Xbox Indies News and Reviews

Day 470: Refractor

Writings of Mass Deduction — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 02:15:54 GMT

“Refractor” is like the results of an orgy between Hexic, Lumines, and an item-drop game like Tetris. You have the gem-spinning mechanic from Hexic, you have the item dropping of Tetris, and the neon-drenched/pounding club music of Lumines. It all adds up to something that felt pretty fresh for me. The game’s checking off a [...]

EvilQuest Conquering PCs on February 29

Armless Octopus — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:38:25 GMT

Want to take over the world but don’t own an Xbox? No problem. Chaosoft Games’ XBLIG hit EvilQuest will be conquering PCs on February 29. You can preorder the game on Desura for $1.99. EvilQuest is a retro action-RPG where you play as Galvis, a dispicable warlord in search of the Chaos Axe so that he can murder God. You know, it’s one of those fluffy feel-good games. The PC release will be based on the latest revision of the Xbox version. …

Armless Octocast Episode 89: Now With More Interview

Armless Octopus — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 18:04:23 GMT

Episode 89 is a mini episode of sorts, with an extra long interview where Dave and Mike talk with the guys at Team2Bit about their game Fist Puncher and their appearance on The Next Game Boss. Tayor, Erron, and Dan cover the usual bases. ITunes: Subscribe to the podcast on iTunes MP3: Direct Download Hosts: Taylor Bliss, Mike Wall, Erron Kelly, Dave Voyles, Dan Campbell Music: Paul Weinstein - Chipocrite Developers Cornered – Team2Bit (12:15 into the episode) Twitter: @TaylorBliss, @MikeWall, @DaveVoyles, @Skrattybones Join the Facebook Page …

G.O.R.K.: Fun Game

XBLA & XBLIG Ratings — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 09:50:51 GMT

This game is a lot of fun. I just can't get past the later levels, so it stays challenging (at least for me)!

Day 469: BombLocker

Writings of Mass Deduction — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:11:28 GMT

I strongly suspect that someone is playing Minesweeper, somewhere on the planet, every second of every day. How to improve upon a game like that, many of us have a free copy on our computers? “BombLocker” does so by forgoing the boxy squares, and replacing them with hexes. For those who haven’t played Minesweeper (is [...]

Community Super Replay: Star Wars: Episode 1 – Part 7: Qui-Gon Gin and Tonic

Vintage Video Games TV — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 05:00:31 GMT

By: Daizoren Welcome to the our Community Super Replay of Star Wars: Episode 1 on Playstation. We’ll be playing through what most people believe to be a solid Playstation 1 game (Or at least a decent one). We find out that this is indeed one of the greatest misconceptions ever conceived. Episode 1 Episode 2 Episode [...]

XBLIG New Release Roundup for the Week of February 12

Armless Octopus — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 04:16:10 GMT

Armless Octopus Bloody Tentacle Award of the Week I guess we have to be careful what we wish for. The past few weeks have been practically devoid of new Xbox Live Indie Games to play, but this week was practically an explosion of new releases. But do you really need an RPG with no story, a shooting gallery game where you shoot at a blank target, or a game designed to teach your colors. Yup, it’s just a typical week …

Xbox Live Activity: Week Of February 13th 2012, Gotham City Impostors Finishes In 1st

Trendy Gamers — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 01:07:21 GMT

There really is no need to say which game was the most played game on Xbox Live last week, because we all know who it is. What does need to be mentioned is that Gotham City Impostors managed to snag top spot amongst XBLA titles, whereas Shank 2 couldn’t even beat out Trials HD!

Boxed In: Epic game is EPIC!!!!!!!

XBLA & XBLIG Ratings — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 22:51:47 GMT

I love this game, it so awesome! what it lacks in graphics, it more than makes up for in gameplay. The different classes are fun to play around with, and hard to master. The story is just made of awesome, and I recommend playing as a group of 4, because it's the best way to experience all this game has to offer!!!

The XBLIG Companion App Lets You Browse Indies On the Go

Armless Octopus — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 06:00:05 GMT

Windows Phone users will soon have a flashy new way to browse and purchase Xbox Live Indie Games on the go. The XBLIG Companion App, which is being developed by Casey Young at Eleventy-Aught Twelve Studios, lets users browse new releases, updated titles, and recommended lists from developers and fine establishments like IndieGamerChick and Armless Octopus [Full Disclosure: Managing Editor Dave Voyles has been testing the app and volunteered to do PR for the project]. The app is about 90% …

Community Replay: Jet Moto 3

Vintage Video Games TV — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 05:00:46 GMT

By: Daizoren We take a look at this Playstation classic as Corey Rogers, Corey Rogers, Derek Carlson, Aaron Blanchard and I reminisce about old memories playing this series. Be sure to stay tuned for Replay Roulette! We’ve got a special treat! Filed under: GI Community Replay Tagged: 360, arcade, community, cute, daizoren, Entertainment, game, gameinformer, [...]

Day 468: Hedge Wizard

Writings of Mass Deduction — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 03:33:20 GMT

“Hedge Wizard” is a puzzle game where you control both a peasant and a wand, having the peasant collect gold while the wand uses magic to clear the path, such as using earthquakes to clear away mountains and using floods to quell forest fires, among other things. There’s even a “redo” command masking as time-control [...]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (Xbox 360): "The Sad Truth"

OtakuDante's Gaming Inferno — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 08:36:00 GMT

There's been a lot of things really getting on my nerves about online games lately. No doubt you have seen my rants & raves via Twitter about the subject. The fact of the matter is that online gaming is rapidly declining in quality, and has been doing so for quite some time now. With each online oriented game that is released there are also lobbies of cheaters, hackers, and spammers. I realize this sounds like a lot of whining on my part, but it's 100% accurate. Getting back on track though with the topic of this article ... Modern Warfare 3, or MW3 as most gamers know it has become a cesspool for campers, and all the bad types of gamers imaginable. To further add salt to the wound "Infinity Ward" & "Activision" have released 3 new DLC maps all of which are 100% camper friendly. With the release of the first to maps there was a video by "Infinity Ward" literally saying that they were "camper friendly". I also found out today after downloading the latest DLC content drop of the "Overwatch" map, and trying it out that they have continued with their camper friendly bullcrap. I tested the map out as soon as I downloaded it, and found more camping areas in it than on any map in the entire game. Needless to say I'm very pissed about the whole ordeal. I spent an extra $50 to get the Elite CoD membership, and I can honestly say it was a bad investment. I hope you guys & gals learn from my mistake, and stay the heck away from CoD games & CoD DLC.

Day 467: Conquest

Writings of Mass Deduction — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 04:13:43 GMT

OK, let’s get the obvious out of the way. The presentation of this game is a little rough. Graphics whores should leave now. OK, as for the rest of you, let’s move on. “Conquest” is a game where you take control of key points on the map and keep an eye to your opponent (who’s [...]

How to Market Your Game XBLIG Style Part 3: Writing a Press Release

Armless Octopus — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 03:20:53 GMT

It’s been some time since I last wrote a feature on marketing, but I figured it was about time I do another. If you missed the originals, you can find parts 1 and 2 here and here. This next piece will dive further into points I had briefly covered in the previous articles, but also tack on a few things I’ve been meaning to add since. Introduce yourself *before* you release your game As a hobbyist covering a niche market …

Oozi: Earth Adventure Episode 3 review: Platforming map pack

Extra Guy — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 20:54:58 GMT

Splitting a full game up into four episodes was a grand experiment by AwesomeGamesStudio with Oozi: Earth Adventure. It’s here, in the penultimate episode, that I’ve begun to question if it was a wise move. They’ve undoubtedly...

Cell: emergence:

XBLA & XBLIG Ratings — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 00:29:52 GMT

Cell: Emergence is an odd game. It's a voxel based shooter which lends itself in to the new territory of game development categories. However, it's biggest issue lies in how it presents itself.

You would automatically think this is a simple shmup. Most of your decades worth of training lead you to this. That is understandable. This however is not one of those games. This lends itself more to Trauma Center than DoDonPachi.

Day 466: 10 Amazingly Awful Games

Writings of Mass Deduction — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 23:03:09 GMT

Word on the street about “10 Amazingly Awful Games” was that it contained several perfectly good games, but that they were all clones of other games; good value at 10 decent games for 80 Microsoft Points, but not deserving of a Mass Deduction review as I don’t review games that are clones. I’ll review something [...]

Space Command

IndieGamerChick — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 21:34:11 GMT

What do you get when you cross Space Invaders with Missile Command? You get an Xbox Live Indie Game that I could play in about fifteen minutes so I could get a review up while I wait to finish EvilQuest and XBLA House Party title Warp. Ladies and Gentlemen, I give you Space Command. It [...]

Xbox Indie Game Round Up – Episode 141

Gamergeddon — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:44:38 GMT

Still lost on the dashboard looking for the Xbox Indie Games? Look no more as we cover the best releases over the past two weeks! This episode of the Round...

Avatar Thunder Cars: Avatar thunder cars needs 3d

XBLA & XBLIG Ratings — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 12:43:55 GMT

I recently bought this amazing game and I wanted to let you guys know the high scores are either broken or me "lipnox" is slaughtering the competition at 110,000 or something. I wouldn't change anything ive played like 5 hours with custom soundtracks and I just cant get over how great this game is.

Arcane Brawlers: Meh

XBLA & XBLIG Ratings — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 09:50:21 GMT

I fooled around with the game for a bit, and to be honest, I don't think they really did enough with it.

I mean, the idea is good, and most parts were made the way I'd imagine they'd be made. The whole four-elements-one-on-each-face-combine-them-to-do-kooky-stuff thing has already been done a few times, and it didn't seem like they really added anything to it.

Day 465: “Endless Midnight: Zombie Swarm”

Writings of Mass Deduction — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 06:31:27 GMT

I really enjoyed “Quad Force”, a game that turned zombie shooters on their heads by focusing on a fog of war mechanic that made it stand out. “Endless Midnight: Zombie Swarm” is similar, but whereas QF offers a sense of exploration and really comes into its own when playing four player multiplayer, EM:ZS is an [...]

Day 464: Prank Call

Writings of Mass Deduction — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 05:00:29 GMT

This may be a controversial pick in some people’s minds, but I think this game is so damn innovative that it’s worthy of consideration. “Prank Call” is an online multiplayer game where you are matched up with other players, each of you sharing the same purpose: get the other to say your secret word. What’s [...]

RIP Game Type Girl: Latest Dashboard Update Makes it Much Easier to Find Indies

Armless Octopus — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 01:40:08 GMT

Microsoft has finally tacitly admitted what pretty much everyone has been screaming for months: the Games Marketplace is completely busted. The latest unannounced dashboard update, which hit American Xboxes last night, goes a long way toward solving that problem by mercifully euthanizing the jump-kicking “Game Type” girl that has acted as a storefront for XBLIG, XBLA, and Games on Demand since Metro debuted. After the update is applied, you can go to the Games Marketplace and scroll over to “Games” …

[VVGtv] Freds Fridays Numero Seis (6) Un resumen de esta semana (in spanish)

Vintage Video Games TV — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:15:43 GMT

Note: This entire post is in spanish and english. Hola, soy Ryan. Ha sido una semana ¿no? StickyDpadGames parece haber ganado un poco de la exposición. A principios de esta semana StickyDPadGames pié hacia el creador de Super Meat Boy, en sólo un diseño de personajes fue esbozar. Varios minutos más tarde, el desarrollador de “Super Meat Boy” [...]

New Dawn Of The Fred Details Surface

Trendy Gamers — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 20:40:51 GMT

Sticky DPad Games have revealed some new details for their upcoming Xbox Live Indie game, Dawn of the Fred. It is still scheduled for release this summer and it will still sell for 80 MSP, but here are the new features:

Day 463: Avoider

Writings of Mass Deduction — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 03:26:30 GMT

Like the unholy love child of Micro Machines, and Dreamcast classic “Speed Devils”, “Avoider” brings the one thing to micro car racing games that I haven’t seen before. Things blowing up left, right, and centre. Bombers fly overhead dropping death on your little car, as you dodge and weave while navigating arenas (that, after a [...]

Brand: Brand , wins points for having no connection to ru

XBLA & XBLIG Ratings — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 01:05:27 GMT

I've honestly had a hard time with thinking of how to tackle this game.

Honestly I want to like this game but it has a few niggling issues that detract from the overall quality.

I could view it as really good "indie" game or if it was on the arcade service would it be a really below average arcade game.

SpaceFighter4000 Training

IndieGamerChick — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 21:30:41 GMT

Muuuuh. It’s hard to muster up the energy to properly convey how horrible SpaceFighter4000 Training is. It’s so boring that it sucks your ability to give a shit from you. It’s also hard on account that I only played so much of it that I might as well have lit 240 Microsoft Points on fire [...]

XBLIG New Release Roundup for the Week of February 5

Armless Octopus — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 18:40:28 GMT

Armless Octopus Bloody Tentacle Award of the Week Blah. Just….blah. It was a pretty putrid week for indies, and we didn’t even get any silly Avatar games to tide us over. Enjoy the recommendation. Cell: emergence – Mike It might not be as flashy as its PC big brother, but you aren’t really going to see many games that lat you play as a microscopic germ-fighting organism. The voxel-based visuals and trippy, the ambient soundtrack is fantastic, but the game …

Shank 2 Digital Comic Book For Free!!!

OtakuDante's Gaming Inferno — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 06:58:00 GMT

I received some pretty awesome news from Emily Morganti of "Klei Entertainment" yesterday. Following the release of their XBLA game they have made a free digital "Shank" comic book for download. The following is an excerpt (portion) of the email that Emily sent me to share with you guys, and gals:

Day 462: flap!

Writings of Mass Deduction — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:25:48 GMT

One thing I’ve discovered I love in indie games are ones that are made together by families. I first got exposed to this with “Rainbow Ball into Adventure”, a game where the fun and passion that the family members poured into it is incredibly obvious. Well, though it’s not touted to the hills in the [...]

No Luca No: Videogames can be art

XBLA & XBLIG Ratings — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 04:03:44 GMT

If I could rate 11, I would. This game is just that good. This game pushed its cat into my life, and into my heart. It changed the way I think about modern entertainment, as well as art. It opened up infinite doors of possibilities. Playing this game is like playing with excellence. I believe it is the spiritual successor to Halo 3. It underscores the key morals of life, beautifully. Every time I push away the cat, I'm pushing myself closer to enlightenment. This is a dramatic masterpiece that can only be rivaled by the works of Shakespeare. I don't think I could ever play another game such as this, this is beyond perfection and anyone who has played it knows the same. I'm having difficulty expressing my feelings in the English language. If I had the power, I would make everyone on the planet play this game at least once, for it explains the true nature of man and I believe the world would be a better place if people took time to understand how wonderful this game actually is. To even call this a "game" is an understatement since it deserves a greater definition than "what one plays with for recreational purposes", but rather "a masterpiece that deserves its place beyond literature, the visual arts, and music".

Ramen Ninja:

XBLA & XBLIG Ratings — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 03:49:56 GMT

Ramen Ninja is a simple title that borrows a lot from stealth action games like Metal Gear Solid: VR Missions. In fact, it's very much styled after Metal Gear Solid with enemy units having a radar like vision cone to alert them. The Ninjas movements are likewise similar, but the controls have been simplified.

Crosse Studio Asks Fans to Vote for College Lacrosse 2012 Cover Art

Armless Octopus — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:51:22 GMT

The college lacrosse season hasn’t started just yet, but don’t tell Crosse Studio, publisher of the last four lacrosse games that have appeared on XBLIG. Beginning Thursday, February 16 on their Facebook page, fans of lacrosse will have the opportunity to vote on College Lacrosse 2012′s cover art and design. Is it about time that lacrosse finally makes it up to the big leagues and onto additional platforms like XBLA and PSN? A recent interview with Inside Lacrosse reveals that it’s a …

Katana Land Review: Cowabunga!

Armless Octopus — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 20:11:54 GMT

One of the things that makes reviewing indie games so much fun, particularly Xbox Live Indie Games, is that every day you can play a game that is completely unknown and be taken aback and how marvelous it is. We’ve gotten to a point with mainstream games and media where you can find out so much information about a game that you know exactly what it is 90% of the time before you even pick up the controller. But no …

BloodyCheckers: Game for ANYONE

XBLA & XBLIG Ratings — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 19:52:23 GMT

This is a game for anyone, even if you can't play/don't like checkers.

There's a training/practice mode called playbook for newbies to checkers (like me) and a cool storyline adventure mode.

And did anyone else sprint all the way back to the front door when you first saw the poltergiest thing?

Union of Armstrong (XBLIG): "A Unique Space Oriented Tower Defense Game"

OtakuDante's Gaming Inferno — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 14:42:00 GMT

I was recently contact by Travis Rogers of "Domain of the Infinite" about reviewing his latest indie game "Union of Armstrong". I wasn't sure what the game was about, but I was glad to do the review for him. After playing the game for a brief time it kind of grew on me. It's the type of simple game that you can sit back, and relax to as you play it. It featured one of the most unique music soundtracks I've ever heard, and I quite enjoyed listening to it's mock radio station setup. As I did my playthrough of "Union of Armstrong" I tried my best to make it far in the game but failed since my mind wasn't focused at that time. I have plenty of things to worry about in my everyday life, so trying to become an expert at a tower defense game as involved as this one definitely proved to be a hopeless task. Regardless of that fact I quite enjoyed the playthrough, and will try my best to explain the core mechanics of the game to you guys, and gals.

Game Type (XBLIG): "MommysBestGames Issues An Update!!!"

OtakuDante's Gaming Inferno — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 07:08:00 GMT

As all of you know by now I'm a serious shmup (shoot 'em up) fan. I absolutely love a good shmup even if it is a $1 (80 msp) XBLIG title. Last year I reviewed an XBLIG shmup called "Game Type". This shmup was unique in that it was used to make a point about the current state of the XBLIG titles' hard to find location in the Xbox 360 dashboard. Aside from it's obvious message the game also featured a shmup game that was actually fun. I found out this morning, after contacting the developer (MommysBestGames) that the game had been updated with some patches about 2 weeks ago. These patches were significant in nature, and included the leaderboard patch that I had been waiting for. I will include a link to the official website info on the currently available patches so you can see them for yourselves. If you haven't already got this game it's definitely worth the asking price!

Community Replay: X-Men Arcade

Vintage Video Games TV — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 05:24:46 GMT

By: Daizoren Welcome to another episode of Community Replay. Today, myself as well as Derek Carlson, take a look at the old X-Men arcade game since it recently released onto Xbox Live Arcade. Filed under: GI Community Replay Tagged: 360, arcade, community, cute, daizoren, Entertainment, game, gameinformer, games, IGSU, indie, Indie Games Summer Uprising, informer, [...]

Day 461: Take Arms

Writings of Mass Deduction — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 02:08:39 GMT

Like the unholy love child of a modern combat first-person shooter, and 2D favourite “ZP2K9″, we have a Indie Games Summer Uprising entry in “Take Arms”. And man, does it deliver. The game features three classes (selectable not only at the beginning of every match, but also after each death), solo play, online multiplayer for [...]

Zombie Super Meat Boy Appearing in Night of the Fred on XBLIG

Armless Octopus — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 22:55:48 GMT

I’m sure you’re curious as to just what Super Meat Boy would look like as a zombie. Well, so that you don’t have to delve into the bowels of Deviant Art to find out, we’ll leave it to Sticky DPad Games for the answer. The anthropomorphic wad of meat is currently planned to be an unlockable character in the open-world RPG, Night of the Fred, which is coming to XBLIG and possibly PC this October. After wondering what Super Meat Boy …

Dawn of the Fred Coming This Summer

Trendy Gamers — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:47:22 GMT

Sticky DPad is keeping the good news coming about their upcoming games and they have announced Dawn of the Fred. The game is set to hit this summer and if it is anything like Night of the Fred, it will release for the Xbox Live Indie Games section as well as PC.

Soul Calibur V (Xbox 360): "The Love/Hate Relationship"

OtakuDante's Gaming Inferno — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 16:43:00 GMT

This is a follow up to my last article about "Soul Calibur V", and it's more of a discussion about what I'm finding out about the game as I play it. In this particular article I'll also try to discuss further pros & cons I have found about the game ...

Oozi: Earth Adventure Ep. 3

IndieGamerChick — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 11:52:23 GMT

Our esteemed heroine took time out of her busy schedule working on a cure for cancer and rescuing orphans from a fire to play an episodic platform game for Xbox Live Indie Games called Oozi. The graceful and magnanimous Kairi forgave the first installment for being such a generic bore that it caused joy itself, [...]

Day 460: Balls

Writings of Mass Deduction — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 05:33:12 GMT

Vagabond1982uk and Philip Muwanga show us they have “Balls”. Specifically pool balls. Philip Muwanga you may remember for “Philip Muwanga’s Hexy Trench”, a game I reviewed waaaaaaay back on Day 7. Day 7! Yes, 453 days ago. As opposed to “8 Ball Pool Champion”, which is another 80 Microsoft Point pool game, and one that [...]

Let Hypership Out of Control Make Your Heart Reach Ludacris Speed! -For Free!

Vintage Video Games TV — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:54:59 GMT

There is no better way to say “I love you” than with the give of Hypership Out of Control. On this very special day of love, Fun Infused Games will be offering our critically acclaimed title Hypership Out of Control for iPhone and iPad free. For those doing math, that’s over 100% off the normal [...]

Lair of the Evildoer: Wacky action-packed fun.

XBLA & XBLIG Ratings — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 03:31:06 GMT

Lair Of The Evildoer is a highly enjoyable cross between a lighthearted RPG and a twin stick shooter.

You control one of Dr Odious' test subjects that, upon failing to impress the evil mastermind, decides to resist being terminated and escape from the fortress he's been trapped in. Ahead of you lie 25 floors packed with evil minions that want to stop you, and you'll have to blast your way through them if you wish to get out alive.

Community Ultra Replay: Diablo II

Vintage Video Games TV — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:46:13 GMT

By: Daizoren We’re continuing our releases of the Ultra Replay of Diablo II, but I thought that it’s possible that many have not even had a chance to see it. This article is purposed to have all the previous episodes and be updated whenever a new episode comes out (Which is every Monday). Enjoy the [...]