Here’s a series of relatively short indie games that I’ve put together for you and easily downloaded by the whole community; hopefully there's something for everyone here. This is the last group of games I'll be posting until a week next Monday. I’ll endeavor to find some puzzle games for then as it’s been quite some time since I posted one, though the games below do have puzzles included. Check out sleepwaker for instance. You have to work out how to get your sleepwalker past obstacles using specific objects. I’ll also have a couple more classic DOS games for you:
Spelunky (8Mb)
Authors note:
Probably the easiest way to describe Spelunky is that it's (kind of) like La Mulana meets Nethack - every time you play the levels, items, monsters, and so forth, are all procedurally-generated. And the terrain is destructible and there are quite a few ways in which the various game elements can interact with one another.
My goal was to create a fast-paced platform game that had the kind of tension, re-playability, and variety of a roguelike game. In roguelikes, the gameplay tells the story, and I wanted to give Spelunky that type of a feeling... but make the player rely on their reflexes rather than their brain (or knowledge of what 50 billion command keys do!). If there's a best of both worlds, that's what I was trying to go for.
Video:
Download
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Thrustburst (3Mb)
Thrustburst is a video-game about iterative failure leading to definite success.
You’ll be extremely awful at Thrustburst at first and the game will mock you for it. But if you persevere the game will recognise your growing skill. It will acknowledge the various different ways you can go about your objective and it will reward you with further challenges.
Thrustburst is the product of new-school design with an old-school purpose and aesthetic. It will not bore you nor will not waste your time and it most definitely will not hold your hand. It will punish your idleness and it will resist your exploration.
But can you make it respect you
Reference accessed HERE Apr 2010
This game was based on the game Urthwurm; considering how fun that was. This version updates the graphics, mode of play and adds enemies along the way.
The first thing you'll notice with this game (especially when compared to Urthwurm) is the graphics. They're excellent. Just take a look at the way the light bounces around the enemies bullets as they fly through the air. Or illuminates a rock face to differing degrees depending on how close you are to it.
Apart from the cosmetic side of the game, the ship moves completely differently. Instead of just controlling the vertical axis, you can - hence the name - thrust, which gives you a burst of speed. Imagine that. Using this extra, along with the vertical movement, you can manoeuvre pretty well through the caves, around the bullets and so on, to eventual, hopeful freedom. The aim of the game is to guide the space ship carefully through the dangerous, narrow seemingly endless passage.
It's an excellent update which not only does the source material justice, but also proudly stands on its own two feet.
Anonymous review:
Graphics: This game does have great graphics, while preserving the old-school feel of the game that matches the gameplay. Its amazing to me how the "practice mode" looks exactly like what you would imagine a simulation of the game to look like. Basically, these graphics capture and enhance the game. They really bring it to life. [10/10]
Sound: The sound on the game is kind of repetitive but not so much as to be annoying because the sound clips aren't harsh. They sound like... well Atari sounds or something. A retro videogame that you paid a dime for three lives or something. Although they aren't great, I don't think they were meant to be, and they also enhance the feel of the game. The music is... well, I'll just say it's a good thing you can have another program running music in the background with this game. Not very original music, but definitely "classic". [6/10]
Gameplay: Yes, the most important (to me, at least) part of the game. This game follows an amazing learning curve. You can play it with or without the story (which comes in the readme, along with other information that I found out myself after 5 minutes of playing. This game is pretty self-explanatory). When I started I figured the cave was only 10 or so kilometers long. Now I know its past 25 and I'm guessing around 40. My only gripe with this game is that it is insanely difficult. Sadly, you can't block bullets with your shield. But then, if the game was too easy, it'd be no fun and no challenge, right? Anyways, it logs your stats so you can laugh at the time when you (yes, you will sometime) crashed into the cave mouth. Excellent and very original retro gameplay. [10/10]
Overall: Yeah, this game is great with a classic (with better graphics) feel too it. If you press spacebar you don't have to watch the launch animation. It's also tiny, so you have NO EXCUSE not to download it!
Reference accessed HERE Apr 2010
Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_73h2tcubk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yu8JJKAyzeo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ux1CVFlXR6g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=265Mbt1uVIk
Download:
http://www.acid-play.com/download/thrustburst/
or
http://umlautgames.net/thrustburst/downloads/
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Sumotori Dreams:
This home-brewed sumo-wrestling simulation uses a tiny installer and advanced artificial intelligence to create a simple yet enjoyable competition. Knock over your opponent or knock him out of the ring to win a point. The first to five while leading by 2 points wins the game.
Video: (if I was able to roll around on the floor laughing I would after watching the following videos, for some reason I found them so funny. It was like watching one of the old silent movie stars pretending to be drunk.....)
Download link
Or
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The Manipulator: (3.5Mb)
Many older gamers will go on about how great 8-bit games were and how kids these days don't know what they're missing, but to be honest, most of those old games are pretty terrible by today's standards. It often seems as if retro is just a by-word for bad graphics and ridiculous difficulty levels.
Manipulator is not one of those. It certainly looks retro, with its stick figures and monochrome visuals, but it actually looks better than anything you would have found in the 80s. It is a platform shooter with a twist - you have no weapon. Instead, you play a psychic - The Manipulator - who can take control of enemies. By doing so you can use their weapons to destroy obstructions, flick switches or dispatch other enemies. Once you've finished controlling an enemy, you can leave them somewhere out of your way or get them to stand next to explosives so they blow up.
The graphics, as I mentioned, are simplistic but very stylish, and the eerie sounds adds to the overall atmosphere of paranoia and tension. Instructions are given to you as you play, although they appear discreetly in the bottom left hand corner, and I missed most of them first time round. Unfortunately there's no control screen to reference, although when you follow the onscreen instructions the learning curve is very good.
This is one of the most polished and innovative indie games we've played in a while, and is a must-have for any fans of platform games.
Reference accessed 16th March 09
Video:
Download link
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SleepWalker:
The aim of this game is to protect your sleep walker. A pleasant, simple and entertaining puzzle game.
Video
Download Link
Here’s a download link to the original sleepwalker.
Get the original DOS game HERE
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