Weekly Xbox Indies - 8/15/09 (Late Edition)

You thought I forgot about the weekly indie game round-up didn't you? Sorry it's a day late, but there were just so many games this week to review (27!). And in a nice change of pace for the XBLIG, most of them are actually really good. Check after the break for the full list, and also don't forget to see which games have dropped in price.
Yay
Megalopolis - 400 MS points. Megalopolis is a city building sim in the vein of games like Sim City. You have to manage water supply, power, and CO2 levels to keep your city thriving. The controls are just about perfect, and the visuals are much above the typical indie game fare. Definitely check this one out.
BitStream - 400 MS points. I love how rhythm games are blending with every genre. This time we get a rhythm/racing game. Navigate your colored line past obstacles and hit boosts to pull ahead of the competition. There are 16 tracks, each with dynamic music that changes to match how you play, and a multiplayer mode to race your friends. There is also an addictive music creation freestyle mode as a bonus.
GLITNIR - 80 MS points. Tower defense games are becoming a dime a dozen, but GLITNIR manages to stay fresh by making you manage enemies moving in a 3D grid instead of just on a 2D field. If you're a tower defense fan, for $1 you can't go wrong.
Contagion - 240 MS points. Contagion is one of those rare indie games that are truly unique. The concept is a complicated one, which is demonstrated by the lengthy explanation and tutorial provided by the game. But the tutorial does an excellent job of explaining the game mechanics. Essentially, there are dragonflies that are used to fuel power plants across the level, and you must balance the bug population and number of spores so that the power plants can operate without a full infestation. Give it a try, and in 5 minutes you'll be hooked.
Veks and Silence - 400 MS points. Imgaine if Contra's hero was a fat bum with a paper bag over his head, and you get an idea of what Veks and Silence is like. You've got 4 weapons with specific strengths and weaknesses, very tight controls, and hordes of zombies to mow down.
MADRISM - 80 MS points. If you love interior design and Tetris, then this is your game. You're given architectural blueprint pieces, like room shapes, doors, and sinks, and try to make coherent floor plans out of them. It's surprisingly addictive, and a whole lot of fun.
Pentominon - 240 MS points. Combine Tetris line clearing with the rhythm bar of Lumines, and you'll get an idea of what to expect from Pentominon. And to help build on the Tetris formula, all of the falling pieces are made of 5 blocks instead of 4, which really forces you to rethink your typical Tetris strategy.
Ay?
Advanced Rock Paper Scissors - 80 MS points. Though the title says "Rock Paper Scissors," you'll never find any of them in this game. Instead you'll be dealing with the elements Earth, Fire, and Water, though they act in essentially the same way. Earth beats water, water beats fire, and fire beats earth. You're dealt a hand of cards, with each depicting one of the elements, and try to play the right card each round to whittle down your opponent's health. You can see your opponent's hand of cards, which actually lends to a fair amount of strategy as you guage the odds that your opponent might play each of their cards.
Agent MOO: Maximum Overdeath - 240 MS points. This is a 2D multiplayer arena shooter with tons of characters and achievements to unlock. It's got a great sense of humor, and plenty of gamers are sure to download it for featuring the Destructoid mascot as a character. It's good reckless fun, just so long as you press mute before playing. Good lord the sound effects are bad.
継長忍鋼伝~春夏秋冬~ - 240 MS points. In case you don't speak Japanese and aren't able to recognize this game's title in the marketplace, I would refer to this game as "the ninja game." This is easily one of the hardest, if not the hardest, game I have ever played. It's a sidescrolling action game where you can slice up opponents on either side as well as throw shurikens at enemies in the background. I wasn't able to last more than 20 seconds in any of the game's five levels, but for some reason I can't stop playing.
Destruction Tank - 240 MS points. Destruction Tank is a 3D arena tank deathmatch with a decent selection of tanks and levels. There are no stats listed for the tanks, though I could swear that they each feel a little different in how they control and how powerful the weapons are. With only two weapons, a cannon and machine gun, and no power-ups it's possible that this game could wear out its welcome quicker than one would hope, but as long as you have someone else willing to play with you, it'll be a blast.
コロンでジャンプ (Jump!!) - 80 MS points. Remember those forced scrolling levels in Super Mario Bros? Well how would you like a whole game of that? The art style and animation is fantastic in this platformer, so if you like forced scrolling levels then this is your game.
Zombie Mania - 400 MS points. Zombie Mania can best be described as Pac Man with zombies. Regular pellets are replaced with severed limbs, and power pellets are replaced with axes to slash your way through the zombies across the level.
Zen Sound - 400 MS points. Zen Sound is a great, relaxing music creation tool. Maybe not 400 MS points great, but if it ever dropped in price it would be worth the download.
X OVER(クロス・オーバー)- 240 MS points. X-OVER is a devilishly challenging shmup that starts you off with a triple shot and an unfair enemy count. There's a group of gamers that love this kind of punishing game, and for them it will be a blast, but it's definitely not for everyone.
Headshot - 80 MS points. You're looking through a sniper scope at a crowd of people. There is a killer among them. It's your job to find and kill the killer first.
PebbleDash - 240 MS points. Unsurprisingly, this is a Boulder Dash clone. It won't be winning any awards for originality or innovation, but the gameplay still holds up well after all these years.
Wacky Water Fun - 80 MS points. Wacky Water Fun is a simple carnival style game where you throw water balloons at clowns to score points. It's not all that challenging to be honest, but it's still plenty of fun.
Nay
Superspace - 240 MS points. Superspace is an interesting mix of space shooter and puzzle game with an impressive physics engine backing it up. If you're a fan of the Asteroids control scheme, with pressing right rotating your ship clockwise and left counterclockwise, then you'll find a great game here. Personally, I found it nearly unplayable.
SBDM-1 - 240 MS points. This looks like a fairly impressive music creation tool, I just wish there were some instructions on how to use it. I couldn't find a help screen for the life of me, so I commend anyone brave enough to try and figure this thing out.
Division Omega - 240 MS points. Division Omega really makes you realize why we have the phrase "it drives like a tank." Cumbersome controls make every enemy encounter bring the game's pace to a screeching halt. There's also a multiplayer co-op mode if you're friends are craving some slow tank action.
The Last Cannonball - 80 MS points. A simple game where you shoot a cannonball and try and make it travel as far as possible. You only really have control over cannon's firing angle, and then the rest is just watching the cannonball travel, so there really isn't much game to be had here.
Chaos - 80 MS points. Few game titles are more accurate than Chaos. Balls are bouncing everywhere across the screen, and you need to try and slow them down using only a weak force field ability. Multiplayer is even more hectic with more balls bouncing and another player pushing them around. A game with a challenge is usually welcome, but this game's challenge is taken too much from random elements and not enough from player skill.
Beer Screensaver - 80 MS points. It does make the screen sufficiently beer-colored, and there are tiny bubbles that float up.
360 Mega App Pack HD - 80 MS points. Well, this is certainly a pack of Xbox 360 apps, so the title isn't lying. A rumble massage, "ultra clock," and "omega calculator" are all at your disposal. Seriously, dispose of them. There are also a few minigames added in like a button mashing contest, a Simon/memory game, and a multiplayer game. If you really, really want the useless Xbox 360 apps that people keep making, then this is probably the best version of them yet. But that's not really saying much.
Ultra-Power Massager! - 80 MS points. It claims to be "the most powerful massage app on the Xbox 360," but it didn't seem particularly more powerful than any of the others. It's just another massage app, designed to separate careless people from their money.
Music Roll - 80 MS points. A music creation tool with excessively complicated controls. There just aren't enough buttons on the 360 controller for all of the shortcut actions that Music Roll tries to do. Maybe it would work better with a keyboard on a PC, or with a menu system of some kind.
Updates
Bullet Trap
Little Racers - price drop to 240 MS points.
myFishtank
Slotso Party - price drop to 80 MS points.
Couples Sudoku
Physics Sandbox
Landmark - price drop to 80 MS points.
Organon - price drop to 80 MS points.
Light Catcher - price drop to 80 MS points.
Space Combat - price drop to 80 MS points.
Garret the Slug - price drop to 80 MS points.
Space Attack - price drop to 80 MS points.
A Robot's Conundrum - price drop to 80 MS points.
Double Vision - price drop to 240 MS points.
Bored Meeting - price drop to 80 MS points.
Johnny Platform's Biscuit Romp - price drop to 80 MS points.
Exisled - price drop to 240 MS points.
Jonny Crush - price drop to 240 MS points.
RBR - Fading Memories - price drop to 80 MS points.
Tank Strike - price drop to 80 MS points.
Biology Battle - price drop to 240 MS points.
Planet Delta - price drop to 80 MS points.








Thanks for the overview!