Post #100

Heh. Just noticed... this is my hundredth post to this blog. Milestone?

It is Christmas, and I noted my game wishlist in a previous post. Santa was good to me! I received all four games: Brütal Legend, Borderlands, Dragon Age: Origins, and Fable II. These games have unique features but all share an RPG/adventuring/story to them. I'm looking forward to playing and blogging about them.

Now the hard question to answer is: what do I try first?

Indie Games, Repeat

Every time I think about it, I bring up the Game Marketplace and hit the Indie Games, and its New Arrivals. It seems like there is a new game every day there.

Just tonite, I downloaded free trials of Platypus, A Killer's Dream, and Neo Terra. They looked interesting, and a trial is a no-brainer. The games are inexpensive, if I end up buying the full version.

And yes, as I mentioned the other day, my download of Armor Valley turn out interesting enough, that I dropped the few dollars to purchase the full game.

(and I'm still playing through Sacred 2: Fallen Angel, but that's a post for another day)

Indie Games

I've been playing a buttload of Sacred 2: Fallen Angels lately. This RPG came out a while back, but I was effectively console-less, so did not get a proper chance to play it. After getting my console back online, and seeing my friends go all starry-eyed about it... I bought it. Buh... awesome time-sink.

That said. I want to talk about the "Indie Games" section in the Xbox Live Game Marketplace. There is some serious crap in there. (a "flashlight" app for your living room? really?)

But there are some really cool, very creative games happening there. And many more arriving constantly.

Solar is very interesting. Some gravitational mechanics, some strategy on planet pickup, a good number of challenges to try, etc.

Groov is an excellent little shooter, in the same vein as Crystal Quest or Geometry Wars. You have a defined area to move around within, blasting "baddies". The really neat trick is that your shots are timed to the background music. Tone, beat, and rhythm set the pace to the game. Beautiful.

And last night, I just discovered Armor Valley. The graphic quality on this is astounding, for a US$5 dollar game. The valley you fly through reminded me of settings from Mech Assault back in the Xbox days. I haven't decided to buy the full game yet, but am quite tempted. I'll certainly play the trial a couple more times.

The Indie Games are a refreshing source of creativity and simple, pick-up games. They seem to list for about US$1 or maybe US$2 each. I spend more on a beer -- great for a night, but these games can provide ongoing fun.

Go check it out. Maybe Head Shot (they're at version 2 now!) will intrigue you, but I bet there is something fun for you in this little corner of the Marketplace.

What I've been playing

I didn't have access to my Xbox for about nine months (boo hoo!), but got everything set up a few weeks ago. As a result, there is a huge backlog of games that I want to play. Here are the games I've been playing these past few weeks:

  • Sacred 2: Fallen Angel
  • Two Worlds
  • Magic: the Gathering (XBLA)
Last night, I just found a game named Solar in the "Indie Games" section on XBLA. The trial game was quite neat. Very cool concept, and for just US$3, I picked it up the full, unlocked version.

On my Christmas list, I'll be putting games like Brütal Legend, Borderlands, Dragon Age: Origins, and Fable II.

Here we go again

Hey kids... I've gone through several giant life changes since I last posted to this blog. That kept me away from a lot of gaming, tracking the games, and much appreciation for what is going on in the (Xbox) gaming world.

But I'm back.

Look for future posts about the different games that I'm playing. As before, my intent with this blog is to help you decide what games might be right for you. If you have a limited budget and want to find That Perfect Game, then I hope that my posts will lead you there. Or if you're on the fence, to help you decide. Or to point you towards new games you may find interesting.

You won't find me talking about "me" or my breakfast on this blog. It's about games.

The power switch... it's back on.