TIGSource

Sixty Five Million and One BC

Derek Yu — Fri, 16 May 2008 07:49:00 +0000

There’s definitely some kind of dinosaur revival going on here! Thanks to MisterX for letting us know that the full version of Raptor 2 is out, except it’s now called Sixty Five Million and One BC. The original Raptor was well-regarded in the Game Maker community for its nice graphics, humorous storyline, and technical achievements. In the game you played a sassy velociraptor sent out to rescue some raptor eggs that were stolen by pterodactyls.

Sixty Five Million and One BC is very similar, but looks and plays even better. Your raptor has more moves now, but retains the same great dino feel that he had in the first game… kind of dexterous and ungainly at the same. This time you’re trying to build a machine to save the planet from an incoming meteor, and the narrative provides plenty of opportunities for tongue-in-cheek jokes, breaking of the fourth wall, and occasional pop culture references.

The game’s not without its flaws, however – there are spots where trying to finesse a big dinosaur can be a pain, especially when there are all manner of little beasties trying to hurt you and knock you off of trees. And the graphics, while better than Raptor’s, are still much too brown/bland-looking for my taste. I would have much preferred a more colorful prehistoric world to romp around in. Ah, well!

The full version of the game is roughly 4 times the size of the demo, and is going for twenty dinosaur eggs ($20).

Dr. Petter's 116 Unfinished Games of Delight and Madness

Derek Yu — Thu, 15 May 2008 15:30:00 +0000

DrPetter, the brilliant mind behind sfxr, was inspired by the awesome Unfinished Game Demo/Dump thread on TIGForums and decided to contribute a mosaic of 116 of his own unfinished creations.

The games listed span from 1995 to 2008, which I guess corresponds to half my life (born 1982).

You can see the full image here (3 mb) – wow, is that ever fun to look at! DrPetter has also written short descriptions for each of the games (some of which can be played at his website)!

Definitely check out the rest of the dumps, too. You might not think it, but it’s quite inspiring (and entertaining) to see people’s unfinished work. I’m considering contributing some games to it myself!

Larva Mortus

Derek Yu — Thu, 15 May 2008 06:44:00 +0000

Larva Mortus is a new top-down action game from Rake in Grass, the creators of the well-loved indie shmup Jets n’ Guns. In the game you play an agent in an occult crime-fighting organization of sorts… in other words, you’re going to be slicing, shooting, and blowing up every manner of foul Goosebumps reject in your efforts to protect humanity from the supernatural.

The fighting takes place across various missions that you select from a map. Some are “key” to the storyline and and some aren’t. The structure of each type is the same, however – make your way through a series of randomly generated rooms until you achieve your goal, whether its clearing the area of monsters, destroying profane altars, rescuing civilians, or what have you.

Larva Mortus is fun, and it looks good, but it doesn’t quite live up to Crimsonland or Smash TV, which are the two games it most reminded me of (and both classics of the genre). The action isn’t quite frantic enough, the RPG elements are a bit too diluted, the maps are too simple… and the game’s never quite sure whether it’s supposed to be scary or campy. Or maybe it’s the simple fact that it’s not as fun as it should be to blow a zombie’s head off with a shotgun!

But try it for yourself if it sounds interesting. The demo caps the amount of experience you can get, which bars you from attempting the later story missions. The full game is $19.95.

(Source: John Walker, via Rock, Paper, Shotgun)

Multiplayer on One Keyboard 6: Lier.... um, yeah

Jordan Magnuson — Wed, 14 May 2008 20:54:00 +0000

I know, I know, we’re all mature independent gamers here, and we know The Indie Canon like the back of our collective hand; and yes, Open Liero was mentioned here a scare half year ago. Well I’m sorry, but here’s the thing: is there any one here who is really going to stand up and say that Liero doesn’t deserved to be mentioned at least every few months on any self-respecting indie site? If there is one person out there who reads this post, and has not yet played Liero, and plays Liero as a consequence, then this post was not in vain.

So many clones, but there’s only one original; and here’s dos box, for sound.

If I had a million dollars for every time I had fun playing this game, well, I would be richer than Bill Gates—and that’s a lot of millions.

Edit: despite my [snobbish?] loyalty towards the original, it’s true that OpenLieroX is perhaps the definitive version of this game. Download it here.

Countdown to Penny Arcade Adventures!

Derek Yu — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:46:00 +0000

Penny Arcade Adventures: On The Rain-Slick Precipice of Darkness is hitting online stores on May 21st, and to juice you up for the release the PA guys are doing a countdown, and releasing a page of a comic each day. If you’re interested, take a look at this very positive hands-on preview by Chris Kohler at Game|Life. The game’s also gotten some very mixed reviews by the mainstream press, according to Gabe.

Precipice will be the first game released via Penny Arcade/Hothead Studios’ new indie game website, Greenhouse. It will be released for Windows, Mac, and Linux simultaneously.

Caveman Craig

Derek Yu — Wed, 14 May 2008 06:26:00 +0000

In Caveman Craig you’re charged with leading a tribe of cavemen as they try to survive the harsh realities of everyday life as a friggin’ prehistoric caveman! Namely, dinosaurs. And evil cavemen dressed in black.

The interesting thing about CC is how you train each individual caveman to do his job (which he will then perform automatically). Cavemen come in three flavors (hunter, gatherer, and preparer), which each have two skills. To teach them these skills you simply perform the action a number of times while they are following you. New cavemen arrive when enough food has been prepared.

Along the way, you’re blessed with small gifts that make things easier for you (e.g. a fire and spit that prepares carcasses). These are fun rewards, and they alleviate the repetitiveness of training somewhat, but more skills, more dinosaurs, and more variety would have been very welcome. Raids on other tribes, perhaps?

Still, it’s a fun little game while it lasts!

DROD: The City Beneath Trailer

Derek Yu — Mon, 12 May 2008 21:55:00 +0000

Erik Hermansen at Caravel Games wrote to let me know that they’ve released a trailer for Deadly Rooms of Death: The City Beneath. True, this game is about a year old, but it’s never too late to try out this rather brilliant, and overlooked, series of turn-based puzzle games. And DROD fans consider The City Beneath to be the best of the lot (and suitable for beginners).

I love the game’s really odd visual design and sense of humor. Definitely very unique!

TypeRacer (Beta)

Derek Yu — Mon, 12 May 2008 04:26:00 +0000

Okay, I have to admit that I’m a sucker for typing games of any sort. If you make it online and competitive, then I’m going to be hooked.

What I’m trying to say is… that I have the hots for Mavis Beacon.

(Source: bruin, via selectbutton.net)

Everyday Shooter - Now on Steam

Derek Yu — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:40:00 +0000

Joyous day! Everyday Shooter has finally made its way to the PC, via Steam. I’ll be honest, I had only gotten a taste of this game before, on the IGF show floor in 2007. It was fun then, but I gotta say, it really deserves to be played in one’s own room, with headphones on. Challenging and beautiful – one of few games where graphics, sound, and gameplay are completely harmonious with one another.

Try it! It’s definitely worth the $8.99 you’ll be paying for it (discounted from $9.99 for this week).

Droid Assault

Derek Yu — Wed, 07 May 2008 16:14:00 +0000

Droid Assault is a new action game from Puppygames. Just as Titan Attacks was a “Puppified” version of Space Invaders, and Ultratron a Puppified Robotron, Droid Assault is Paradroid given the Puppy treatment.

In Paradroid, players controlled an “Influence Device,” an otherwise weak droid with a very special ability – it could control and command droids after beating them in a logic-based circuit game. Droid Assault eschews this mini-game and lets you “transfer” to a droid so long as you have enough transfer points (obtained per 1000 score points). Also, once a droid has been transferred, it joins your team and can be controlled at any time (or when your current droid is blown up).

Longtime Paradroid fans may find this a bit off-putting, since the circuit mini-game was a big part of Paradroid (and allowed skilled players to take over even the mighty level 999 droid with a lowly Influence Device). However, Droid Assault is clearly built for speed and action, and as such it’s a highly enjoyable game with frantic action. The graphics and music are also ace, as we should come to expect from Caspian Prince and his team.

If I had any complaint, its that it’s occasionally difficult to discern blocks, pits, walls, and floors. Other than that, I’d highly recommend this very affordable ($10) little game. (And give Freedroid a try if you’d like to play the original!)