmsCptdm70pliBE8QdxTc5dc38ZZrrayaR1h7QmDjadrQ6VFIZZ57TMHA/s1600/zombie_death_car_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih205SCaToWn7fxf1BSOlVHDMTnUBbE_5UydMlpg6rMnkOU-iBi7sMQVsPgg3w6SJU5SdRwxDBLMjIWsplg-WJmsCptdm70pliBE8QdxTc5dc38ZZrrayaR1h7QmDjadrQ6VFIZZ57TMHA/s1600/zombie_death_car_small.jpg" /></a></div>
Yet another Xbox LIVE Indie Game with zombies in it, but this time things are different. This is not your usual "mind-blowing" twin stick or sniping shooter. No, this time you will have to do without a shotgun or rifle, your only weapon is an old police muscle car, the infamous <b><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Zombie-Death-Car/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585508db">Zombie Death Car</a></b>, which - as its name implies - brings death to zombies that are trying to escape, but is hurting the player way more than the undead, who have my sympathy for trying to get out of this 3D driving game. The developer's description: "Stop the zombie hoard from escaping with your car." Well, I would hand them the keys...<br />
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The game's premise of running down zombies with a car could have made for a fun experience, but the title is lacking in every aspect. Let's start with level design. Er, well, there is none. The only level of the game consists of a huge, flat square made up of a single floor texture and a smaller yellow and red square in the center making up the escape zone for the zombies. This play field is surrounded by a blocky hedge and blocky houses made up of one and the same texture for all the buildings. The sky is simply colored orange and has no texture at all. If you expect a creepy environment in a zombie game, you will find what you're looking for in ZDC. Except for the nicely modelled car, the only visual feat of this game, graphics are bland, uninspired and outright ugly. The zombies all look the same as there is only one model, and if it wasn't for their body posture, it would be hard to even identify them as zombies. At a certain speed, the repeating pattern of the ground texture even conveys the impression of going backwards, but it doesn't really matter where you're going anyway, because the level is completely empty, lacking anything to fill the gameplay with life.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqelZ7Ob59UFXRachjrNhBYe46dZa1a5HzqHpmSToaYObty5-NdGzvjnEXpmJC2wVqBgLXhavyoj2CTxVg-AjVdfm62frs1t_aOCcixhrwfQJE8MtepuOT6F0cv-vQWjxCUBmdAlyyLcdU/s1600/zombie_death_car_screen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqelZ7Ob59UFXRachjrNhBYe46dZa1a5HzqHpmSToaYObty5-NdGzvjnEXpmJC2wVqBgLXhavyoj2CTxVg-AjVdfm62frs1t_aOCcixhrwfQJE8MtepuOT6F0cv-vQWjxCUBmdAlyyLcdU/s1600/zombie_death_car_screen1.jpg" /></a></div>
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Ok, this game is about the undead and bringing an end to their undead, er, life, one might reply. And I guess I could forgive its horrible presentation if the game was shining where it counts the most: the gameplay and the driving itself. Of course, I don't expect fully-fledged driving physics in an 80 MSP XBLIG, and maneuvering the car in ZDC actually isn't that bad. Steering is very responsive and rather arcadey, but acceleration is pretty slow and I found myself wishing for a boost button. An odd design decision was disregarding any controller vibration, so you won't feel any collisions whatsoever, not even when hitting a zombie. There are no power-ups either, which would have been a nice feature, no further obstacles, no multiplayer, nothing to spice up the action, so the game quickly becomes boring, way before the trial time limit of 8 minutes runs out.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcALRwyybYhGHIbAPDe6qWSDhz5JPeZKHlpR3Iqr73Pis_zLRkA9ZqtWvVh96PBMAfzsCmTvA2HYQQLzE-rvSKkByCH1-tlQYQhh4MEmt4Gba4zaki8cz0W5oABaNVlUC5lT1pAbF-IdLM/s1600/zombie_death_car_screen3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjcALRwyybYhGHIbAPDe6qWSDhz5JPeZKHlpR3Iqr73Pis_zLRkA9ZqtWvVh96PBMAfzsCmTvA2HYQQLzE-rvSKkByCH1-tlQYQhh4MEmt4Gba4zaki8cz0W5oABaNVlUC5lT1pAbF-IdLM/s1600/zombie_death_car_screen3.jpg" /></a></div>
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Your primary goal is to prevent the zombies from escaping. They will usually climb over the hedge surrounding the play field and start running towards the red square in the center, and upon reaching it will simply disappear, having managed to escape. Yup, undead life is that simple, no need to call in for a chopper or reaching a safe house, just step on the red floor and you're safe. (It's also remarkable that the zombies in this game do not display any desire for human flesh at all, their driving force in most interpretations of the undead.) On each wave, only a certain amount of zombies may escape, exceed that number and it's game over. The first "wave" starts with a single zombie, and the first time I started the game I was having difficulties finding the guy. It would have been nice to have a minimap showing the position of zombies, which in later levels could have helped to determine which zombies are getting too close to the escape zone. Every other wave, a zombie is added, and after level three the trial warps directly to level 50, so 50 undead try to get away but you're only allowed to let ten of them escape, which I was not able to accomplish within the trial time limit. There are only a handful of sound effects, with the engine sounds being rather annoying, but the soundtrack features some nice electronic music.<br />
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Considering the overall weak presentation and dull gameplay, <b>Zombie Death Car</b> sadly doesn't deliver what I was hoping for and can't be recommended even at the low price of 80 Microsoft Points. Also, the trial is trying to tempt you into purchasing the game by displaying "Press Y to buy the full game" directly on the car during the whole trial, which was rather putting me off. Developers should better try to make the trial experience enjoyable for potential buyers and not force purchasing options on players. But to finish on a positive note, ZDC is just a one-man project and the developer has created a basis he can expand upon, so if he gets two or three more people on the team, Zombie Death Car 2 might actually become a fun game. But for now, there is still no title on XBLIG properly satisfying your sick desire for running down zombies or pedestrians, so you will have to stick to retail games such as <b><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blood_Drive_%28video_game%29">Blood Drive</a></b> or wait for the resurrection of the classic <b><a href="http://carmageddon.com/">Carmageddon</a></b> (one of my all-time favorites) on Xbox LIVE Arcade.<br />
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-76627134134003644802011-05-01T20:06:00.001+02:002018-09-09T15:35:58.924+02:00IndieWatch Episode Five<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<u><b>What do rodents, insects, sea monsters, submarines and spaceships have in common?</b></u><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJXGvGUBQS-PPDdl3RbNHE8C1jHEZYviulgUtiWrloFqoaIR5EhwqAVZREobO0PSAp53L9jCuy1GyxE_EHxcW2_2yxVDiOwtD_uXb09GlERNtDSpkdVcqUkoY2ppqVzxe37wQspz0OvxF/s1600/the_shadows_in_the_underworld_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAJXGvGUBQS-PPDdl3RbNHE8C1jHEZYviulgUtiWrloFqoaIR5EhwqAVZREobO0PSAp53L9jCuy1GyxE_EHxcW2_2yxVDiOwtD_uXb09GlERNtDSpkdVcqUkoY2ppqVzxe37wQspz0OvxF/s1600/the_shadows_in_the_underworld_small.jpg" /></a>Some fine Indie Games have gained more spotlight by the recent update of the Kotaku's Favorites list such as the highly addictive, hilarious platformer <a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/04/review-monsters-probably-stole-my.html"><b>Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess</b></a>, which was also featured on <a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/04/recent-xblig-dashboard-promotions.html">Episode 3 of GamePro's IndieWatch</a> series on the Inside Xbox channel of the german dashboard. Episode 5 resumed highlighting quality XBLIG this week with the following lineup:<br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Gerbil-Physics/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025855039f">Gerbil Physics</a><br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Pew-Pew-Pod/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550493">Pew Pew Pod</a><br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/The-Shadows-in-the-Underworld/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550498">The Shadows In The Underworld</a><br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Along-Came-A-Spider/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585503e2">Along Came A Spider</a><br />
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Here are my thoughts on the titles of this episode's selection:<br />
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As its name implies, <b>Gerbil Physics</b> is a physics-based puzzle game that requires players to bomb constructions of blocks containing cute, little rodents called Gerbils, collapsing the construction so that a certain amount of blocks fall below a red line on the screen. Starting out fairly easy, later levels require a lot of experimenting and careful planning of where to place the bombs to be successful. If you're into this kind of puzzler, this title will perfectly entertain you with 24 levels for only 80 MSP. I personally lost interest after finishing the trial, but was impressed by the high degree of polish, especially the beautifully drawn graphics and cute animations.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhs2PqYAmE3UypzmyiLk9yxwwj7evKIQ_GqneNmCu9qJLhs2kVQGUdAyWrfg_mWBVuYhAmHxcj_Brd0Wd-Wh9IvuNSiTbBBXdXUlN2OkdXXCSI7HKmXv6vYXQn3ggYZkcmJo0DxSRdwGMg/s1600/gerbil_physics_screen3.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhs2PqYAmE3UypzmyiLk9yxwwj7evKIQ_GqneNmCu9qJLhs2kVQGUdAyWrfg_mWBVuYhAmHxcj_Brd0Wd-Wh9IvuNSiTbBBXdXUlN2OkdXXCSI7HKmXv6vYXQn3ggYZkcmJo0DxSRdwGMg/s1600/gerbil_physics_screen3.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No gerbils were hurt during the making of this game.</td></tr>
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So far, almost every episode of IndieWatch featured at least one twin-stick shooter, and this episode is no exception. <b>Pew Pew Pod</b> is a very solid shoot'em-up in the vein of <b>Geometry Wars</b>, but at the time of its release (about a year ago) I had seen way too many similar and better titles (such as the excellent <b><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Echoes/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550336">Echoes+</a></b>, <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Atomhex/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585502b4"><b>Atomhex</b></a> or the visually impressive <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Amniotic/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550349"><b>Amniotic</b></a>) to really care about it. Checking out the trial anyway, I couldn't discover any unique selling points. It's still a good shooter, offering 6 game modes for four players and online scoreboards for a mere 80 MSP, so if you just can't get enough of this kind of shmup, you won't be disappointed. But I just can't help and wonder why GamePro prefers rather generic titles over the ones offering little twists to the formula.<br />
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Basically, <b>The Shadows In The Underworld</b> is also a twin-stick shooter in which you control an armed submarine, exploring randomly generated levels in a sunken city populated with strange monsters that try to keep you from collecting artifacts hidden in the underworld. Both the exploratory aspect of searching the generally dark and moody environment with a searchlight controlled via the right stick and the survival-action component when suddenly surrounded by hordes of fierce underwater creatures create an atmospheric and intense adventure. Unfortunately, during one of the action sequences after just a few minutes of gameplay I discovered what I believe to be a bug that made the game unplayable for me. Enemy monsters would all of a sudden move ridiculously fast, depleting my lifebar within a second, making progress impossible and an all too soon "Game Over" unavoidable. Maybe I had simply encountered the "adaptive AI director" announced in the product description, but I don't think I displayed tremendous skills while playing that would justify increasing enemy difficulty to this degree. I restarted the game only to face the same problem again after just a short while. Slightly frustrated, I decided to erase the save game, hoping to eradicate whatever was causing the problem this way. Starting a new game, just a few minutes later my attempt turned out to be vain. I restarted the game once more, this time changing the difficulty to the lowest setting, but to no avail. So either I'm a complete wuss and the game has a serious balancing issue, or the title has a major bug. Either way it's a shame that I spent 80 MSP but couldn't fully experience what otherwise seems to be a great game, with atmospheric background music, comic-book-style visuals and a gameplay focused on exploration. Funnily, once more GamePro states a wrong price tag of 240 MSP (they already got some prices wrong in previous episodes) although the real price is hard to miss on the box art. I thought professional journalists get paid to do some research, and I don't believe they're doing games a favor claiming a higher price, considering that most people don't seem to be willing to spend more than 80 MSP for XBLIG.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3I6fX2tYlfq2XKgGERO2erssV2BJeAcGnsYcRqrPpCo_N23muRs4_ksjD1GHzQI_rPbgg1qWfjayj_GWIRtHLINAyUQXf2PMHR7fovBZpLysDmvtJk1uZFYw9KxftuL_JvFpPYA3qi0an/s1600/the_shadows_in_the_underworld_screen1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3I6fX2tYlfq2XKgGERO2erssV2BJeAcGnsYcRqrPpCo_N23muRs4_ksjD1GHzQI_rPbgg1qWfjayj_GWIRtHLINAyUQXf2PMHR7fovBZpLysDmvtJk1uZFYw9KxftuL_JvFpPYA3qi0an/s1600/the_shadows_in_the_underworld_screen1.jpg" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We all live in a green submarine, green submarine, green submarine!</td></tr>
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This episode of IndieWatch concludes with <a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/05/review-along-came-spider.html"><b>Along Came A Spider</b></a>, and they definitely saved the best for last. At first glance, this 2D puzzle platformer might look a little bland as all of its 20 levels are made up of simple, mostly white lines representing spider's silk. But as soon as you start playing, this rather basic presentation will draw you in nevertheless. You will start your adventure with basic abilities like jumping and wallclimbing, but in the course of the adventure, the spider will learn new abilities by beating bosses. A skill earned early on enables you to attach silk threads to ledges and certain spots, so you can swing from platform to platform. This gameplay mechanic is what sets this game apart from other platformers, offering a very unique experience in an otherwise familiar genre. Its great soundtrack alone is worth the asking price of only 80 MSP, so make sure you check out the game and my <a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/05/review-along-came-spider.html">review</a> of it.<br />
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<b><a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/05/review-along-came-spider.html">Review: Along Came A Spider>></a></b></div>
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-21760828035130590972011-05-01T18:41:00.001+02:002018-09-19T01:03:08.238+02:00Review: Along Came A Spider<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN74iacstfNZP1n6F_Cv48TNDdAa8GfXHXQZGjeZK5fv3bm5S4lyWdIdYWd9zWmln2YKNpacLN1CGR5l1F8Ki6VZqvk37XQm8H1n5AIKLYBIvHS38Iu9TeouITFEsZ-swjpbmgc5Y7tTxG/s1600/along_came_a_spider_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN74iacstfNZP1n6F_Cv48TNDdAa8GfXHXQZGjeZK5fv3bm5S4lyWdIdYWd9zWmln2YKNpacLN1CGR5l1F8Ki6VZqvk37XQm8H1n5AIKLYBIvHS38Iu9TeouITFEsZ-swjpbmgc5Y7tTxG/s1600/along_came_a_spider_small.jpg" /></a>At first glance, 2D puzzle platformer <b><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Along-Came-A-Spider/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585503e2">Along Came A Spider</a></b> might look a little bland as all of its 20 levels are made up of simple, mostly white lines representing spider's silk. The main character consists of a black circle with white eyes surrounded by dangling, fuzzy legs, only remotely resembling a real spider. But as soon as you start playing, this rather basic presentation will draw you in nevertheless. Complemented by a superb, electronic ambient soundtrack, the constantly swaying gameworld is almost hypnotizing, focusing the player on the obstacles ahead while he is figuring out how to overcome them.</div>
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<a name='more'></a>You will start your adventure with basic abilities like jumping and wallclimbing, encountering standard platformer elements such as moving and rotating platforms, death traps in the form of red lines which kill your spider when touched, and black lines that can't be climbed. Your goal is to reach a small cobweb at the end of the levels and to catch three flies in each of them. Most flies are easy to catch, but in later levels they are sometimes placed seemingly just out of reach or will try to avoid you at any cost, so that you will have to make use of all your skills to hunt them down.<br />
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In the course of the adventure, the spider will learn new abilities by beating bosses. Who would be better suited as a spider's greatest foe than arachnophobic humans trying to capture the eight-legged fellow with a glass or trying to brutally burn him with a magnifying lense? A boss will for example consist of a huge hand made up of white, climbable lines, trying to hit you with an object made up of red, deadly lines. Figuring out how to reach a bosses weak spot and then hitting it three times is the key to beat a boss and earn a new ability.<br />
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A skill earned early on enables you to attach silk threads to ledges or spots that are marked by a small, glowing light. Jumping from ledges with a thread attached makes it possible to use the momentum to fling your spider back up into the air to reach higher places. You can also start swinging back and forth when hanging from a thread, release it at the right moment and stick it to another spot nearby to cross larger gaps. Later levels require lots of swinging between platforms, which is great fun. This gameplay mechanic is what sets this game apart from other platformers. Certainly, there are games with similar features such as grappling hooks and the like, but the controls in <b>Along Came A Spider</b> have a very unique feel to them and make traversing the wobbly gameworld a joy in itself. Unfortunately, some levels are not so well-thought-out, having platforms close to the bottom of the screen, resulting in cheap deaths should your spider hang from a thread and get off-screen at the bottom, although it should die only if it actually falls out of the screen. But this occasional, faulty level design is just a minor annoyance and won't keep you from enjoying the game.<br />
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Except for a few, more demanding levels at the end, the game isn't too hard and really shouldn't cause any frustration if you've played some platformers before. There are many checkpoints in the levels and upon reaching one, your life count (represented by your spider's legs) is restored to the initial eight lives. There's a nice sense of progression as beating bosses every five levels will give you new abilities, adding new mechanics and keeping the gameplay interesting throughout the game. Figuring out new skills is fun in itself, and once you're able to attach a silk thread between two spots, you even have the tools to become creative yourself. You can use your silk to construct trampolines or to build a trap for all too evasive flies, that will stick to your thread should you manage to shoo them into your web.<br />
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<b>Along Came A Spider</b> is a perfect example of what indie games should be about, offering a very unique experience in an otherwise familiar genre. Outstanding gameplay mechanics, simple yet impressive visuals and great music make this title essential for your collection if you have any love for indie games or platformers in particular. The asking price of 80 MSP is smaller than the insects you're catching in this game, and hunting all of them down will probably occupy you longer than a mayfly may live. Overcome your arachnophobia and <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Along-Came-A-Spider/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585503e2">get the game here</a>!
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-76587400725005048712011-04-11T20:30:00.113+02:002018-09-19T01:09:10.986+02:00Disappointing Sales for Oozi: Earth Adventure Episode 1<span style="font-size: xx-small;"><u><b>Editor's note:</b></u> Last night, I posted how incredibly low sales for the game Oozi are, based on an App Hub <a href="http://forums.create.msdn.com/forums/p/28044/484523.aspx#484523">forums post</a> by the developer. Outraged, I missed a little detail: the developer was supplying sales data for a single day and not for the entire period since release. The developer was so kind to email me, pointing to my mistake and supplying more accurate numbers and additional information. I therefore apologize for misquoting the developer and misinforming my readers. At least, Oozi's sales are not quite the catastrophe I announced yesterday, but my call for attention is still valid, so please read the revised post below.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4uVV9l9ch-KAd5SvlyMibGbho3LLHa1g4cMKHy1Bv-TbCKxMZZOCiAvN9dvOUsGFvBhm649WpBZRCxa80aaT0a8XNQdPEL2c8-NX7nosHxEOUqJGB_I_F_KVsacLLirhUsE03ZKhepHZZ/s1600/oozi_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4uVV9l9ch-KAd5SvlyMibGbho3LLHa1g4cMKHy1Bv-TbCKxMZZOCiAvN9dvOUsGFvBhm649WpBZRCxa80aaT0a8XNQdPEL2c8-NX7nosHxEOUqJGB_I_F_KVsacLLirhUsE03ZKhepHZZ/s1600/oozi_small.jpg" /></a>Marcin Draszczuk, creator of recently released platformer <b><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Oozi-Earth-Adventure-Ep-1/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025855080b">Oozi: Earth Adventure Episode 1</a></b>, is not quite satisfied with his title's sales, which he revealed last week in the <a href="http://forums.create.msdn.com/forums/p/28044/483729.aspx#483729">XNA forums</a>. <strike>Until April 8, only 223 people downloaded his game, of which a mere 62 purchased the title.</strike> Up until today, Oozi was downloaded about 12000 times, but only about 2500 people also bought the game. Considering its high quality, generally favorable reviews and the low price of 80 MSP, it remains a mystery why this excellent platformer doesn't sell much better. Draszczuk hopes a better trial experience for Episode 2 should result in higher sales numbers: "...the gamer will start with four special abilities, while in Episode 1 trial showcases only jumping on enemies and collecting stars." Also hoping that Oozi fares better when released on PC sometime later this year, Draszczuk is probably "...not going to make any more games for XBLIG that have no avatars, zombies, or hot chicks. It's just a waste of effort."<br />
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On the Top Rated list, Oozi is currently ranked 2nd in Germany, 8th in the United Kindom and 96th in the United States (as of April 12). The remaining three episodes of the game will be released on XBLIG, no matter how well Episode 1 sells. Still, it's a shame that even incredibly polished games of such high quality don't get the recognition they deserve, driving ever more developers away from XBLIG. If you have any love for classic 2D platformers, at least check out <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Trial-Game-Oozi-Earth-Adventure-Ep-1/00000000-0000-4000-8000-00005855080b">the trial</a> and don't forget to rate the game after playing it! <br />
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-8783033362827238972011-04-11T01:01:00.002+02:002018-09-09T15:35:59.029+02:00IndieWatch Episode Four presents another fine selection<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj07R9PAfAFW1Wk8RH4y_Yl6ybwnMxyUdIOZ7GNVVLDrSozdZ8axYYaNOy8_j54H7GjYSIOwEZgVudqbEWLAHzBpwdxzSPpQ_In7RC0AeJLZEay75wbWv-gkbq-Gdz_NNBQJAFywYC171V/s1600/motorheat_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhj07R9PAfAFW1Wk8RH4y_Yl6ybwnMxyUdIOZ7GNVVLDrSozdZ8axYYaNOy8_j54H7GjYSIOwEZgVudqbEWLAHzBpwdxzSPpQ_In7RC0AeJLZEay75wbWv-gkbq-Gdz_NNBQJAFywYC171V/s1600/motorheat_small.jpg" /></a></div>
Taking a look at the current german Top Downloads list reveals what a dashboard promotion like <a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/03/indiewatch-xbl-indie-games-get-proper.html">GamePro's IndieWatch</a> can do for titles that are featured in it. Episode four went live on the german dashboard last Tuesday, and since then all of the games covered in the video have reappeared among the Top Downloads and on high positions on the best selling today list on Xbox.com. GamePro's selection in the new episode of IndieWatch presents some of the finest games available on XBLIG:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15NZhwxCnbDcflLPXuCZcym_z53dLXSg05PCi8kgXjZZ-NxkCg2V-lwg5A1DDx8rMJB1xcgdqIj-2IsH7Jk9ONbZVhD5LvoeRcTLkl06QEg40LN0QiAYuJUZjpYOx1LSI-pTpntGzNAs7/s1600/indiewatch_folge04.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="158" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh15NZhwxCnbDcflLPXuCZcym_z53dLXSg05PCi8kgXjZZ-NxkCg2V-lwg5A1DDx8rMJB1xcgdqIj-2IsH7Jk9ONbZVhD5LvoeRcTLkl06QEg40LN0QiAYuJUZjpYOx1LSI-pTpntGzNAs7/s200/indiewatch_folge04.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/MotorHEAT/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550457">MotorHEAT</a><br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Avatar-Drop/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585502da">Avatar Drop</a><br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Decimation-X/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025855040a">Decimation X</a><br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Lumi/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585505a7">Lumi</a><br />
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Developer <a href="http://www.milkstonestudios.com/">Milkstone Studios</a> is known for supplying the indie games channel with high quality titles, and <b>MotorHEAT</b> is my favorite from their impressive lineup. Next to kart racer <a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/02/review-dirchie-kart.html">Dirchie Kart</a>, MotorHEAT is the best racing game you can find on XBLIG. Playing this game will dry up your eyes because it will have you staring at the screen so hard in order to avoid the oncoming traffic, pick up the speed boosts and manage to reach the next level in time. Offering gorgeous 3D-graphics on endless highways, an incredible speed rush and the well-known “just one more attempt” effect, you'll want to find out how far you can drive next time and if you can climb just a little higher on the online scoreboards. If you're into racing games, this title is a must-have and a steal at 80 MSP.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Don't blink, you might regret it!</td></tr>
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I guess you either dislike or love Avatars, and I'm among the first group, to be honest. So I never really bothered playing <b>Avatar Drop </b>(80 MSP), a game that lets you -er- drop your Avatar (now, really?) through rings of different sizes, with the smaller and harder to hit rings awarding you more points. On the <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Games/XboxIndieGames?SortBy=BestSelling">german Best Selling All-Time list</a> on Xbox.com, Avatar Drop occupies the top spot, followed by Baby Maker Extreme. Just what is wrong with german gamers?<br />
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Back to the cream of the crop. With <b>Decimation X</b>, <a href="http://xona.com/">Xona Games</a> managed to evolve the Space Invaders formula in a similar way Namco updated their classic Pac-Man with <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/PAC-MAN-Championship-Edition-DX/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258410a8c">Pac-Man Championship Edition DX</a>. If you think these game concepts older than 30 years are completely outdated and can't possibly be fun anymore, think again! Decimation X injects this old school gallery shooter with pure adrenaline, empowering the player with an incredible firepower and lots of power-ups. At the same time, the invading enemies have also been upgraded, unleashing an overwhelming onslaught of bullets upon the player. Driven by <a href="http://www.imphenzia.com/">Imphenzia</a>'s great electronic music, it has never felt more satisfying to blast the aliens out of the sky. Surprisingly, GamePro didn't pick its sequel <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Decimation-X3/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550717">Decimation X3</a> (X2 was published only on Windows Phone 7), which offers improved graphics and gameplay at the same ridiculous, low price of 80 MSP. No matter which version you choose, you'll have a blast!<br />
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Considering its lovely, hand-drawn art style, <a href="http://www.kydosstudio.com/">Kydos Studio</a>'s <b>Lumi</b>, Grand Prize winner of the contest <a href="http://www.dreambuildplay.com/Main/Default.aspx">Dream Build Play</a> in 2010, is probably the most beautiful game you can find on the indie games channel. Darkness has devoured Lumi's homeworld, and now it's his task to bring light and life back to the world by collecting fireflies and feeding certain plants with them. In return, the plants will re-illumine parts of the environment. But Lumi is not your everyday platformer, as jumping is only a secondary means to move through the game world. He's also capable of magnetic powers, enabling him to be attracted or repulsed by magnetic trails and sling shots, that transport him through the levels if you manage to switch between the polarisations correctly. The magnetic controls can be a little tricky sometimes, but if you get the hang of them, it's a fun and unique gameplay mechanic. In terms of difficulty, the title may seem a little unbalanced sometimes, but it's nothing that will keep players from enjoying all of the ten levels. At 240 MSP, Lumi will easily enlighten your every day gaming routine.<br />
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-63314310333733121942011-04-07T20:01:00.003+02:002018-09-19T01:14:45.577+02:00Review: Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Recently featured on<a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/04/recent-xblig-dashboard-promotions.html"> episode three of Gamepro's IndieWatch</a> as an excellent pick for 240 MSP,<b> </b>platformer<b> <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Monsters-Probably-Stole/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550612">Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess</a></b> offers great cartoony visuals with lots of funny animations and fast-paced, vertical platforming action. You control a very narcissistic vampire called "The Duke" and have to hunt down monsters he suspects of having kidnapped "his" princess. The monsters try to flee from the Duke by climbing to the top of the levels, and you chase them down jumping upwards from platform to platform, impeding their escape by hitting them three times with a double jump before they reach the top.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>If you don't care for score or medals and are focused only on taking down the monsters and getting back the princess, playing through story mode can be just a matter of roughly 15 minutes. But then you'll miss out on what this game is actually about. You'll need to aquire a gold medal for each story level to unlock a bonus stage, and beating the final level will reveal the entire truth behind the story of the Duke and the princess. This is definitely worth the effort as all of the game's cutscenes are hilarious.<br />
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Obtaining gold on all levels requires a different approach than just quickly ascending the levels and taking down your alleged foes, as it's necessary to master the combo system to achieve the target score. If you manage to jump on several platforms in a row without touching a platform twice, your combo meter increases. It's crucial to memorize the level layout to avoid mistakes and landing on the same platform twice, which resets the combo counter and results in a much lower score. During a combo, every ten platforms the Duke will receive a slight speed boost, visualized by a fancy smoke effect trailing the character, who emits a diabolical laughter each time. The higher the combo when taking down a monster, the higher the score bonus for finishing the level will be. There are also different finishing moves according to the height of your combo. Make sure to build a combo beyond 50 to witness the Duke's true awesomeness! There's also a bonus for touching each single platform in a level, which can be really hard with the faster monsters gaining too much distance while your focused on hitting the platforms.<br />
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It's easy to get lost in a highscore hunt in this game because most levels are fairly short, which makes "just one more try" an easy option, always aiming for even longer combos. Also, the game teases you after finishing a level with how many platforms you have touched and how many more you could have included in your combos. In score attack mode, three levels of increasing difficulty are supplied for each of the six environments, but you'll have to earn at least a bronze medal to unlock the next level of a stage. Depending on your skill, earning medals for every level can take anything between half an hour and several hours. Unlocking all of the game's 12 awards (in-game achievements) will occupy players even longer with some interesting and challenging tasks to complete.<br />
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The controls are simple and spot-on with movement being responsive and jumping as precise as you would expect from a good platformer. You will still miss a platform every now and then, because sometimes a monster or graphics effect will occlude your view, which can be annoying when you've just been working on a huge combo. Especially the effect when reaching a 50x combo regularly made me lose track of the character, but I got used to it after a while. Hitting monsters also makes the Duke recoil from the creature, sometimes dropping into the abyss or on a platform you've already touched, breaking your combo if you're not prepared. But if you pick a less dangerous location for your attack, you can steer clear of such mistakes, which adds a small touch of strategy to the gameplay. The harder levels in score attack also require you to make use of the walljump, as you must cover greater distances between platforms, and doublejumps alone won't take you far enough anymore.<br />
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In terms of presentation, M(P)SMP is (probably) one of the most polished (and funniest) titles you can find on XBLIG. Graphics are kept in a simple, colorful cartoon style with great animations for the monsters and particularly the Duke, who always puts a smile on my face whenever he strikes a pose, "convincingly" announcing his awesomeness. All of the in-game text you can read in cutscenes, in the scrapbook, the awards menu or even on the world map, reflects his character and is drenched in a kind of humor that's hard to find in most games these days. Combined with the addictive, fast-paced gameplay, this superb presentation makes <b> Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess</b><b> </b>a very enjoyable experience and a definite must buy.<br />
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Check out the <a href="http://monstersprobablystolemyprincess.com/">offical website</a> or download <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Demospiel-Monsters-Probably-Stole/00000000-0000-4000-8000-000058550612">the trial</a> to convince yourself of the Duke's undisputed awesomeness!<br />
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-47354419349572895402011-04-03T21:43:00.004+02:002018-09-09T15:35:58.641+02:00Recent XBLIG dashboard promotions<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP_DEzTJfls9w04wzaM5DB8V2tFjAIzHd8FU8j8rfbAk-03hlq1Xa4EP52WNSgpPnLj8vNUyWy8NDr7_UpyG7harEuuVzIUmSKmSk6JXWyVj1ncDbEYANNnAa5jkC7CD7Zah18k8YAWSKo/s1600/unplugged_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgP_DEzTJfls9w04wzaM5DB8V2tFjAIzHd8FU8j8rfbAk-03hlq1Xa4EP52WNSgpPnLj8vNUyWy8NDr7_UpyG7harEuuVzIUmSKmSk6JXWyVj1ncDbEYANNnAa5jkC7CD7Zah18k8YAWSKo/s1600/unplugged_small.jpg" /></a>While there is a lot of focus on some<a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/04/xblig-failure-sabotage-ratings-war.html"> negative events around the XBLIG channel</a> these days, I'd rather like to shed some light on more pleasant news now such as recent dashboard promotions. The german GamePro magazine continued their <a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/03/indiewatch-xbl-indie-games-get-proper.html">'<b>IndieWatch</b>'</a> video series started back in February on the Inside Xbox channel, covering the following titles in episode three:<br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Unplugged/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585505ea">Unplugged</a><br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Qoccer/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550497">Qoccer</a><br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Monsters-Probably-Stole/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550612">Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess</a><br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Beat-Hazard/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550355">Beat Hazard</a><br />
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I'm surprised to find two twin stick shooters among this selection, as I've had my fair share of titles in this genre and am a little fed up with them, also wondering why GamePro hasn't picked the much better ones you can find on XBLIG. In <b>Unplugged</b> (80 MSP) you have to shoot lots of fruits, vegetables and other food shaped enemies in a drain, stopping them from going down the drain hole in the middle of the screen. Apart from its quirky handdrawn graphics and strange level bosses like a chunk of cheese, this solid shooter hasn't much to set it apart from better titles in the genre such as <b>Beat Hazard</b>, which offers impressive visuals and generates enemy waves analogous to the background music. The game features 10 tracks, but you can also play to music saved on your console or streamed from your PC. It's a shame the title doesn't support playing music from USB devices, and the price of 400 MSP is also set a little too high for my taste, considering how many great twin stick shooters are available on XBLIG for only a fifth of this price. At 80 MSP, <b>Qoccer</b> is a pretty unique, turn-based soccer game with cubic players and a novel concept. But I don't like turn-based gameplay and am not interested in soccer at all, so I passed on this one. An excellent pick at 240 MSP,<b> </b>platformer<b> <a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/04/review-monsters-probably-stole-my.html">Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess</a></b> offers great comic book visuals with lots of funny animations and fast-paced platforming action. Its addictive gameplay and very polished presentation makes this title<b> </b>a must buy.<br />
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Another promotion worth mentioning was also found on the german Inside Xbox channel in the so-called Xbox LIVE Lounge, a user column similar to the Monday Musing on the UK dashboard. It was asking gamers to describe their favorite Indie Game: "What's your favorite indie game? What do you find most appealing about it, e.g. the clever game mechanics, stunning graphics, cool sound or maybe the story, that drew you in or made you laugh?"<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"What's your ultimate insider tip for the world of indie games?"</td></tr>
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Ironically, participants had the chance to win some XBLA games, when it certainly would have made more sense to give away indie games in the course of this promotion. Anyway, the column published a few days later had a gamer enthusing over his favorite beat'em up <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Chus-Dynasty/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025855071d"><b>Chu's Dynasty</b></a>, which shortly after showed up on the top position of the (german) Best Selling Today list on Xbox.com and has been remaining there since then.<br />
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Similar to Gamepro's efforts on the german dashboard, the Official Xbox Magazine dedicated an <b>OXM Report</b> on XBLIG on the UK Inside Xbox channel. The video is titled "Grapple of our eye" and features the following titles:<br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/GrappleBoy/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025855075d">GrappleBoy</a><br />
"If you're patient enough you're going to have quite a lot of fun with it..." is what OXM says about this platformer in the vein of <b>Super Meat Boy</b>, spiced up with grappling hook game mechanics borrowed from <b>Bionic Commando</b>. I think you will need a LOOOT of patience for this game, at least if you intend to actually finish it. I'm stuck on one of the last levels of the game because I'm struggling really hard with the controls, that don't offer any precision whatsoever. Apart from this nuisance, this is a fairly polished title worth checking out. If I should ever manage to finish it, I'll write a review describing my suffering while playing it.<br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Cthulhu-Saves-the-World/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550756">Cthulu Saves The World</a><br />
This game is perfect for fans of old school RPGs but "it still feels a little bit old and clunky" according to OXM. I thought the game was meant to be that way, but I'll refrain from any judgement as I've never played it. I just don't like turn-based RPGs, but Cthulhu's top position on the german Top Rated list and its degree of polish speak for itself.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0WzKyW_DM2y_tkZcb1THzD2zrPEYTUX2OZh9yvElDSD9_ubLBrpgcA2PgoPsPzOG-BFDlUoQwaJSsmpvgMavJiKvTkUgW4sYW7fsSHWjqmGFuMmcANDxm9aWAwU4wurnUBqF-wqEWdmG3/s1600/astroman_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0WzKyW_DM2y_tkZcb1THzD2zrPEYTUX2OZh9yvElDSD9_ubLBrpgcA2PgoPsPzOG-BFDlUoQwaJSsmpvgMavJiKvTkUgW4sYW7fsSHWjqmGFuMmcANDxm9aWAwU4wurnUBqF-wqEWdmG3/s1600/astroman_small.jpg" /></a><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Astroman/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550744">Astroman</a><br />
One of the best platformers you can get on XBLIG. Lovely graphics, an atmospheric soundtrack and huge levels for you to explore make this an essential part of any indie games collection. OXM thinks that "it's pretty good [...] but sometimes the physics are a little bit funny. Especially after jumping, you sometimes find yourself floating in the most peculiar way..." I didn't have any such difficulties with the controls and found maneuvering the little astronaut through the well designed levels to be a joy. Don't miss out on this one!<br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Alien-Hunter/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025855074e">Alien Hunter</a><br />
"Maybe alien abductions actually ARE this boring...", OXM wonders, but why did they choose to include it in their video then, instead of promoting another quality indie game? <b>Alien Hunter</b> is a First Person Shooter, one of the most over-saturated genres in my opinion, and one I'm certainly not missing on XBLIG.<br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/REVOLVER360/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025855074f">Revolver360</a><br />
OXM calls this side-scrolling SHMUP "one of the best shooters in years", and they're right about it. Not only does it offer possibly the most stunning graphics on the service, it literally also features a unique twist by enabling players to let the game world revolve around their ship, opening up routes that were blocked by enemies or bullets before. It's a novel gameplay mechanic and a shooting rush you just have to experience for yourself!<br />
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Last but not least, the IGN Picks list, that's rarely been updated and presented rather questionable selections most of the time, was finally replaced by a list called Kotaku's Favorites. The <a href="http://blogs.msdn.com/b/xna/archive/2011/03/22/kotaku-s-favorites-on-xbox-live-indie-games.aspx">XNA team stated on its blog</a> that editors of <a href="http://kotaku.com/">kotaku.com</a> will update the list regularly. The first selection proves their competence for the job, as the list includes top notch titles such as <b><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Aban-Hawkins-the-1000-SPIKES/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550780">Aban Hawkins</a></b>, <b><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/radiangames-Ballistic/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550796">Ballistic</a></b> and <b><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Shoot-1UP/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550455">Shoot 1UP</a></b>. Go check it out on the Indie Games dashboard section of the Xbox LIVE marketplace!<br />
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<b><a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/04/review-monsters-probably-stole-my.html">Review: Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess>></a></b></div>
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-55727253910944117912011-04-02T14:29:00.001+02:002018-09-09T15:35:58.677+02:00XBLIG failure, sabotage & ratings war<u><b>The XBLIG Spring Uprising?</b></u><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_cvQJVfPgpb15WSaaNsXDINCxSroLHx8RvZAXyPQcM-LnCwylZD6IWuB7aaAKJ6DbTj2xCA8_bsh4Oj2Mg9ZWacesKU_PcOzOiSF3_gbxuxC5GTulACTdBS8Cj9JKGILQUbrzGAAxuBwR/s1600/blazinballsxe_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_cvQJVfPgpb15WSaaNsXDINCxSroLHx8RvZAXyPQcM-LnCwylZD6IWuB7aaAKJ6DbTj2xCA8_bsh4Oj2Mg9ZWacesKU_PcOzOiSF3_gbxuxC5GTulACTdBS8Cj9JKGILQUbrzGAAxuBwR/s1600/blazinballsxe_small.jpg" /></a>This past week has been a turbulent one for Xbox LIVE Indie Games with developer <a href="http://www.mstargames.co.uk/">MStar Games</a> - creator of titles such as <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Xenocide/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550746">Xenocide</a>, <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Blazin-Balls-Xtreme-Edition/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550694">Blazin' Balls</a> and <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Space-Pirates-from-Tomorrow/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550407">Space Pirates from Tomorrow</a> - proclaiming the service to be a complete failure in an interview on <a href="http://www.dealspwn.com/mstar-games-developer-interview/">www.dealspwn.com</a>:<br />
<blockquote>"<b>XBLIG has totally, utterly failed. As an experiment in reaching out to independent devs it’s a disaster. As a marketplace it’s a joke.</b>"</blockquote><br />
<a name='more'></a>Harsh words and a bitter resumé for a service I as a gamer (and customer) consider to be the greatest enrichment for Xbox LIVE, even with all its flaws and failings. Although I can understand the disappointment and frustration many developers must feel, I fear that such a negative rant will not help much to improve the situation. On the contrary, I believe that potential indie gamers just discovering the service might be driven away by such sensationalistic statements. Why should anyone bother to get involved in games on a channel that even respected developers shout out to be utter crap? So if this is supposed to be the Spring Uprising, I don't like the direction it's going. Fortunately, <a href="http://www.xnadevelopment.com/">George Clingerman</a>, a respected <a href="http://mvp.support.microsoft.com/">MVP</a> for XNA, responded the same day with <a href="http://www.dealspwn.com/microsoft-mvp-defends-xblig/">an article presenting a more balanced perspective on the XBLIG service</a>. His conclusion is, that XBLIG <span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b>"is neither dead nor the diamond it could be, the truth, like always, lies somewhere in between."<span style="font-weight: normal;"> I couldn't agree more with his view</span>.</b></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwYFbT1apG47UUacEP6hpflOKrmhGSuOoIPQoo8PqDoCiOJnda-iXSpp20_SmZKB8t8_AMfhDcFSbn8_Mw92KhhoN945hnx5oCowX7PX-Ovm5haKn-UecP-Ge4Z8alhMAs9VrkdaumwhHe/s1600/cthulhu_saves_the_world_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwYFbT1apG47UUacEP6hpflOKrmhGSuOoIPQoo8PqDoCiOJnda-iXSpp20_SmZKB8t8_AMfhDcFSbn8_Mw92KhhoN945hnx5oCowX7PX-Ovm5haKn-UecP-Ge4Z8alhMAs9VrkdaumwhHe/s1600/cthulhu_saves_the_world_small.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">Another controversy came up when Robert Boyd of <a href="http://zeboyd.com/">Zeboyd Games</a> noticed a steep descend of his RPG hit <b><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Cthulhu-Saves-the-World/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550756">Cthulhu Saves the World</a></b> on the US Top Rated list, assuming that possibly <a href="http://zeboyd.com/2011/03/23/lacrosse-fans-manipulating-the-xblig-rating-system/">overzealous Lacrosse fans created numerous accounts on Xbox.com to downgrade several top rated titles</a> other than <b><a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/College-Lacrosse-2011/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585507c2">College Lacrosse 2011</a></b>. Even though these <a href="http://zeboyd.com/2011/03/29/ratings-attacks-continue/">ratings attacks seem to continue</a>, Boyd is not disheartened: </span></b></span>"It’s highly annoying, but to be honest, we’re still in good shape.<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: small;"><b><span style="font-weight: normal;">" Also, other regions not familiar with the sport are not affected at all. <b>Cthulhu Saves the World</b> currently</span> <span style="font-weight: normal;">occupies the top position on the Top Rated list on the german dashboard, whereas <b>College Lacrosse 2011</b> is not even among the top 100. Yesterday, Armless Octopus reported that the <a href="http://www.armlessoctopus.com/2011/04/01/crosse-studio-considering-legal-action-against-zeboyd-games/">Lacrosse studio is evaluating legal actions against Boyd</a> for the possible damage done to their title by Boyd's assumptions. Let's just hope this whole affair doesn't get out of hand, because I fear it could be a damage for the entire service. At least, the <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/XNACommunity">XNA team</a> announced via Twitter that they are investigating this possible misuse of the ratings system.</span></b></span><br />
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</div>Putting these annoyances aside for a while, I'd like to finish this post mentioning some good things that have happened for XBLIG. The ever static IGN Picks list in the indie section on the dashboard was finally replaced with a more reasonable selection called Kotaku's Favorites, which hopefully will see more regular updates and a better sense for quality. GamePro continued their bi-weekly IndieWatch series with episode three on the german dashboard, followed by a video promotion on the UK dashboard by the Official Xbox Magazine. More details on these promotions can be found <a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/04/recent-xblig-dashboard-promotions.html">here</a>. So there's also a bright side that was easy to miss in the turmoil of recent events.skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-30688083942152922052011-03-10T22:55:00.004+01:002018-09-09T15:35:58.535+02:00XBLIG promotion 'IndieWatch' continues with Episode 2 on german dashboard<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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GamePro's <a href="http://indielair.blogspot.com/2011/03/indiewatch-xbl-indie-games-get-proper.html">IndieWatch</a> series, introduced to the Inside Xbox channel on the german dashboard two weeks ago, continues with episode two this week and promotes another four titles that are well worth checking out. The games have not yet appeared on the Top Downloads list again but I have discovered the video just last night, so it probably will only take some time to get noticed and to have enough impact on the list. Unfortunately, Silver Dollar Games' Office Affairs is back on the top spot which proves that a half naked woman on the box art will make people download any kind of crap. Check out <a href="http://controllerspike.com/viggo-plays-indie-games-office-affairs/">Viggo's Review</a> of the "game" and you'll see what I mean. At least, the GamePro editors display a better taste and this week's selection of XBL Indie Games for the IndieWatch video is proof of it:<br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/radiangames-Fluid/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585506a2">radiangames Fluid</a><br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Explosionade/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550684">Explosionade</a><br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Treasure-Treasure-FFEE/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550637">Treasure Treasure: FFEE</a><br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Jackpot-Stadium/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585501bb">Jackpot Stadium</a><br />
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Two of XBLIG's most prominent developers - <a href="http://radiangames.com/">radiangames</a> and <a href="http://www.mommysbestgames.com/">Mommy's Best Games</a> - are featured in this episode, and while I think <b>Fluid</b> is the weakest in the radiangames series, it is still a must-buy and a great new take on the Pac-Man formula. MBG's <b>Explosionad</b>e is definitely one of my favorite action platformers (and XBLIG in general) and I'm glad it gets some spotlight as it is not placed among the top 50 on the german Top Rated list anymore (it's currently on 67th position). A unique art style, jumping and shooting with innovative control mechanics, lots of explosions and local two player co-op make it an essential part of any XBLIG collection, especially at the ridiculous price of 80 MSP. At the same price, <a href="http://ishisoft.com/">Ishisoft</a>'s<b> Treasure Treasure: FFEE</b> also offers local two player co-op but is rather a puzzle platformer with lovely, gameboyish retro visuals, a little short but great fun. I have never played <b>Jackpot Stadium</b>, the last title featured in the video, but this blend of Pong and pinball elements looks very polished and might be a lot of fun with a second player. I'm going to check out its trial now, and if you're looking for some quality titles on the Xbox LIVE Indie Games marketplace, you should definitely give the games mentioned above a try right now.<br />
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<u>Update Friday, March 11:</u><br />
Today, all four games are back on the Top Downloads list with Explosionade on 3rd and Fluid on 1st position. It would be interesting to get developer's feedback on how much impact such a promotion has on actual sales.<br />
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-1662691498252671322011-03-05T23:10:00.001+01:002018-09-09T15:35:58.324+02:00IndieWatch: XBL Indie Games get proper promotion on german dashboard<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wVfjwIyc-CU"><u><b>Somebody's Watching Me</b></u></a><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiglRYY8cEpO0sC_LKHmlD2ihyphenhyphenjiqs1aNGwDuRpgSoqSbdF_LUkxnkmSv8kCkKAsfzEFskCIaOrsetzuTA5_VDdNhA8ULH9g2Acfg7n3MVqh_4cFIljS-J3uNzdbv_LIcesL2uR3b7ovuNb/s1600/doodles_small.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiglRYY8cEpO0sC_LKHmlD2ihyphenhyphenjiqs1aNGwDuRpgSoqSbdF_LUkxnkmSv8kCkKAsfzEFskCIaOrsetzuTA5_VDdNhA8ULH9g2Acfg7n3MVqh_4cFIljS-J3uNzdbv_LIcesL2uR3b7ovuNb/s1600/doodles_small.jpg" /></a>In the UK, there's currently a dashboard promotion for a deodorant that will make hot angel chicks fall from the sky. Why am I telling you this? Well, as I don't intend to ever review a game by Silver Dollar Games, I assumed this would be a good chance to mention hot babes in my blog at least once. Also, there are no such super model angels to be found on the german Xbox LIVE dashboard (no, they don't even have the IGN Strategize babe), but someone came up with a really good idea instead (yes, I'm finally getting to the point of this post). The german <b>GamePro</b> magazine now has a bi-weekly series called '<b>IndieWatch</b>' on the Inside Xbox channel with videos promoting selected XBL Indie Games.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>The first issue features the following games:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNjtmTds0Fh5nV4GTrzdHVSFa0Kx1Vj3x7qoclcdlW9ycPl8VRu2nuBASTWaaytwPKRf_gdJBU5a6sovmuFEAFjxASHYIdVyc2Hp_LRI9NcE3kfc5I7K-Vk_AnYTyPTM0Bi9Klb0wEKMc/s1600/indiewatch_folge01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="153" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMNjtmTds0Fh5nV4GTrzdHVSFa0Kx1Vj3x7qoclcdlW9ycPl8VRu2nuBASTWaaytwPKRf_gdJBU5a6sovmuFEAFjxASHYIdVyc2Hp_LRI9NcE3kfc5I7K-Vk_AnYTyPTM0Bi9Klb0wEKMc/s200/indiewatch_folge01.jpg" width="200" /></a><br />
<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/PLATFORMANCE-Castle-Pain/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585505cd">PLATFORMANCE: Castle Pain</a><br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Arkedo-Series-03-PIXEL/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585503c9">Arkedo Series 03 - PIXEL!</a><br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Your-Doodles-Are-Bugged/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550434">Your Doodles Are Bugged!</a><br />
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<a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/Obesity-Epidemic/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585505de">Obesity Epidemic</a><br />
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A pretty good selection of quality titles, and it will not come as a surprise to you that all four games have reappeared and been staying on the Top Downloads list since the launch of '<b>IndieWatch</b>' on February, 24th. The effects of a dashboard promotion are obvious, so let's hope that more magazines in other countries will follow up with a similar coverage of Xbox LIVE Indie Games. It's really sad that I have to conclude this post with the fact that 'Office Affairs' is currently #1 on the Top Downloads list in Germany. Oh well, but I'm confident the new episode of '<b>IndieWatch</b>' next week will rectify this situation.<br />
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-81447888038401223902011-03-05T14:58:00.005+01:002018-09-19T01:11:01.934+02:00Heard a Whisper: co-op platformer 'Elysia' coming this summer<div style="text-align: left;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qrOzeo4GpZ8rt_iEAbKtyT66iwy3jrFjkFOO8lrDc4vt5IEbQznWSbRsf_5gu39uBbrrr89rITba0rnYVhebrVW4yErE_FCdNEO3EC53Mj6bCHMC37TvgCqqMFag5C_Vjvbm_tclPsmx/s1600/elysia_quiff_whisp_small.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2qrOzeo4GpZ8rt_iEAbKtyT66iwy3jrFjkFOO8lrDc4vt5IEbQznWSbRsf_5gu39uBbrrr89rITba0rnYVhebrVW4yErE_FCdNEO3EC53Mj6bCHMC37TvgCqqMFag5C_Vjvbm_tclPsmx/s1600/elysia_quiff_whisp_small.PNG" /></a>At first glance, <b>Elysia</b> looks pretty much like a standard platformer. The main character Quiff, a little furball who could quite possibly be a remote relative of <a href="http://kirby.wikia.com/wiki/Kirby">Kirby</a>, can hop from platform to platform, run, kick and jump on enemies' heads while collecting hundreds of orbs. But developer <a href="http://www.susurration.net/">Whisper Game Studios</a> has spiced up the classic formula by adding a sidekick called Whisp, a flying cloud that serves as a platform to help Quiff get to out-of-reach places. The fun part about this is that the player can take control over Whisp at any time and will even be able to control both characters at the same time, probably via a dual stick control scheme. This partnership will not make things too easy though, as Quiff is a rather heavy furball and can only be carried by Whisp for a limited time. Also, Whisp will not be available in all sections of the levels, but a lot of puzzles will require his cooperation and special abilities. For example, he can be "charged" with fire which enables him to melt away icy blocks that obstruct the path.</div>
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The gameworld features sceneries expected from the genre such as crystal caves and snowy mountains, but Whisper's art department has done a great job so far, giving the beautifully drawn levels a dreamy character complemented by an atmospheric soundtrack. Hopefully, the gameplay can keep up with the remarkable audio-visual polish already present in early footage of the title. The release of <b>Elysia</b> is intended for this summer and Whisper are currently working on implementing further features such as local and Xbox LIVE co-op, time trial and multiplayer modes, unlockable costumes and a medal system to keep players occupied. As a platformer addict, this package makes my mouth water, so I recommend keeping this title on your radar.</div>
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-15228974005221702182011-02-27T21:18:00.005+01:002018-09-19T01:15:43.044+02:00Review: Dirchie Kart<u><b>Roaring retro racing</b></u><br />
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The first attempt on XBLIG to capture the spirit of 16-bit kart racers like <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Super_Mario_Kart">Super Mario Kart</a> was <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-gb/Product/Wacky-Karts/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585502b3">Wacky Karts</a>, but this title suffered from an unforgiving balancing and "wacky" controls that made it mostly unenjoyable. Now a new contender by independent developer <a href="http://brownbot.com/">BrownBot</a> has arrived on the marketplace, and their game <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-gb/Product/Dirchie-Kart/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d8025855078a"><b>Dirchie Kart</b></a> does a way better job at delivering a fun kart racing experience. The full version includes ten different race tracks, three game modes, Avatar support and four player split screen matches. Battle and Drag events are accessible only in multiplayer mode and offer three Battle arenas and one Drag track. Due to a lack of multiple players, this review focuses on the single player component but will at least give some impressions gained from plugging in a second controller and checking out some two player split screen features. The standard single player race mode gives sufficient insight in what this game is about, though.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Before starting a race or a cup, you get to pick a driver from a range of illustrious characters including a Darth Vader look-alike, a Captain dressed only in underpants (WTF?) or a weird ape man with an afro haircut. If none of these well designed funny characters should suit your taste, you can also put your Avatar into the seat of one of the three vehicles. The truck has lots of armor but gains only a little boost by drifting and can carry only one power-up, whereas the racecar has the least armor but can carry three power-ups and gains the most boost. If you can't decide for an aggressive or defensive racing style, the Caddillac offers a setup with a good balance between the two. You can also modify if power-ups should be picked up by driving through question-mark-boxes on the tracks or by buying them in a shop before every race with coins collected during the races. The latter adds a strategic component because you're able to configure your setup according to the track you're about to race. Finally you select one of three engine classes which determines the speed and difficulty of the races.<br />
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For beginners, I recommend picking the lowest class as the AI drivers (or at least one of them) are relatively hard to shake off and know how to use power-ups. These are made up of the usual suspects such as nitros, rockets and mines, some of which can be shot forwards and backwards. The driving itself feels great due to responsive controls and some nice physics which make you feel the shifting weight of your car while drifting around corners, all the while having full control over the friction between the track and your vehicle. The button configuration offers the standard trigger setup for accelerating and braking. Holding both triggers while steering enables you to slide around corners and supplies an automatic speed boost once you finish drifting. Power-ups can either be selected and activated via the face buttons or with the right stick, the latter being the more intuitive and fluid feeling option as you select items on the horizontal axis and fire them forward or backward by moving the stick into the respective direction. The only gripe I have with this well-thought-out setup is the lack of a reset button. A lot of times you will end up crashing into a wall because you've been hit by a power-up (or due to a lack of driving skills) and will come to a complete halt facing the wall. Then your only option is to go backwards first and to manually reorientate your car to get back on the track, which takes a lot of time and sometimes makes it hard to catch up with the other racers again. A reset button or an automatic reset really could have helped to find back into the race a little less tediously. As it is, the penalty for getting hit can be a little unforgiving sometimes.<br />
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In terms of level design the tracks in <b>Dirchie Kart</b> are a mixed bag. The cars, drivers, power-ups and graphical effects such as smoke and dirt have a cel shaded look, whereas all ground textures are pixelated to emulate 16-bit visuals, which makes up a neat looking blend of visual styles. True to their 16-bit ancestors, all tracks are completely even without any hills or slopes whatsoever, something I expect to see in a modern racer, even if it's retro themed. Most tracks have real-world settings such as stadium racetracks, the country-side, a marsh or a wintery mountain and offer a vividly colored scenery setting the right mood for the fun races, whereas some tracks such as "Crack Hack" have an undefinable setting with the race taking place on a plain green, tiled floor surrounded by a black void. This track seems somewhat unfinished and visually uninspired, which is a shame because racing it is rather fun as it is the only track providing ramps and aerial shortcuts. Other tracks have similar unique properties. "Boggy Marsh" has a truffle somewhere on the track which - if picked up - makes a pack of truffle pigs chase your car. The truffle can be passed on to other drivers by hitting their car, making them the pig's prime target, which is a hilarious variation and implementation of some pass-the-bomb-gameplay. "<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coulrophobia">Coulrophobia</a>" is a clown-themed track that has clown figurines chasing the drivers and pushing them into walls and clown-heads on the sides of the track shooting at them. On many tracks you can fall off of the track's side edges which makes maneuvering tight corners an exciting affair and is also a welcome alternative to get rid of opponents by pushing them off, if only temporarily. Even if a car loses all its energy, it's not taken out of the race but is rather replaced by a motorbike that is not able to use any power-ups. Only by driving over spots marked as "Pits", the original vehicle can be restored.<br />
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The only game mode allowing you to completely destroy your opponents is Battle, which is only accessible in multiplayer, offering three rather blandly designed arenas that could have used some more polish and more interesting features. There are no CPU racers available in this mode, so at least one friend is required to play it, and hunting each other down is certainly great fun. In contrast, Drag mode appeared rather boring, requiring drivers to race only a short straight, which I can't imagine players doing more than three times as there are no obstacles or power-ups on the track, which could have made this mode a little more exciting. In general, it's quite obvious that this title is really big fun with some friends but rather lacking as a single player experience. The developer is very aware of this, putting a note on the boot-up-screen saying "Contents best enjoyed with friends", but if you don't mind repeating the two cups on each difficulty setting on your own to gather all the trophies, you'll be busy for at least half an hour (probably longer, depending on your driving skills) in the single player mode.<br />
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Considering the overall package, there is a lot of value in <b>Dirchie Kart</b> for a mere 240 MSP, with colorful 3D graphics at a steady framerate, great arcadey driving physics and tons of fun in multiplayer modes. The sound effects and the midi background music may not be overwhelming, but they perfectly complement the strange humor of the game, which I began to appreciate the first time I won a cup, only to be rewarded with a golden trophy in the shape of a heap of poo. If you like racing games and kart racers in particular, I strongly recommend at least checking out <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-gb/Product/Demospiel-Dirchie-Kart/00000000-0000-4000-8000-00005855078a">the trial</a>, in which you have access to more than half of the game (within the 8-minute-timelimit, of course), so it should be easy to find out if this game is your cup of tea. Good racing games are very rare on the indie games marketplace, so don't miss out on this one. Next to <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-GB/Product/MotorHEAT/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d80258550457">MotorHEAT</a>, <b>Dirchie Kart</b> is my favorite XBLIG racer.<br />
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-17237530535199056162011-02-18T19:44:00.007+01:002018-09-19T01:16:26.629+02:00Brilliant Blue-G sketching out a classic platformer called Chester<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Have you ever played a game thinking something like "Oh, <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cel_shading">cel shading</a> would have looked really cool in this level!" and felt like changing the graphical look of the game at your will? Indie title <b>Chester</b>, an old school platformer by one-man-indie-developer <a href="http://bbg-games.com/index.php"><b>Brilliant Blue-G</b></a> will soon give players the opportunity to experience all the levels of the game in any of six different visual styles, provided that they have collected enough coins to purchase the unlockables. These styles comprise for example a pixelated 8-"bit" look, a "sketch" book style or gameboyish looking "lcd" visuals. All the graphics are completely hand-drawn, offering a unique scenery in three different settings. The game world gets torn apart by "The Bad Guy" who's also stolen all of the sweet cup cakes, and now it's Chester's turn to restore peace and retrieve the cakes. So much for the story, but what's the difference in rescuing a princess or securing some bakery products anyway? I don't care as long as the cake is not a lie...<br />
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In terms of gameplay there seem to be a lot of classic elements in the package such as mine-carting passages, conveyor belts, lots of walljumping (yay!), shooting and maaaany deadly traps and enemies. With four different difficulty settings it should be no problem for players of any skill level to come to enjoy all of the beautifully crafted levels. This certainly depends most on how well Chester controls, but considering the degree of polish the game already offers, I'm confident the controls will be up to par with the unique visuals.<br />
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I can't wait to get my hands on this title and fans of platformers (and cup cake) should take a note on their scribbling pad to keep their eyes open for the release of Chester.<br />
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skaipiohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09674482572672268473noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4740002939145537930.post-74363539158241090592011-02-16T01:19:00.004+01:002018-09-19T01:16:53.153+02:00Trial impressions: Adventures of Rocaman<b><u>Decent retro platformer being a little too classic</u></b><br />
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The first thing you notice when the title screen of this old school platformer shows up is the lack of support for widescreen displays and how blurry video output appears to be. Obviously, this game is trying to be overly accurate in emulating the retro experience a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SNES">Super Nintendo</a> console provided when it was plugged into a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathode_ray_tube">CRT</a> television by applying an image post processing effect. Some people propably appreciate this kind of authenticity, but I was put off by the huge black bars on both sides of the screen and the poor picture quality only a cheap composite video cable would produce (without IPP). I have just recently bought a new HD widescreen television and I've come to expect no other than crisp, crystal clear visuals when booting an Xbox 360 game, but in this respect <b>Adventures of Rocaman</b> intentionally refuses to deliver. Other games such as <b>Super Meat Boy</b> or <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-gb/Product/The-TEMPURA-of-the-DEAD/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585506d0"><b>The Tempura of the Dead</b></a> prove that you can be true to retro aesthetics without denying the advantages of modern display technology, which is why I disapprove of Syndrome Games' approach. But this is just a matter of taste and opinion and the gameplay certainly doesn't suffer too much from this design decision.<br />
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In terms of gameplay the developer doesn't take any risks and delivers most things a player would expect from a platformer. You will find the running, jumping, coin collecting and disposal of enemies by jumping on their heads as you have seen it a quadrillion times before in other titles of the genre. Collect 100 coins and you get an extra life, eat an apple and you gain super powers (and blonde hair. See, blondes DO have more fun!), anything sound familiar so far? This generic game design isn't necessarily a bad thing if it is well executed, but Rocaman has too many further flaws that make it hard to dismiss the lack of originality. In general, the prehistoric hero controls really well with tight movement and a jumping height and distance that feels just right. You can also run faster by holding the X button, but this is never necessary in any of the three levels in the trial. The joy of movement is occasionally interrupted when you encounter problems with collision and state detection. Sometimes, when standing on the very edge of a platform, the game can't decide whether the character is still standing on the platform or falling down, which results in heavy flickering of the character as both states are alternately drawn in quick succession. This also happens to enemies that run into each other, which makes them easy prey for Rocaman, because they freeze on the spot flickering happily ever after. This issue isn't breaking the game, but since overall presentation is rather lacking some polish, these small annoyances can make the game less enjoyable.<br />
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I certainly don't mind the absence of a story in a platformer, although it would have been nice to know Rocaman's motivation to traverse the hazardous gameworld, but Syndrome Games could have done more to establish the prehistoric setting of their game. Rocaman is only identifiable as a prehistoric primitive because he is half naked and carrying something remotely resembling a club. If you were hoping for a detailed character or game world in the vein of <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Rock">Chuck Rock</a>, you'll be dissappointed. Graphics fail to convey a prehistoric scenery because most of the tiles look very blocky except for occasional trees or bushes, and why the developer would choose an image for the background layer of some levels that resembles a bathroom wall with loose tiles remains a mystery. I have heard the sound effects used in the game in at least three other XBLIG titles before, and the background music consisting of an ever repeating drum loop is simply annoying. At least, the layout of the levels is pretty decent with branching paths and hidden areas, which makes navigating and exploring the levels fun. The level design and the good controls make you painfully aware of the wasted potential of this title, but if you can easily dismiss all of the addressed issues, you will probably find some decent, if rather underwhelming, platforming for only 80 MSP. After playing the trial three times, I came to the conclusion that XBLIG offers quite a few platformers that seem to suit my taste more readily and that I would prefer to spend my points on less generic and more polished titles than <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-gb/Product/Adventures-of-Rocaman/66acd000-77fe-1000-9115-d802585507c1"><b>Adventures of Rocaman</b></a>.<br />
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Please be aware that this article is not a review of the full game but is solely based on impressions gained while playing the <a href="http://marketplace.xbox.com/en-gb/Product/Trial-Game-Adventures-of-Rocaman/00000000-0000-4000-8000-0000585507c1">trial</a> (three times) comprised of the first three stages of the game, which can be easily played through within the general demo time limit for XBLIG of 8 minutes.<br />
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