Weekly Xbox Indies - 11/13/09 - Happy Friday The 13th!

Yay
- Armor Valley - 400 MS points. Armor Valley is a strategy game where you build units that get sent out to conquer the enemy base, as well as defeat any enemy forces met along the way. Unlike a typical RTS, all of the units travel on pre-determined paths, so the strategy comes from picking the right amount of the right units taking into account aspects like their speed, strength, and the number of enemy units coming back at you. You control a helicopter-like craft that flies above the battlefield to give you a full view of what's going on, while also letting you unleash machine gun fire and missiles as support. I should also mention that this is one of the better looking games in the Xbox indies section with high production values and detailed 3D unit designs. It's not as involved as an RTS, but it's more pro-active than a tower defense game, and all fun.
- Avatar Rockets - 80 MS points. Avatar Rockets is a fairly simple game where you blast your Xbox avatar into space, collecting fuel along the way to reach further into the stars. It has a nice hand-drawn art style, which is complimented by the ability to draw designs on your rocket ship like a coloring book. There are also three great multiplayer modes where the "just one more try" gameplay meets head to head competition making for a hugely addictive experience.
- Flytrap - 400 MS points. Flytrap is an arcade-style game where you control an anthropomorphic venus flytrap as it defends baby flytraps from frogs, wasps, and other enemies. Since you're a venus flytrap, you not only need to stop enemies in their tracks with a spray gun, but also swallow them down Kirby style. The balance you need to strike between shooting and eating enemies keeps the game's intensity high throughout. I do feel like the game should have been released at one price level lower, but it's still a great game.
Ay?
- Kissy Poo - 80 MS points. Kissy Poo is billed as a game for very, very young children, and in that respect the bright colors and inability to lose make this game an excellent choice for the 3 and under crowd. The gameplay consists of moving your Kissy Poo character around to kiss sad animals so that they can be happy again. As if the game were at risk of not being adorable enough, any button you press makes baby-like noises. The best part though is how at the end of every level a rainbow shines announcing that it's dance time with happy animals dancing around the screen. It's worth at least downloading the trial version to see the dance time, but only small children and stoners should make the full purchase.
- Experiment 12 - 80 MS points. Experiment 12 seems to be the child of N+ and fellow Xbox indie game Pixel Man. You jump and wall jump through obstacle filled levels and a steep difficulty curve. Unfortunately, the wall jumping doesn't feel quite right, which can be a problem most later levels rely on that skill. But if you can overcome the wall jumping difficulties there's a fun, challenging game to be had.
- Head Shot 2 - 80 MS points. Head Shot 2 is, surprise, the follow up to the previously released indie game Head Shot. A dangerous criminal is hiding among a crowd of people, and you need to find and shoot him before he can harm innocent civilians. It's like "Where's Waldo" with a sniper rifle. I think in the end I preferred the original Head Shot to this sequel, but this version is still a decent game on its own merits.
- StarField Battle - 240 MS points. StarField Battle is a twin-stick shooter that has, for whatever reason, added an ammo limit to the gameplay. The game also lets you weild two weapons at once for double the firepower, but since there's only one fire button you'll use both weapons' ammo at the same time. If there was a way to switch between weapons to compensate for the ammo restriction, then it could elevate this average shooter to a higher level.
- Tank-tastic! - 240 MS points. Tank-tastic! is an overhead tank game that puts some more modern gaming conventions in the classic gameplay. Typical overhead tank games essentially break down to a multiplayer deathmatch mode, and Tank-tastic! has that but then adds other modes like survival and capture the flag to the mix. There's a brief single player mode that introduces the player to each of the new modes, but the multiplayer is real focus. Even with the new modes the slow tank controls feel very dated, but the gameplay is considered classic for a reason as the game is still fun to play.
Nay
- Lemonade Ltd. - 80 MS points. Have you every wanted to make an insane amount of (virtual) money? Lemonade Ltd. is a lemonade stand tycoon game that is almost completely transparent about how much money you will make, creating an incredibly easy business sim. Weather tries to add some depth, but it's not hard to figure out that you don't keep a lemonade stand open in the rain.
- yOm_fury - 80 MS points. yOm wasn't an especially good Pac Man clone when it was released a few weeks ago at a higher price point, so this "lite" version isn't much to get excited about. I appreciate that there is less content in this version, but that is hardly a compliment.
- The Flashlight - 80 MS points. Really? There is so much wrong with a flashlight app being made for the 360. Pathetic.
Updated Games
Flash Cards for Kids
Sqong
Megalopolis
Division Omega
World Clock
シャイニング ブラッド shining blood
Game Training Vol 1: Dexterity
Beat Hazard
Drop Zone








Wohoo! So exciting to see Kissy Poo in the list! Spot on for the review too. We definitely made it for the little gamers to be (lol, not sure about the stoners...).
Thanks for taking the time to check it out and do a little write up. Always love reading your write up on all the XLIGs but it was super cool to see *MY* game there this week.
Keep up the great work!