Merry Christmas: Here’s Your StockingDecember 25th, 2007 by Suzie
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Merry Christmas! Yep, it’s that special day - that one day of the year we turn all sentimental and start subscribing to the notion of happy, functional, extended families.
Like many of you, I intend to stuff myself silly, and then watch gentle and non-challenging television for a few hours. Since I’m not expecting any new games this year, and since my celebrations will be somewhat muted by the fact my boyfriend-and-husband-to-be is STILL in another country, I thought I’d dedicate this post to all of you who are, perhaps, not jiving to the Christmas Spirit quite so strongly - for whatever reason that may be.
The truth is - you don’t need the latest console and amazing new graphical superstar game to make this Christmas noteworthy. It is time to look away from the hyped up boring old flashy titles and consider that magical wonderland that are Indie Games & Mods.
So my Christmas Present to you is ten fabulous, twisted, unique games/mods you may never have heard of, and which are definitely under-appreciated. Some are free, some cost a negligible amount. Some are mods (that is, games that require you to own a main title as it modifies the game. Mods are a great way of hacking out another few hours of game play from your favourite engine)
Okay! Without further ado, let’s get on with the games.
Samorost is a flash game - but the most beautiful and bizarre flash game you’ll ever see. Essentially it’s a point-and-click puzzle game, but it’s surreal, smooth, cute and the soundtrack kicks all kinds of ass.
No, it’s not WoW. But if you can’t afford to pay your WoW subscription for a month or two, thanks to overzealous Christmas spending or the credit crunch, then Maple Story is cute, addictive and free. It follows the basic patterns of all MMORPG’s - you pick a character class, fight enemies, and collect stuff. As you kill stuff, you level up. Like all MMO’s you’ll have to deal with the fact you’re playing with other people - people who are stupid, selfish, annoying or dull. You’ll also want to turn off the music.
This requires you to own Half-Life 2 - if you don’t own HL2, why the hell not? Go buy Orange Box! Now!
Anyway, MINERVA is an episodic mod for HL2, and it’s brilliant. Metastasis is the first chapter, and is made up of four episodes. The first drops you onto a mysterious island and plunges you immediately into a battle. You are given commands from a mysterious source - and the storyline unfolds from there.
This mod is rising in popularity fast - and there’s plenty of good reasons why.
Ever get nostalgic for the old days of impossibly difficult sidescrolling platform games? Yup, me too. Which is why a whole bunch of games sprung up to remake them. The best (and weirdest) of the lot is a remake of GoldenEye for the N64 - but as a sidescroller. It’s pretty much exactly what you’d hope for.
Yeah, okay, it’s Pong. But it’s Pong on LSD. This is a game I’d advise for those times when you’re whacked out on caffeine/weed/shrooms/insomnia. It’s pretty simple (well, it’s Pong). But it’s so PRETTY.
Sadly, Atari demanded the official website be taken down, due to copyright infringement, so you’ll have to grab the game from the review site instead.
Yeah, you’ve probably heard of this. None the less. Good game. Nice pictures.
Now available on the PS3, fl0w is one of those games that hardcore gamers will beat in about an hour, and completely miss the point when they do. But if you want a game to make you feel relaxed and peaceful as opposed to adrenaline-filled and hyper, this is the one.
This game wins for allowing you to do something totally different. Namely, rotate the world AROUND your player. It’s a kind of jump+run style game, which works on the Mac! (hurrah) It looks awesome, with all the levels made out of a collage of ripped paper, and the gameplay feels so alien and weird, it’s kind of like trying to rub your stomach and pat your head at the same time.
Not really an indie game at all, but it’s freeware, it’s ooooold, and it’s a classic. Any game that involves comic book artists is good by me. Originally for the Amiga, it’s now out as part of ScummVM — by the way, if you were an oldschool gamer, the ScummVM program is awesome. I got it, along side all my old faves for the Atari - Maniac Mansion, Full Throttle, Zak… you name it.
Warsow is a free, independent FPS, with a focus on movement. You can leap around like a crazed Ninja escaped from some hyperactive anime. You can bounce off walls, slide around, and leap fifty feet in the air. The emphasis is on FPS combat, so speed and timing is crucial. The graphics are slick and bold, which is useful when everything is moving at the speed of light.
Merry Christmas - and happy gaming!
January 20th, 2008 at 4:56 pm
Fl0w looks amazing…