XenoMiner (XBLIG) Review

XenoMiner was another of the games featured in the Indie Games Uprising III. It costs a measly 80MSP.
XenoMiner is a voxel-based sandbox game akin to Minecraft and a million other copycats. But this game is actually different. It has taken what makes Minecraft so addictive and put it in space.
There is no denying this game is beautiful to look at. Start it up and you are greeted by an AI called Dai-Se (Daisy) who will very kindly introduce you to the basics of the game. Ten minutes in and you're left to your own devices. I found this fine, having sunk many hours into Minecraft, I got the basic jist of things, but I can see that this tutorial may not be enough for everyone.
Not only have they taken us to space but they have also given the basic Minecraft idea a STORY and an ultimate goal! Albeit a rather brief story, but nevertheless it's there. You are the lone survivor of a crash and have lost your memory. You must, first and foremost, survive. This means keeping a close eye on oxygen levels and your battery power. You will need SO much ice, to convert to oxygen to refill your tank. You will also need to build plenty of AI cores to increase your crafting ability, or processor power. This processor power, once leveled up gives you more options to build.
There is no enemy in this game, no creeper-like dudes to blow up all your good work. You just have to look out for yourself. Radiation is a problem, so keep yourself hidden from the planet's sun and you'll be fine. Radiation works very much like in Fallout in that the longer you spend in a radiated area the more radiation damage you will take. It can be treated though through crafting. It is easy to make Radiation a non-problem, just build yourself a shelter and do all your mining down. If you do have to go out, do it at night. The light on your tool makes this pretty easy.
This game requires a HUGE amount of time to feel like you're getting anywhere. And it seems to be missing something. I can't even put my finger on it, but having spent hundreds of hours on Minecraft and losing track of time, I expected to feel the same about this game. I don't. This game makes you FEEL like you're sinking all of your life into it, for very little gain. If you have never tired of Minecraft and are looking for an absolute bargain this is a definite buy. No-one can argue the value-for-money aspect seen here. But I don't think this is a must-buy for everyone.

6/10 TRY IT!

Smooth Operators (XBLIG) Review

Smooth Operators was released during the Indie Games Uprising III for the very tiny price of 80MSP.
I have to admit to not being too excited when I heard about this game, I didn't really understand how a game where you control an office could be fun, but I was VERY wrong!
I started the game and was greeted with some very catchy music, I was humming it to myself long after I had turned the game off. The tutorial was easy to follow and told you everything you needed to know to run your office. I started the game on normal, not being brave enough to go straight in on hard when I didn't know what to expect. You're given a good amount of money to start your business. The tutorial explains that you have targets, as in a real office, and if you reach them you're awarded but if you don't then you are fined. Not cool! So after a few 'practice' set ups, I set up 'KittenKomms' with plenty of offices, no toilets and no canteens. My workers are going to earn their wage! The first few days I hit target fine and gradually was able to give them the use of some facilities. So everyone ended up happy (ish!).
Each day gives you a new staff unlock. After a few you get a project manager, essential for upgrading and even building beyond a certain point. Account managers get you new contracts so you can expand your business. By this point I was hooked.
I have always been a fan of Sim games. Sims 3 can still keep me playing until I've missed two meals and whatever appointments I had that day. Theme Hospital too. I just never thought an office version would work. But it does, VERY, VERY well. It's an easy game to pick up and play and honestly is a great deal of fun. And at 80MSP it really should be a game that everyone picks up!

9/10 BUY IT!

Diehard Dungeon (XBLIG) Review

 The Uprising continues! Todays release was Diehard Dungeon a dungeon crawling bargain at 80MSP!

Now this game really grabbed my attention as the dungeons are different each time you enter, a lot like a game I am addicted to at the minute, Spelunky on XBLA. I LOVE that you can't just 'learn' your way around as each time you restart it is totally different. It makes the game infinitely playable, how can you get bored when it's always different?
There are also many different endings to this game, so even when you've completed it and feel like that's it really you HAVE to keep going to see what the other possibilities are!
The dungeons don't bring anything too challenging. Small bouncy enemies that are pretty annoying who try and steal your companion crate. A few blade-wielding bad-guys and some bouncy red blobs. There are some traps that bring spikes from the walls and in all the dungeons you have to find the silver key to open the next door. Every so often you'll find a golden key and at the beginning of the game it is explained that collecting ten of these makes you pretty awesome. They are pretty hard to come by though, something that is being patched, amongst other things in a few days.
There are big bosses after you've cleared a few dungeons. These are normally pretty huge and can be difficult to beat. The first one, a giant monkey had me restarting about five times. I was given a ranged weapon which worked brilliantly but I just struggled with my tactics for awhile.
There are some really awesome features in this game that stop it just being a hack and slash dungeon crawler. There is a mini-game when you open a trap door, which sees you granted with extra abilities if you beat it. The chests you find throughout the dungeons, I think are pretty original. Once you click to open them 0,1,2,3 blinks across the screen. Press a again to stop the blink and thats how many attempts you get to get treasure and other goodies from the chest. Again it's just something that mixes it up a little.
As I alluded to before this game is getting a patch very close to release, the developer tells me it should be within days. This patch will 'improve many of the visuals' and do some general bug fixing. Once the game is patched I will post some comments about the improvements. As it stands I don't actually feel like this game is suffering graphically so I'll see what happens when it's patched.
Overall this is another Uprising offering that is totally worth parting with your MSP for. It is great fun, easy to pick and play and changes every time. Unless dungeon crawling isn't for you it is a definite must buy!

8/10 BUY IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of this review.

Sententia (XBLIG) Review

The Indie Uprising continued today with the release of Sententia, Michael Hicks' latest contribution to the indie game market, and what a contribution it is!

'You are a special creature, and you have a purpose; but are you capable of holding on to it? Sententia is an “art game” that explores the challenges we face to keep our imagination alive as we grow. Start your journey through life’s forest as a young creature and build your way through it by solving puzzles, interacting with your fellow creatures, and defending your ideas with your own sententia.'

In Sententia you play as a creature. A cute little green haired creature, depicted as a small child at the beginning of the game. I honestly though the opening to this game was amazing. The conversation between the grandfather, the daddy and your creature was so cute. The grandfather tells the creature what everyone wants to hear...that whatever you want to do, if you put your mind to it you can do it. The daddy comes along and does the typical parent thing, worrying too much about a 'real' job. I think that this is something everyone can relate to, everyone has had a dream that has been laughed at or they have been made to feel ridiculous for. This game is sort of a two-finger salute to everyone that has said 'you can't'. 

The art style in this game is brilliant. Upon opening the game the menu screen took me by surprise. We've all played games that have been totally lacking in any originality, but this game is definitely NOT one of those. The writing used for the menu options is beautiful, and in a market inundated with sparse, operation-only menus this was a pleasant surprise. A little highlighter stroke comes over the highlighted option, a really neat little feature. 

The music, throughout this game is really well made. It sets the mood for the game perfectly and is easily one of my favourite game soundtracks. It's peaceful and haunting at the same time and it is clear to see that this talented developer has other talents too!

The game does have a few little niggles. But not enough to not enjoy the game. There were a few points where I was really struggling to reach blocks to jump onto, and when I did reach them my character just kind of flew on by. These weren't the disappearing blocks that appeared later on but were fairly early on in the game. I persevered, even though at one point I didn't think my 'a' button was going to survive the game. 

Some of the game feels difficult for difficulties sake. But looking back at the opening paragraph to the game, I understand why. Whilst it may be frustrating in game, this game is pretty much a 'coming of age' game so naturally it's going to involve some challenges. Like everything in life, stick with it and you will get through. I think this is a really nice sentiment for a game to carry.

The bridge building puzzles are where this game really shines. Well made, well thought out, well executed, these little puzzles feature in a fair few of the maps and are really fun to work out. You have to link the bridge together, and the pieces can only be linked to others a certain amount of times. Honestly if Sententia had a mini-game just for this I'd be set for a good while. 

Overall this game is WELL worth the 80MSP. I actually would have entered this in at the higher price point for XBLIG titles of 240MSP. For 80MSP you are getting a cute, lovable but challenging game that can really speak to anyone. It is beautifully made, and I forbid anyone to listen to the music and not have it stuck in their head. There are a few very tiny kinks that, to be honest, I really had to dig deep to find. This game makes a worthy addition to anyones XBLIG library.

8/10 BUY IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of this review. 

qrth-phyl (XBLIG) Review

Today saw the beginning of the Indie Games Uprising III and the release of the strangely named qrth-phyl (do NOT ask me to say it!) available for 80MSP straight to your Xbox console.

Described as an “arcade documentary of maze/dot/snake mechanic within changing dimensions, axis locks and the corruption of the system” this game in my opinion would be best described as Snake on speed. 
The opening screen takes some effort to decipher. My set up includes a 47inch HD TV but I still found myself struggling with the size and font of the text. Making my way over to 'sequence' the game began.  Playing as a glowing yellow snake the aim is simple, eat the glowing cubes to grow longer, don't run into your body and don't rush headlong into walls. I struggled the first time I played, half of the controls were inverted, an option that makes me feel a little nauseous. I HATE playing invert on any game, but to only have the option to invert the y-axis was pretty annoying, it means that the x-axis is on a permanent invert so I really struggled. 
Even though I found this game pretty frustrating I have to admit it was quite fun. The visuals are brilliant, especially the green grid that appears to show you where the hole to the next level has appeared. The next level also sees you appear inside a cube, transforming the game into 3D flawlessly.  The gameplay, though frustrating was addictive and I found myself playing again and again, trying to beat my previous scores. I kinda peaked at the fifth level, disappointed I tried again and again to go further but unfortunately I just couldn't get my head around the invert enough to get through. 
This game definitely reminded me of the old Snake game that game pre-loaded on the ancient Nokia's. Chances are a lot of people reading this blog now won't remember that gem. Snake was awesome and this game is definitely a valiant attempt to bring it up to date.
This game would have received a slightly higher score had it had leaderboards. Leaderboards on this game would have definitely helped this become a must have. Competition to have the longest snake? Always welcome! And even though I personally struggled with the invert I can totally accept that that is my own fault and nothing wrong with the game. In fact when I had un-inverted the y-axis I found the game much more pleasurable to play. The y-axis was doing exactly what I wanted, the x-axis continued to baffle my brain. 
Overall I think this game is definitely worth trying. For 80MSP you can't really go wrong. Who hasn't got that amount knocking around in their virtual bank?! It is truly an addictive, beautiful and well-made game worthy of adding to anyones collection.

7/10 TRY IT!

A code was provided for the purpose of this review.