Indie Game Review: Jets 'n' Guns

June 24th, 2008

posted by Tom Quinn

In 2004, Czech developer Rake in Grass released a rather... unique product. It was a horizontal space shooter (or "shmup", if you're into the whole brevity thing) with a distinctly European taste. It featured beautiful graphics, buckets of gore, a slew of weapons and levels, and a great sense of humor. Jets 'n' Guns was that very game.

Now that we're done with the obligatory intro, let's get into it. The first thing you'll notice about Jets 'n' Guns is the amount of polish that was liberally applied to all parts of this game. The enemy sprites ooze personality, there's destructible environmental features everywhere, and the various visual effects sparkle. The second thing you'll notice -- as is too often the case -- is how the game plays. Before each mission, you're given an opportunity to outfit your ship with all manner of upgrades and weapons. You can sell parts for the same price that you bought them, which creates an atmosphere that encourages experimentation. You can take the time to try out each and every gun or doodad to see which configuration fits you best.

Once in a mission, you'll quickly discover just how gory the game is. It's real gory. You'll be mowing down dozens of tiny pixelated badguys with every bullet fired, sending gallons of blood spraying into the vacuum of space. You'll blow up warehouses and watchtowers bit-by-bit, Rampage style. Guess what else. You'll be satisfied when you do. And you'll get money for it. Money you can use to further upgrade your wreckin' machine. ...Okay, now I'm getting too excited.

A word to the wise: this shmup is European. There's no two ways about it. A million shiny particles are on screen at all times, and the enemies are bizarre and numerous. There's also that pesky inertia thing that the European spaceships can never figure out. Every press of the arrow keys will send your craft skittering about, running into walls and projectiles. So much for precision.

But you know what? Jets 'n' Guns isn't really about precision. It's tough... real tough... but you can definitely take a few hits. This isn't some Shanghai Alice bullet hell game. This is a game where you shoot tomatoes at beer, in space. If you're willing to fork over the kind of pricey $30 for Jets 'n' Guns, you'll no doubt enjoy yourself.

Yes, it's 30 dollars. I know, you're balking already, but listen here. You'll get more fun out of this, more pure gaming bliss, than with Duty of Publisher 5: Brothers of Wars. And you'll be giving your money to people with creative souls, people who are gonna turn around and use that money to put food in their stomachs, not spend it on an advertising campaign. It's a purchase that everyone can feel good about. All that's left to do is for you to make it.

Indie Game Review: Noitu Love 2

April 22nd, 2008

posted by Tom Quinn

Joakim Sandberg has been one of my favorite independent developers for as long as I can remember. As a member of the now defunct Fallen Angel Industries, he worked on Mina of the Pirates for years until ultimately cancelling it. His character design and art style have always caught my eye, so I was thrilled to hear he was working on a sequel to one of his earlier games, Noitu Love.

Finally appearing just last week is Noitu Love 2. I'll start with this: BUY IT. I'll explain...

Immediately, you'll notice how amazing the game looks. I'm a huge fan of pixel art, and Mr. Sandberg never ceases to impress. From the bizarre doll-like robotic Darns, to the agile Xoda, every sprite moves fluidly and convincingly.

The gameplay is no slouch, either. Combat is executed with the WASD keys and the mouse alone. Xoda can pull off endless combos with left mouse clicks, and the right mouse button is used in combination with mouse movement to use three special moves. There are plenty of enemy types with their own quirks, along with an unbelievable number of bosses and minibosses. I can honestly say I've never seen a game so thickly covered with boss characters. Again, it goes without saying that they all have great attacks and brilliant animations.

The music is appropriate, if not dazzling, with a few memorable tunes littered throughout the 7 mission story mode. Yes, only seven missions. Unfortunately, Noitu Love 2's largest disappointment is its length. For 20 dollars, you get a first playthrough that a gamer with any level of skill will waltz through in 45 minutes. That's not to say it's not worth it -- far from it.

Like I said before, BUY IT. With unlockable characters, an unlockable difficulty level, and an eighth bonus level with a user-submitted boss, Noitu Love 2 sums to a game that I've spent about 5 hours on already. The "Hard" and "Hardest" difficulties provide enough challenge for nearly anyone, and the extra characters actually vary drastically in their playstyles and the enemies they encounter.

One more time, for the road: BUY IT.

Indie Game Review: World of Goo

March 2rd, 2008

posted by Tom Quinn

After a decidedly positive mention on Penny Arcade, I made the move to shell out 20 bucks for 2D Boy's World of Goo. As I understand it, 2D Boy is made up of a few former EA folks, and World of Goo picked up a few awards at IGF. More power to them, because the one little preview chapter of WoG that I've played has more personality than all of EA's 2007 releases combined.

So, let's drastically oversimplify World of Goo. It's Lemmings meets Bridge Builder meets Gish meets Oddworld. There, I did it. I ruined your perception of the thing because, honestly, it's not much like any of those titles. What it is is another example of indie gaming's endless innovation. I had previously played Kyle Gabler's experimental gameplay project Tower of Goo, and when I heard the announcement for World of Goo, I did what the games industry has trained me to do: I expected a logical extension. I expected to be building higher and higher towers on a set of changing backgrounds, occasionally watching a cutscene. Thankfully, 2D Boy isn't that lazy, and created an Adventure Mode full of interesting scenarios. Sure, you build tall towers now and then, but each level is genuinely unexpected and unique. Some levels take place in tumblers, some have you building bridges across huge spans, and the last level takes place floating in a giant stomach.

The main obstacles are the "squishiness" of the goo balls, and the requirement of having a few balls left over to get sucked into the end pipe. Luckily, even with the incredibly simple formula of dragging triangles out of goo balls, the game stays fresh thanks to the interesting environments and the spooky art style. Plus, in the first chapter alone, you get to use 4 types of goo, with more types certainly coming into play later in the game.

Another great feature of the game is the high score board. Unused goo balls are added to a grand total at the end of each level, and in the World of Goo Corporation mode, you use them to build as tall a tower as you can in a fashion reminiscent of the original Tower of Goo. The height of your tower gets uploaded to their boards, and it represents the towers of other players as clouds floating around yours. To build a tower that contends with other players, you need to make smart architectural decisions that result in a very satisfying spot on the high score table.

The game's release date is still "TBA 2008", but I suggest picking this one up. This little demo is a good taste of what's to come, and when the game finally hits, it'll be a pleasant little suprise in your e-mail inbox. And come on, it's 20 bucks!