Cat in The Sky has released a new physics driven downloadable puzzle game called Cargo Delivery for Windows and the Mac priced at $4.99. Cat in the Sky offers an slightly easier online demo which includes 5 missions and one challenge level. You can access the demo of Cargo Delivery at this link..
Buy The Game $4.99
Windows $4.99
Mac $4.99
Here are some Cargo Delivery screenshots.
Coder Games released Bloxidy described as an action puzzle game priced at whatever you want to pay. From the game developer “Stack, push, paint and blast those blocks reaching the highest score. The goal of the game is to make sure blocks don’t go over the top of the drop-area. If they do, you got 10 seconds to make them fall below, if you fail, its a game over.”
Bloxidy Action Puzzle Game Screenshots
By Matt Bird
Game Rating = 4/5
You should buy this game if:
- You like anime and anime games
- You enjoy RPGs
- You have a thirst to make a profit
You shouldn’t buy this game if:
- Anime makes you gag
- You don’t have a head for time management
- You want heavy amounts of fast-paced action
Download Recettear at http://www.carpefulgur.com/recettear/downloads.htm
Buy Recettear for $19.99 http://www.carpefulgur.com/recettear/purchase.htm
Most RPGs put you in the boots of a sword-wielding hero who has to save the world from a diabolical emperor. Or an ancient evil. Or some world-changing event. Or all three. By now, RPG fans have seen ‘em all several times over, and mashed them with the aforementioned hero.
But the hero doesn’t get where he or she is going on their own. They have help in the form of merchants, plucky, capitalistic men and women who provide all manner of goods and services to passing adventurers in exchange for coin. Recettear is the story of one such merchant, trying to make a couple bucks in a world full of heroes.
You play the part of Recette Lemongrass, a young girl whose father, a would-be adventurer, has disappeared into the world to become a hero. In the doing, though, he’s left his daughter at home alone and saddled with a massive debt that a faerie-run collection company wants to collect on. They’re not heartless, however, and they send the faerie accountant Tear to help Recette repay the debt by opening an item shop out of her house.
As a budding merchant and with Tear’s help the player needs to sell items. By carefully collecting new items (through purchasing or finding them in dungeons with the assistance of adventurers) and haggling over their prices in the store, the player gradually earns up a nice nest egg of money with which they can repay the debt. The blend of Legend of Zelda-esque adventuring with time-management and item selling gives Recettear a surprising amount of value for an independent title.
What makes Recettear truly fun is the range of ways in which you can repay the debt. Like to haggle a lot? Go for it. Want to explore the town where the shop is based and look for secret opportunities? Give it a shot. Want to slay monsters for your wares? Sounds like fun. It’s an open-ended title that can be played several times, in other words, and though Recettear is forever replayable it’s definitely worth the $20 price tag.
It’s not a perfect game, however, and Recettear suffers a bit in presentation. It looks clean and crisp and the graphics are appropriately anime, but the portraits are heavily reused and a bit too static at times to properly convey emotion. The music is also a bit iffy, for though it’s not bad it’s quite repetitious.
Make no mistake, Recettear is fun. It’s not the greatest merchant-based game in the world, but it’s certainly one of the better ones, and a good introduction to adventure and haggling titles in general. So long as you can put up with Recette’s sugar-sweet personality and a few anime stereotypes, you’ll get a lot of mileage out of this downloadable game. 4/5
Indie Game Development Michi.nu releases To Hell with Johnny, an action-packed and devilishly addictive 2D platformer inspired by the horror movies of old. Face everything from teenage vampires to hideous rolling traps as you strive to keep Johnny (or his girlfriend Brianne) safe through seven increasingly brutal stages of falling through the Earth. We will publish a full review in the next few weeks.
The Windows only game costs $15.00.
You can get the download from the official site http://tohellwithjohnny.com/
Grendel Games released their platform puzzler Diamond Dan on Steam. Grendel Game has tasked the player to guide Diamond Dan, an intrepid archaeologist through towers traps and pitfalls in Europe, the Middle East and South America.
You can download and buy the game from Steam.
Game Review by Matt Bird
Game Rating = 4.5/5
Clockwork Man 2 Review Summary
You should buy this game if:
- You like point and click adventures
- You appreciate voice acting
- You have a keen appreciation for art
You should not buy this game if:
- Item hunts bore you
- Fast-paced action is your thing
- You have little patience for puzzles
Scavenger hunt-esque games are pretty common these days, especially among independent game companies, and that fact alone makes marketing one a bit risky. So when one manages to stand out among the pack, you know it’s probably worth the money.
Such is the case of The Clockwork Man 2. Miranada Calomy and her robotic pal Sprocket have returned for a new adventure with more puzzles and surprises than before, this time delving into a new world – and, with some unease, the past of Miranda’s mother and father. What she finds will likely change her world forever.
The fact that this game has a story alone is enough to make it worthwhile, especially considering that it’s a relatively good one. Nothin mind-bending, true, but fairly involved and nicely detailed. Every step of the journey has just enough conversation to keep the plot going without pulling the player away from the action for too long. There are also nice cut scenes that, while not as animated as we’ve come to expect of games these days, are still beautiful to watch and listen to (by virtue of the fact that the game has voice acting, an excellent touch).
At its core, of course, The Clockwork Man 2 is about item hunting. You proceed through various environments and search for any number of hidden objects, quite vast in number and occasionally odd in location. Unlike a lot of other games, however, The Clockwork Man 2 doesn’t extensively re-use the same objects or graphics, so even though you’ll be spending a lot of time searching you’ll at least get some variety. And most of the objects are logically placed and more or less make sense in their given environments, which really helps the story flow. (Some even come in handy when progressing through other parts of the game. Imagine that, an item hunting title that actually makes sense.)
There’s more than that, however. Not only does Miranda still have the assistance of her buddy Sprocket in looking for items, she also has to circumvent obstacles via puzzles and mini games, all of which break up any tedium that might stem from relentless item hunting. And, again, these games all make sense within the flow of the story.
What really makes this game shine, however, are the visuals. It’s obvious that the programmers and artists painstakingly crafted The Clockwork Man 2, and with tons of awesome environments and near countless, unique backdrops to trek through there’s little reason to feel bored while playing. Polished and perfect, as far as click and point adventures go.
It’s not a game for everyone, of course. There are few high-octane moments beyond the cut scenes. Fans of this genre will find it a delightful distraction, however, and any gamers who appreciate a good yarn will enjoy the one told here.
Positech, The King of all Indie game developers and publisher of Gratuitous Space Battles released a new expansion pack called Nomads, a new race and the oldest species in the universe. They have introduced a new honor pricing system offering the pack for $5.99 but users can get it for a discount $2.99 if they feel they deserve it. (more…)
Game Review by Wayne K Wilkins
Game Rating = 3/5
A truly vintage retro gaming experience that those from the era of “Civilization” and “The Settlers” can enjoy, but modern day gamers may find out-dated both graphically and in gameplay.
Three reasons to buy “Defend and Defeat: Kingdoms”
#1 – It is a vintage tribute to old-style strategy games.
# 2 – It has a unique soundtrack.
#3 – It is simplistic, easy to play and very addictive.
Three reasons to avoid “Defend and Defeat: Kingdoms”
#1 – It is graphically outdated for a 2010 game.
#2 – It lacks originality and creativity.
#3 – 60 minute trial is too short.
While the title of the game leaves nothing to the imagination, “Defend and Defeat: Kingdoms” from PigDog games does in fact hold a much more in depth and truly retro strategic gaming experience that many enthusiasts from all eras of the age-old PC genre will adore.
From the first time players load the game and begin exploring the map, they will see many vintage aspects reminiscent of such strategy icons and cult legends as “Civilization” and “The Settlers”. This is not simply a coincidence; as a paid downloadable game, a simple look at Kingdoms sees that the designers aim to bring that cult-favorite illusion to life in the modern day and age with the look, the feel and the gameplay aspect of their game. While many may look at this as a lack of creativity and originality, others may see it as a testament and a tribute to the strategic games of the past generation.
The gameplay is fairly simplistic but that is certainly not a negative. It is a traditional point and click strategy game. Players will find themselves clicking on empty circles of unused ground and it is here that they can begin to build their own towns, cities and outposts ready to defend. They can also build their own forces and scouts to investigate the enemy’s outposts ready to launch a full-scale war on the opponent. Players can also upgrade their forces and their buildings for added defense and damage, all via a simple point and click interface by simply clicking on the object they wish to advance.
The graphics of Kingdoms is something that can be looked at in two different ways. Many vintage strategy seekers will arguably be awe-struck by the simplicity and vintage aspect of the graphics from the way the buildings look to the way the windmills spin. Others however that are familiar with more up to date strategy games may see the graphics as being outdated for a 2010 game.
Players will be given an original soundtrack that is actually very smoothly sounding and very unique while still maintaining the traditional “war time” aspect that strategy games of this genre often feature. There are also sounds for aspects such as attacking and building which add an authentic touch to the game also.
Overall, if you are looking for a vintage strategy experience, “Defend and Defeat: Kingdoms” is for you. For modern day strategy gamers however, it should be avoided.
Game Review by Wayne K Wilkins
Game Rating = 4/5
A highly addictive combination of handily crafted strategic gameplay and truly mental storyline situations; it can only be the war between Plants and Zombies.
Three reasons to buy “Plants vs. Zombies: Game of the Year Edition”
#1 – It is highly addictive and entertaining.
# 2 – It features non-repetitive strategic gameplay with endless choices.
#3 – It is the first game with more content.
Three reasons to avoid “Plants vs. Zombies: Game of the Year Edition”
#1 – It is the same game, just with added content.
#2 – It has no major storyline.
#3 – It is over-priced; $19.95 for essentially the same game.
The title of “Plants Vs. Zombies” may not leave much to the imagination in regards to the gameplay aspect, but the “Game of the Year Edition” truly adds an endless amount of extra zombie blasting mayhem to what was already a truly flawless strategic gameplay experience.
“Plants vs. Zombies: Game of the Year Edition” much like the previous title in the series is basically the same game, just with plenty of added content. The player finds themselves defending a house from an onslaught of hungry undead brain eaters using a unique arsenal of mutant garden plants as defensive weapons. The game features 50 adventure levels, 5 different game modes, 49 defensive plants and 29 different zombies all with their own unique and creative strengths and weaknesses making each play-through a unique strategic experience each and every time.
The gameplay is very and easy to master and original and this is the game’s major strong point. When you start the level, you see the zombies trying to break through your garden fence. You then have to select which plants are going to defend your house. Each plant costs money to place and you gain more money depending on the outcome of the battle and based on any additional objectives you may complete.
The graphics of “Plants vs. Zombies: Game of the Year Edition” are very appealing. It is not meant to be a horror-style game despite the genre and the truly horrifying aspect behind the fact that an army of mutant plants are battling the living dead in your back garden. The game is meant to be for the sake of humour. This is reflected in the colorful and cartoon-like graphics that accompany you throughout the battles.
The soundtrack is also a masterwork. It features a vintage strategic-style soundtrack reminiscent of such games as “Worms” that can truly get your heart racing as the zombies make progress against your own. Each plant also has its own unique sounds when it attacks or dies, as do each individual horde of zombies.
Overall, “Plants vs. Zombies: Game of the Year Edition” is one of the most innovative downloadable games on the internet today and greatly surpasses the regular game. It is worth purchasing just for the additional content, but if you are new to the game then obviously purchasing this version over the previous is an added bonus that entitles you to a flawless strategic gaming experience.
You can download the game at Popcap’s site.
http://www.popcap.com
Game Review by Matt Remley
Game Rating = 4/5
It seems that puzzle games are all the rage these days, luckily Oddgoat Studios doesn’t stray too far from this with their latest downloadable game. Go Go Medley seems to be the new word for chaos, as that’s what players will be experiencing in this fast paced puzzle game similar to that of Tetris or other block stacking games.
(more…)
