Game-Boy's Aussie Round Up

I recently got to sit down with a few of Australia's best indie developers to take a look at some games that may be a little bit off the beaten path for most gamers over here in the States. Each of them displayed something new fresh and fascinating and I'm here to talk about the titles that impressed me the most.

First up is a game that you can get your hands on right now with your trusty little iPhone, Train Conductor by The Voxel Agents. For what it lacks in a flowery title the game more than makes up for with intuitive and addictive fun. Players are given a view of 3 or 4 train tracks running parallel to each other and use the touch screen to create temporary tracks to ensure none of the trains run into each other. It's simple, streamlined fun that was so addictive that I was tempted to not let go on the demo until I told that I could go download it myself immediately. The big reason that the developers were excited to show off the game to press was because they're planning a rather substantial free update to the game in late April that will bring in more levels and game modes. Not too shabby for a small investment of $2. Go check it out here!

The next game I got to try out was the rather ambitious Jolly Rover. Without getting too mushy, I have to admit that this is the kind of indie game that I love. Largely the work of one developer with a little help from his friends, this carefully crafted point-and-click adventure genre is was clearly labor of love for everyone involved. Players take on the role of Gaisus James Rover, a daring young pup setting out into pirate seas to realize his dream of starting a circus. Yeah, the story is a little bit nonsense, but it's nonsense in a good way. The sense of humor showed in demo that I got a peek at should be right up the mental alley of Monkey Island fans. As a fully featured adventure players can expect to see nostalgic touches like a King's Quest inspired score, but there are a few touches made especially for newer adventurers, such as the hint system that's fueled by providing Rover's parrot a cracker. Jolly Rover felt like a clever ode a genre that we don't get to see enough of today and fans of the old school LucasArts and Sierra titles should be on the lookout for the game's PC and Mac release in June with an expected price of $15. Find out more at the game's official site.

Endgame Studios' Fractured Soul is another nifty little title that calls back to a genre of yesterday, but manages to throw a new twist into a classic recipe. Basically, think of your standard run-and-gun action title like Contra, but with your character transporting between two unique worlds (or in this case, DS screens). Players use the swapping technique to platform across deadly levels, sneak up on enemies, or avoid curtains of bullets fired by huge bosses. To separate it from the similarly themed Chronos Twin, Fractured Soul features a gentler difficulty curve and... wait for it... shump levels! As if I wasn't sold already, these levels looked like a ton of fun and invoked my favorite moments from the duality-based shooter Ikaruga. N3V Games has the worldwide publishing rights to this enticing title and hopes to ship Fractured Soul to players by the end of this year. There's no official word on a North American release, but I'm sure if we/I make enough noise we might see something announced in the near future.