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Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Game Tunnel Independent video games of the year: Number 1 - Aquaria on PC

As I enter the cavern, the fish swim by my side then change directions and swim away. The world around me beckons and repels me. Each of the many dark caverns that lead away from here has its own story. Some of that story is darker than the caverns, filled with war and destruction. Other parts are more sublime, echoing the dreams of civilizations long lost. My part in the story seems to be ever changing as I discover melody in the peaceful sounds of the waves and harmony in their angry thrashing on the shore.

Aquaria is perhaps the most well-known indie game in recent memory and it should be. The underwater world painted on the screen is captivating and mesmerizing. The game world feels immense and will leave more than a few people scratching their head as it teases with information. It provides puzzles and challenges that will test your abilities to reason and will occasionally leave you entirely unsure of what to do next. As the breakthrough moments of understanding hit, the game becomes magical. The feeling of success mixed with the wonderful fantasy playing out in front of you creates an experience that is as unique as every game wants to be.

Aquaria is a masterful stroke of vision in its appearance, sound and play. It's a game that no one should miss. After walking away with our awards for best graphics and best sound as well as the 2007 Adventure game of the year award, we're happy to add one final jewel to Aquaria's crown, the 2007 Independent Game of the Year.

Download a demo here: http://www.bit-blot.com/aquaria/index.html

Source: Game Tunnel

Game Tunnel Independent video games of the year: Number 2 - Depths of Peril on PC

Depths of Peril is a hard game to describe. The first sensation that you are playing something amazing and different comes when, instead of destroying the computer, you find yourself competing against it. As you try to recruit players to your faction ("covenant") you quickly find that the computer AI is leading the other covenants, trying to complete the same quests and recruit the same people before you do. Racing, you must out-compete the computer to survive. However, you must also work to improve relations with the other factions to trade for weaponry and find the allies you will need to fight off some of the threats to the city of Jorvik that you all call home.

Speaking of threats, the second sensation of how amazing the game is comes as you realize the dynamic world around you. Delay taking out an enemy threat and that threat will grow, with some enemies of the group becoming leaders who will recruit their own henchmen and grow further in power. Small uprisings can become huge threats requiring covenants to work cooperatively to take down the bosses and sub-bosses that were created by your delay.

Each moment of the game you must strategize what you will do next, ensuring the safety of your city, racing to get the best recruits, and carefully working the intricate web of relations with other covenants, thus avoiding inter-covenant wars that can lead to disastrous results as you must take your eye off of the rising threats outside the city to fight for survival. If that doesn't get you excited to play the game, downloading it and playing it for a couple of hours will. Depths of Peril is a spectacular game that is as engrossing as any title you'll play anywhere this year. It won our 2007 Role-Playing game of the year award and is our runner-up for Independent Game of the Year.

Download a demo here... http://www.soldak.com/

Source: Game Tunnel

Game Tunnel Independent video games of the year: Number 3 - Venture Arctic on PC

With the ice frozen in the winter, and the arctic wolf hungry for food, he ventured forth. Slowly across the ice he crept until he reached the far shore. A new home to explore. New food. The land had become barren. Disease had taken many of the wolves after the food had become scarce. Determined not to become another carcass on the snow, the wolf pushed forward, looking carefully for any sign of life, hoping to find the unsuspecting animal that could be the long-sought after meal, and the means of another day's survival.

Venture Arctic is a learning experience, but not because it tries to be. The game, where you control the impact of the seasons on the arctic animals, is about balance. Too many rabbits leads to a barren landscape. Increasing the number of wolves to combat the problem will quickly lead to no animals at all. The animals react to the world around them as you paint the land with snow and the water with ice, and then melt it all away. The Inuit-inspired art gives the whole game a distinctive look that matches the game's uniqueness. Venture Arctic, like the world it portrays, is a treasure of beauty and wonder. It's an adventure into the unknown world around us that inspires and excites as players enjoy each new discovery. There are a lot of games available, but few of them are much more than a simple pastime. Venture Arctic is a game that stands out from the pack as being not only meaningful, but also amazingly good. Those qualities made it an easy pick as one of the Top 5 games of the year as well as our 2007 Sim game of the year.

Download Free demo and play now... http://www.pocketwatchgames.com/arctic/

Source: Game Tunnel

Game Tunnel Independent video games of the year: Number 4 - Immortal Defense on PC

It's difficult to say whether it has been pride or love that has saved me. That part of me which is pride has taken a primary role in the defense, but without the support of love (who refuses direct combat), it's power would simply not have been strong enough to overcome the enemy. My fear has also been of consequence, once again stunning the enemy with an infusion of worry, while my courage has pummeled them. Yet I feel something missing. My emotions are powerful, but are they all that I am?

Like every other Tower Defense game, Immortal Defense is intensely addictive. Unlike any other Tower Defense game, Immortal Defense transcends to something more. The game is built around a character who gives up their mortal state to become a being of pure energy to save his family and world. The storyline covers the ground of standard sci-fi, but brings in deeper themes about the true effects of one's actions and what it really means to be an immortal being, freed from the limitations of the physical body. The deeply philosophical approach can be felt throughout the game, with music and graphics echoing the slowly revealed story. Deeply moody and satisfying, Immortal Defense mixes gameplay with art, creating a uniquely captivating experience that won it a place in our top 5 as well as the 2007 Strategy Game of the Year award.

Download the demo here... http://studioeres.com/immortal/

Source: Game Tunnel

SACRED 2 – Fallen Angel: Release Date Announced

ASCARON, a leading European entertainment software developer, announces a new release date for SACRED 2 – Fallen Angel.

The announcement sees both PC and Xbox 360 versions scheduled for release in September 2008.

The additional time is to be used for optimizing the crucial areas of multiplayer gameplay and balancing. Planning for a longer and in-depth beta test, which is subdivided into several different phases, is already underway.

"A highly anticipated AAA title such as SACRED 2 – Fallen Angel is a great responsibility with high expectations to manage and live up to. To achieve our goal, we have decided to give SACRED 2 - Fallen Angel more time in order to be perfected and polished in every single area, allowing us to deliver the quality which is expected, rather than striving for an early release," says Heiko tom Felde, Managing Director of ASCARON Entertainment GmbH.

Game Tunnel Independent video games of the year: Number 5 - Knytt Stores on PC

Walking through the cavern, I come to a series of water falls, each more majestic and amazing than the last. The vegetation has taken on an alien appearance, rising in long twisting strands that seem to be topped with phosphorescent bulbs. Climbing up the walls and moving down a new corridor I find myself in peaceful underwater surroundings amidst a strangely constructed series of tunnels and paths. The way opens with new vegetation marking yet another change in my location. My surroundings show some signs of life, but a desolation begins to take hold. What are the machines doing to the world?

Knytt Stories is as much art as it is a game. It's beauty in simplicity. Each area is carefully crafted so that it provides a uniqueness that goes far beyond just looking and sounding different. Each area plays differently, taking on its own life and giving one the feeling of truly visiting someplace far from anywhere you have ever been. Knytt Stories is something of a pixel-perfect platforming nirvana, and though the accolades seem at odds with the humble presentation, it's hard not to write a list of superlatives when describing the game. The expandability of allowing others to add their own stories only serves to add to one of this year's most intriguing and enjoyable experiences.

Download Free here... http://nifflas.ni2.se/index.php?main=02Knytt_Stories&sub=01About

Source: Game Tunnel

Game Tunnel Independent video games of the year: Number 6 - DarkSide

The planet rotates beneath me. Though small, this outpost is valuable, valuable enough for at least one person to protect it. Today that someone is me. Rounding the planet on a simple patrol, I blast off the space debris and look for enemies. Two cruisers today is all the action I've seen. I wonder if a larger attack is coming. Then on my next pass I see it-- high in the air on long legs, walking across the planet's surface and flanked by abduction craft. My craft trembles as I open a full volley of laser fire.

Flying around spherical planets seems to be in style this year. From Mario Galaxy to Super Stardust HD, we've been offered some great planetary romps. Darkside, while a bit different in its approach, is no different in its quality. It's a spectacular game full of those qualities that make gaming great. Though it doesn't have a deep story or some of the nuances that make some of the critics happy, she's got it where it counts. The gameplay is simply fantastic, offering up fast-paced shooting action that is exciting, rewarding and relentless. The graphics are amazingly good, belying the games 15mb size. The range of enemies and weapons complete the game as a tour de force that made DarkSide a top 10 game of the year as well as our 2007 Action Game of the Year.

Free Download here... http://www.pieyegames.com/DarkSide/Info.htm

Game Tunnel Independent video games of the year: Number 7 - Mr. Robot for PC

HEL-9000 has been acting a little strange. First there were those weird job requests and then the shutting down of vital programs and robots. Finally came the death of a crew member while in stasis. Though there are many questions as to what is happening, one question has been answered, HEL-9000, the master computer running the ship, has become our enemy. Teaming up with other Robots who have been disconnected from the mainframe, we're setting out to save what is left of the colonists. Time is ticking and HEL has been alerted to our efforts. Our only hope is to fight our way through and break down the defense that HEL is creating.

Mr. Robot is a strange mix of a pseudo sokoban played isometricly and a super-cool RPG that feels futuristic and retro all at the same time. It's all glued together with an immediately engaging storyline, cool upgrades, unique items and innovative weapons that make the typical RPG "grind" of combat and leveling feel anything but repetitive. The space theme is complemented by lots of sci-fi geek references that will surprise you and bring a smile to your face. The game has been called one of the best Indie games ever, and it's a title well-suited to Mr. Robot.

Play here... http://www.moonpod.com/English/about_mr.robot.php

Source: Game Tunnel

Game Tunnel Independent video games of the year: Number 8 - Galcon for PC Mac Linux

I've spread the empire too thin. In the hopes of quickly conquering my foes, I sent the fleet to every conquerable planet in the galaxy. The short-term gains of forming the largest empire composed of many small planets are starting to crumble. Other forces in the galaxy spent their efforts on a few large worlds, and the production of those giants far outstripped our own. Inevitably, one by one, each of our planets was captured. In the horizon I can see hundreds of fighters. The end has come.

Galcon is a bare-bones strategy game with simple rules that you fully grasp within minutes of playing. While its simple nature could lead you to think that there is no depth of strategy, the opposite is true. Galcon provides complexity in its simplicity, challenging players to quickly consider their resources, form ever-liquid strategy plans, and effectively engage in continual tactical combat. Taking over new worlds, using the additional resources to build more combat units, and then coordinating attacks to take advantage of the other player's actions in a galaxy full of combat creates a very exciting game of quick thought and strategy featuring massive battles with hundreds, and sometimes thousands of combat units, being destroyed in seconds. Galcon is brilliantly simple and wonderfully addictive tactical strategy game.

Download Free demo at... http://www.imitationpickles.org/galcon/index.html

Game Tunnel Independent video games of the year: Number 9 - Scavenger

I probably should have left the generator intact. With all the turrets in this sector, knocking out the power seemed like a good idea. The dark tunnel in front of me reeks of danger. My ship's lights reach into the darkness, feeling through the black for signs of life. Slipping into a new room, the air grows stale. I stare carefully at my surroundings. The walls in front of me seem to be organic. The truth strikes me just before the creature does. Suddenly those turrets don't seem quite so dangerous.

Scavenger is one of those games that you can tell is going to be great from the moment you start the first level. It's the kind of game that really shows what indie gaming can produce. It has all the feeling (and difficulty!) of a great space shooter mixed with the creep and explore-adventure of some of the best FPS games, taking the player from carefully moving down the hall to a frantic firefight in a matter of seconds. With multiple difficulty levels that give the player completely different gameplay experiences, Scavenger is brilliant fun that shouldn't be missed.

Free Download here... http://www.pieyegames.com/Scavenger/Info.htm

Source: Game Tunnel

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Wednesday, January 02, 2008