Today I have a collection of 6 games from a great indie developer named Origami Hero. The first game is a platformer titled Treasure Hunter Man. The next is another platformer titled Stargirl and the Thief From the Exploded Moon. Next up is another platformer titled A Game With A Kitty followed by A Game With A Kitty 2. The 5th game is a point and click adventure game titled Cedric and the Revolution. The last game is another point and click titled Reactor 09. Hopefully this will wet everyone's palate a little. All 6 games can be downloaded from the link following the post. I don't have time to individually review all 6 so I've borrowed some rather good reviews from some friends.
Treasure Hunter Man
Treasure Hunter Man is a freeware 2D platformer created by Bernie, featuring four dungeons with different themes to explore, a variety of inventory items to find for puzzle-solving purposes, unlockable skills, a couple of secrets, and two endings to discover.~Thanks to IndieGames.comUse the cursor keys to move, press the X key to jump, and hold the Z key to sprint once you've acquired the ability to run. Weapons are not available to you at the beginning, but can be found during the course of your adventure. The boomerang is thrown upwards or downwards by using the up or down arrow key together with Z.
Hold the up arrow key to go through a doorway or converse with NPCs. Note that you can only talk to other characters when standing next to them, and not directly behind them. You will need to acquire a sword from the dark cellar back in town before searching for a weak wall in the forest to destroy and reveal a passage to the first dungeon.
An easy difficulty setting can be accessed by pressing the left or right arrow key when the intro screen is shown, where players can choose to start the game with four hearts instead of the usual two for normal mode.
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Stargirl and the Thief From the Exploded Moon
I could type the title of this game all day. (Which is fortunate, because it takes all day to type.) Stargirl and the Thief from the Exploded Moon (gasp!) is a new platformer from Bernie that, according to Bernie himself, is “not much different than the other games [he’s] made.” Which is to say a well put-together retro experience with it’s own special something sprinkled on top.~Thanks to TIGSource.comStargirl was made in only two weeks, so it’s rather short and there are still a few kinks to be ironed out, but it’s a lot of fun. It’s got a definite SMB2 vibe. Oh, and before you ask, this game is in addition to the other two projects he’s got going… way to go, Bernie!
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A Game With A Kitty
Ah what a nice title: simply A Game With A Kitty. I can imagine a lot of thought went into choosing the title - but that doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. You don't play a game for its title, right? You play a game for the experience. Although the author of A Game With A Kitty claims that it was developed in just a couple of weeks, the game nevertheless looks like a very nice platform game overall.~Thanks to Abandonia ReloadedThe story starts out simple enough. The village of our kitty hero seems to have decided that he is to explore the mysterious tower and learn more about it, although, well, the villagers doen't exactly put a lot of trust or faith in our hero. (That's the typical treatment platform heroes get in their villages: no respect.) So now our wannabe hero goes out to discover the truth.
The graphics look pretty good. It is somewhat hard to believe that this was all done in two weeks. They are very nicely done; props to the developer. The backgrounds look nice; they fit the mood of the game, although some of them use very similar colours. Soundwise, the game also does a decent job. There are arguably no really annoying sound effects, and the music is all right, too. But in case you disagree, you have the option to turn off the music at any time in the game if you don't want to hear it. Finally, the controls are easy enough to pick up. Unfortunately, you cannot customise the controls, so you're stuck with the default setup. I didn't discover any problems about it, but the author has mentioned there is a possibility that in the future you will be able to customise the controls.
As with most platform games, the difficulty level may be frustrating at first, and navigating through different parts of levels can be a challenge. Especially when you have to do some backtracking in order to get to a different part of the level to collect an item.
Nevertheless, A Game With A Kitty is a fun platform game and I'm glad I got to try it out, so you too should give it a try, despite the odd title.
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A Game With A Kitty 2
It is no easy job being the King’s Arch Chancellor. Especially when the king is, to put it nicely, not always the best decision maker, or simply put, a competent ruler. Nevertheless, despite putting up with the childish antics of the King, our Arch Chancellor manages to talk his way into a vacation, and soon enough he is able to relax and not have to deal with the king. However, this vacation does not last long at all. Events soon occur which call the Arch Chancellor to action, despite his reluctance to complete them. In AGWAK2: Darkside Adventures, (a so-called sequel to the original fantastic game, A Game with a Kitty, using a similar graphical engine and new characters) this game continues the series in a new environment, with lots of new surprises in store for the Arch Chancellor. AgwaK2: Darkside Adventures brings fantastic artwork, great music, and challenging game play that will test the most hardened game veterans, yet still allow casual gamers to enjoy the charm of this quirky game.~Thanks to Abandonia ReloadedThe game starts with the Arch Chancellor resting on his vacation, when the King soon disturbs his rest. The King informs him, that Princess Daphodil had visited the kingdom earlier, and had been playing a game of hide and seek with the King, when she somehow managed to lose her crown. Therefore, the King orders the Arch Chancellors vacation over, and tells him that he has to find her crown. Cursing under his breath, the Arch Chancellor agrees to go look for the crown, despite wishing he did not have to do so. So begins the quest of the Arch Chancellor and his journey to find the lost crown of the princess.
You begin the game by controlling the Chancellor, with the King trailing behind you, as you begin to explore the level and try to advance to the end. Along the way, different signs will offer help, tips, or suggestions to guide you to the next screen. For example, one of the signs will suggest that you use the king’s crown, to bounce yourself to a higher platform. These tips will help ease you into the game as you begin to explore each area, and advance. Along the way, there are many enemies who wish to stop you, and many assorted obstacles and jumps that you must navigate in order to advance. However, you are not defenseless. The Arch Chancellor is able to bounce on enemies heads to defeat them, or by collecting stars from treasure chests scattered throughout the level. He may fire these stars at his enemies (by pressing the control or 'C' key) to defeat them, or to destroy star blocks that may block his passage to another area. With each successful completion of a level (either by finding a key to a secret area or by finding the star at the end of the level), more of the level map will be revealed, which will allow you to proceed to new areas. The Arch Chancellor will also learn new moves, throughout the game, that will aid him in not only defeating different enemies, but also solving different puzzles that he encounters along the way. Such as learning the run move, which allows him to run much faster than he did before.
If you have played A Game with a Kitty, the artwork in the game will seem quite familiar. However, in this game it looks much more polished and more vibrant than it did in A Game with a Kitty. More colours are used in the different environments, enemies look different, and more variety in the scenery of a level, show that this game is quite different from its predecessor. It all looks fantastic, from the first level, to the later levels; each one has its own charm, as you advance to different areas within the game.
The music is excellent. While it does not stand out as much as one might expect, its quiet ambient nature fits in nicely with each scene. It does not interfere with the action on screen and it is subtle enough that you may miss the music as you are playing. Nevertheless, it sounds great and just fits the easygoing nature of the game.
What makes this particular game, different from other platformers is its challenging game play. The game is challenging, not only with the different enemies you will face, but with the different puzzles that also exist, challenging you to advance to different areas, as well collect keys, and different items as well. The challenge is not too difficult I must stress, as it will challenge hardcore gamers and still be an enjoyable experience for casual gamers.
The only minor concern I had with the game was the feel of the controls. It seemed a bit loose in most cases, mostly when picking up objects and throwing them. It will probably take you at least 15 minutes to get a good feel of how the Arch Chancellor moves and attacks in the game, before it feels natural.
In conclusion, this was a fantastic game and I highly recommend it to anyone who is a fan of platforming games in the style of Mario, Sonic and many other characters. This is a worthy “sequel†to its predecessor A Game with a Kitty, so check it out for yourself.
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Cedric and the Revolution
he length of a game can be both good and bad, in certain cases. Sometimes, developers may end up stretching a game too much, for a variety of reasons. Some may wish to add replay value to their game, or perhaps the story and events that take place, need to be explained in detail, in order for the gamer to understand what is going on. In other cases, short games can be seen as an effort by a developer that may not have had a lot of time to work on the game or had other reasons for keeping a game short.~Thanks to Abandonia ReloadedIn this particular case, while Cedric and the Revolution may not be that long of an adventure game, it manages to succeed in getting its point across to the gamer, and fleshing out the story effectively, to allow gamers to get that great satisfaction of beating the game when it is all said and done.
In Cedric and the Revolution, you take on the role of our little hero Cedric, an apprentice in training, or so he thinks. Victor, our big burly blacksmith, who had hired Cedric to be his apprentice, has changed his mind, due to the new taxes that have been levied by the king, on all apprentices that work across the land. Cedric, who had been looking forward to becoming a blacksmith apprentice, is saddened at first, but soon thinks up a plan. Victor and himself will gather others to protest these taxes, and with some luck, perhaps persuade the king to change his mind. So both Cedric and Victor, begin their journey to reverse the burden of the taxes and perhaps help out along the way.
The game looks pretty nice as you explore from area to area. There are vivid colours used in each area, from the harbor, to the king’s castle, and many other areas, all around it looks really good, with its unique style. The story itself is also pretty intriguing. While the concept may seem to be different and perhaps a bit silly, nevertheless, that is the key, it is different from a lot of other stories in the adventure genre, and this helps to make it stand out a bit more from the competition.
The music as well, is quite nice to listen to, as you explore each area. Its above average, and adds to the experience of the game, and many of the tunes do not seem to be out of place, it gets the job done nicely. However, there is not much in terms of sound effects, which the author actually does make a note of during the introduction screen, but that’s alright, as that’s a minor detail, that does not impact on the game.
The game itself is a tad short, but it could be considered a bit longer than some short adventure games. It almost felt that as I was really starting to enjoy what was going on, the game managed to finish. Hopefully at some point in the future, we could see a sequel or something else arise to continue the story.
Nevertheless, this was an enjoyable game and while it is not too long, it still was fun to play and I recommend it to any adventure gamer. Check out Cedric and the Revolution and see it for yourself.
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Reactor 09
WARNING GAME CONTAINS CUSS WORDS NOT SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN
So Bernie’s new graphic adventure is out! It’s called Reactor 09 and as it turns out it is “mature,” as was foretold.~Thanks to TIGSourceThe game has you playing as a scientist convicted of murder trying to escape a doomed prison with the help of a CO. Throughout the game your decisions will affect the officer’s trust level and, as a result, the arc of the story. There are four different endings in all, though apparently the game itself is pretty short.
Now, Bernie claims he’s not happy with it, but I think he’s probably just nervous with it being his first “adult” title.
Left-click to walk and right-click-and-hold to manipulate the environment, ala Full Throttle. Enjoy!
