Super Smash Land is a cute Game Boy demake of the popular Super Smash Bros. series of games. It features six characters (Mario, Kirby, Link, Pikachu, and two unlockable characters), three game modes (Arcade, Endless, and Versus), and up to four human or CPU players. The control scheme has been simplified to one jump button and one action button.
Minitroid is a cute, low-resolution Metroid fan game. Tokinsom started the project as a way to learn Construct, the open-source game creation software, and, with the help of Betatronic and musician Jamie Billings, has developed it into a little “tech demo”. You can download the demo here, from the Metroid Database, and check out the game’s development log here, on TIGForums.
Kornel Kisielewicz has released a new version of DoomRL, the fast-paced roguelike that’s based on the Doom series of games. This update adds asynchronous animation and assemblies (special combinations of weapons and mods that produce unique weapons), as well as new levels, items, and other goodies. The asynchronous animation system is one of the features that supports the long-awaited graphics version of the game that I’m helping Kornel with – this version is being developed and tested concurrently with the ASCII releases.
Link: DoomRL Wiki
The latest version of DoomRL has been released. The last version was released over a year ago, so this is nice surprise for fans of the fast-paced roguelike. Version 0.9.9 has a lot of neat additions, including weapon and armor mods, unique items, new levels, new traits, new alt-fire modes, and a badge/medal system, among other things. Lots of balancing and tweaking has been done to the game, too.
This is the coolest version of one of my favorite roguelikes, so I recommend it.
TIGdb: Entry for DoomRL
Cymon’s ASCIIpOrtal looks like more than just a straight demake! The new feature is neat in 2d. (Source: Erin Robinson, via her Twitter)
There’s a new version of the multiplayer Team Fortress 2 demake Gang Garrison. It’s feature-packed:
And here’s a bit more good news: the Team Fortress 2 guys have nothing but good things to say about this latest release (probably to the chagrin of many lawyers)! Faucet and its community are also hard at work other open-source projects, like Left 4 Dead, Garry’s Mod, and Portal demakes (Magenta Box?). Hit up the first link for more information on how to participate.
TIGdb: Entry for Gang Garrison
The aftershocks of the demake compo are still being felt – FAUCET’s Gang Garrison has just reached a feature-packed 2.0. Quoth mrfredman:
All 9 classes from Team Fortress 2 are now represented. I had a go at them earlier this afternoon and they’re all very unique and fun to play. Joining a game was very painless, and while I did encounter some lag, it usually wasn’t too bad.
GG 2.0 has more of everything – more options, more maps, more communication, and more explosions. Talking about it makes me want to go play another few rounds. Good work, guys!
TIGdb: Entry for Gang Garrison 2
Rock Boshers is a top-down demake of the 2001 first-person shooter Red Faction, by Volition. The project was originally developed for last year’s Bootleg Demakes Competition, but its author, Dugan (aka “moogled”), only recently put the finishing touches on it. And the extra time really shows – this is an impressive effort, especially considering it’s his first Game Maker release.
Boshers incorporates both Red Faction’s destructible terrain (for which the latter is best known), as well as its Martian setting, but while playing I was most often reminded of Dead Rising, a game where zombies are constantly swarming and your immediate goal, more often than not, is just to make your way through a crowded passageway. All the enemies and traps in RB are deadly, but your most hated foe is going to be the zombie spawn point, which spits out brain-eaters at a prodigious rate, quickly filling the tight areas that you’ll have to navigate on your way to the next key or exit. And no, these spawn points can’t be destroyed!
There’s a lot to like about this game, to be sure. For one thing the graphics, which are inspired by the ZX Spectrum, are outstanding, and have a lavish amount of detail. Rock Boshers also features two multiplayer modes (on and offline), as well as a hidden Asteroids-style minigame, which is unlockable after you beat level 10. All in all, it’s a pretty polished and entertaining game that’s made even better by the sometimes frustrating level of challenge (should you like that sort of thing).
TIGdb: Entry for Rock Boshers
Konjak has released a new action game, perhaps his last for the foreseeable future, called Legend of Princess. Any similarities between it and that big game franchise from that big game company are purely coincidental, of course.
True to Joakim’s style, LoP features fast action, lovely hand-pixelated graphics, clever boss fights, and over-the-top effects. On top of that, there’s a pretty nifty gameplay mechanic where you choose Li— er, the main character’s items (a jump item and ranged weapon) before starting the game. This affects the difficulty as well as how you overcome the game’s various obstacles. Pretty sweet.
I put this in the Demakes category, even though it isn’t exactly a demake. If you’re anywhere near as big a geek as I (unlikely!), you’ll love this game. I wouldn’t mind seeing a complete set of temples…
TIGdb: Entry for Legend of Princess
Buddhist monks may one day ask their disciples, “What sound does a Soundless Mountain make?” To which the disciples should rightly answer, “It is the sound of a compo being won, master.” Superflat’s atmospheric horror game, Soundless Mountain II, took the top prize in the TIGSource Bootleg Demakes Competition, with Gang Garrison II and Aquarium at a close second and third, respectively.
Here are the top 10 entries:
1. Soundless Mountain II (superflat)
2. Gang Garrison II (mrfredman, MedO)
3. Aquarium (Oracle)
4. Little Girl in Underland (The Ivy)
5. House Globe (Oxeye Games)
6. S.T.A.C.K.E.R. (Pishtaco)
7. Squish (Terry)
8. Fillauth (Oxeye Games) / Macarena of the Missing (Noyb)
9. Sexy Seaside Beachball (lemmy101)
10. Advanced Set the Rope on Fire Cartridge (Blueberry)
The full results are here. Congratulations to all the entrants! This was the mightiest competition yet.