Smooth Operators: Call Centre Chaos is the latest game from game developer Andrea Heydeck (Heydeck games) scheduled to be released within the Indie Games Uprising III filling the Friday slot (09/14/12) on the Xbox live arcade with a PC port currently being worked on. From what I have seen of the game it looks a well polished sim game with enough gameplay to keep you busy for hours. See what you make of the gameplay trailer below:

The game takes the tried and tested sim model and moves into the call centre, allowing the micromanagement of a workforce looking at balancing the ever changing needs of individuals whilst attempting to fulfil goals and achieve a healthy profit. From what I have seen of the gameplay it looks well designed and engaging with enough depth to create strong gameplay whilst not being too overbearing. The graphics style distinctly reminds me of  Tiny Tower on the iOS in its cartoon like nature with a similar lift layout and floor stacking there is indeed several comparisons, however it has been adapted to make for a game with a similar look whilst retaining its own charm.

Smooth Operators: Call centre Chaos is due for release onto the Xbox Live arcade on Friday 14th of September of this year and is just one of the promising games in the Indie Games Uprising III. For anyone who has ever played a sim game this may be worth picking up along with anyone interested in the more casual style strategy games and of course those who have whiled away hours on Tiny Tower, this release may very well just be what you have been waiting for on the Xbox.

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – New XBLA Sim ‘Smooth Operators: Call Centre Chaos’ Released Next Month

It seems to be a regular thing for fanbases to step up to bat after a franchise has fallen from grace. Duke 3D mods are still going strong, MAV seeks to revive Chrome Hounds, and now Vector Thrust is taking a swing at the venerable Ace Combat franchise, after the series veered off into Michael Bay QTE-filled territory with its latest entry. The horse has bolted, and the door was left open for a small indie team to sneak in and start making things right once more.

For those who haven’t played an Ace Combat game before, imagine a modern-day equivalent to the X-Wing or Freespace games. Dramatic yet unrealistic air combat, with swirling missile contrails, accessible close-combat gunplay and constant battle-chatter as other fights rage around you. It’s a winning formula; accessible to anyone with a gamepad, but authentic-feeling enough to pass for a simulator at first glance. Vector Thrust is looking to bring that feeling to PCs, and has just released its first playable Alpha build, available to those who chip in a few dollars as a pre-purchase.

Developer TimeSymmetry are fairly open about what they’re trying to achieve here. This is Ace Combat through and through. Judging by the gameplay video above, they’ve captured a lot of the style of the AC series already, and despite aiming the game deliberately at lower-end systems, it looks quite graphically impressive. The choice to go with cel-shaded aircraft probably saves on skinning, as stylized, flat-shaded textures can stand out more. It’s most likely a pragmatic decision, but I can’t deny that it looks pretty.

One thing that I do hope to see more of as the game develops further is a growing focus on one of the most underrated aspects of the AC franchise: Spectacular super-weapons and the setpiece battles against them. Perhaps it’s just me, but I don’t really feel like an Ace Combat game is complete without at least one improbable tunnel-flying segment, and ideally a battle against some kind of aerial fortress or flying aircraft carrier. Boss battles might seem out of place in any other game about modern-day jetfighters, but Ace Combat heroes are incomparable badasses, and their planes are magical and carry twenty times their own weight in missiles, so it works.

This might well happen, just not by the most direct means. Interestingly, there’s already a dedicated fan-group attached to Vector Thrust, planning on (unofficially) reviving the Ace Combat games via this new engine. The Ace Combat Infinity group have a gallery full of screenshots of a modded build of the game, featuring a variety of classic Ace Combat aircraft, decked out in paint-jobs representing the many fictional airforces of the alternate-earth settings the series was once famous for.

Vector Thrust already boasts extreme moddability – from missions to planes to campaigns and more – so the dreams of Ace Combat fans could well come true. It’s already looking to be a solid game in its own right, so if it can offer all that and the ability for fans to retrofit it into a full-blown AC fan-game? Well, that’d be just dandy. Vector Thrust is in active development and can be purchased via Desura right now for $12 or region equivalent, giving you access to the current build and all future releases.

Source: The Indie Game Magazine – Trace Combat – Aerial Action Game ‘Vector Thrust’ Alphafunds Via Desura

Cliff “Cliffski” Harris (or Positech Games) is introducing a fine looking fleet of satirical sci-fi goodness as the named publisher of Tiniest Shark‘s upcoming Redshirt.Redshirt fits in the category of forthcoming indie games that are bringing back something the industry has been lacking since the turn of the millennium: satire. Well, just comedy in general to be honest. The game is said to be a “comedy sci-fi sim” which aims its satirical laser firmly in the direction of our social networking lives, albeit it sets the stage aboard a space station.Gold stars will be rewarded to those who can guess which social networking platform is taking the brunt of the jokes in Redshirt. Here’s a clue: the in-game network is called ‘Spacebook’.

This Article was originally posted on our sister site, The Indie Game Magazine written by Chris Priestman.