34 articles Articles posted in Indie games

Heavy Weapons

May 25, 2009, 0 comments

Heavy WeaponsStarts off slow, this one. Roving spaceship, short waves of enemies, seems a bit easy… and did the developer not get the memo that all shoot-’em-ups need to have glowing neon lights now? But then Heavy Weapons goes shopping. Grab cash from dropped enemies and you can spend it on 20 bigger, beefier guns — the details of which are all hush-hush until you can afford them. The lure of what’s behind that $500,000 slot is too much to resist — and with only three weapon slots, you have to be intelligent about your choices as the 60 levels get more varied, and tougher, and better. Who doesn’t love a field full of retro robots with orange heads?

Good stuff, then. Especially level 15. We eagerly await the sequels, Heavy Weapons 2: Heavier Weapons and Heavy Weapons 3: Ooh No, I’m Not Lifting That, I’m Worried I’ll Put My Back Out. Play Heavy Weapons (Flash)

Toast Boy

May 24, 2009, 0 comments

Toast BoyUpdate: Toast Boy too tricky for ya? here’s a Toast Boy save file with all the levels unlocked. Just download it and stick it in the same folder as ‘Toast Boy.exe’.

Blocky pixelated characters propelling themselves around levels with reverse-thrust jetpacks are sooo hot right now. The cute but adorable Nolegs was released just yesterday — and now here’s the all-shooting, all-flying Toast Boy, who clearly isn’t content with the warmth of a toaster and would rather risk frazzling his legs right off courtesy of combustible rocket fuel. This simplistic little platform-shooter isn’t complex, or varied, or easy to control. But it’s got a couple of mini surprises — and cute-as-a-button characters with wiggly arms. Only 25 teeny levels, too, so no need to cancel that crucial lunch, business types. Play Toast Boy (Windows download)

Stunt Pilot 2

May 23, 2009, 0 comments

Stunt Pilot 2Not only does this look gorgeous, it plays fantastically too. The aim’s simple: fly through the rings, with only the up and down arrows on your keyboard for company (and Space for boost). It’s tougher than it looks — but Stunt Pilot 2’s one of those games that rewards you for failure. The little men on the ground run for their lives, the scenery explodes and topples, and, pleasingly, even the rings themselves fall out of the sky if you clip them. Which you will. A lot.

Best of all, you can turn the music off. Play Stunt Pilot 2 (Flash)

Shift 4

May 21, 2009, 0 comments

Shift 4Oh god. If you haven’t played Shifts 1, 2 and 3, go back and play Shifts 1, 2 and 3. Go on. We’ll wait.

All done? Fun, wasn’t it? And now you’re perfectly prepared for Shift 4, which expects you to be fully briefed on its brain-sizzling concept: press Shift, and the room flips 180 degrees, turning the walls into gaps and the gaps into walls. Like its predecessors, the fourquel improves as your mind and eyes start to work almost on automatic (it feels a bit like mastering the face and the vase). But this time, you’re using Ctrl to switch between multiple people — which ups the satisfaction that comes with trotting impossibly over/through/under/over walls to the exit. And offsets the motion sickness and possible vomiting.

Don’t miss the hidden unlockable achievements, either. Some of them can be earned before you’ve even started the game, hint hint. Play Shift 4 (Flash)

Crunchball 3000

May 20, 2009, 0 comments

Crunchball 3000Speedball online, basically. The Amiga futur-o-sport classic hasn’t materialized as an emulated browser game in its own right — but Crunchball 3000 from Ben Olding Games will do very nicely in the meantime. For those new to the idea: run, throw ball, tackle, and don’t bother appealing to the ref — there isn’t one. Even if there was, he’d probably just get face-pummelled to the floor like everyone else. Crunchball is more Speedball 1 than Speedball 2, so no coins, no bounce pads, etc. But it’ll still bring out the hyper-aggressive sports thug in you. Play Crunchball 3000 (Flash)