Conveniently enough, one of the last remaining Winter Uprising games to make it out came out today and, let me tell you, this is a good’un!

Alpha Squad, by developer Dragon Divide, is a unique story-based twin stick shooter. I say unique because well, let’s face it, most twin stick shooters are relatively light on story, if they even have one at all. Alpha Squad plays as a sort of action adventure twin stick shooter which comes out to be a really nice combination.

The game starts out by allowing you to choose between four different characters, I don’t think it really matters which one you choose although each seems to have their own personality. From there you set off across the globe on various missions, being that you are mercenaries.

I guess the really unique part about the game is that it, seemingly offers a unique way to change and mold the story based on your interactions with NPCs in the game. I don’t know how it does this as I wasn’t able to play long enough via the trial, however, even in my limited play through I was able to get to points where the dialog seemingly got pretty advanced leading me to believe that this is actually a really deep game.

Additionally, the game comes with a host of online capabilities that allow you to play with friends in the story, or via an arena competitive match up. The game also supports a series of trophies you can earn throughout the game as bragging rights. Unofficial achievements, if you will.

Overall, there’s really nothing about Alpha Squad that isn’t great. This is a solid twin stick shooter for people who want more out of their twin stick shooters than simply milling around a small arena shooting unnamed enemies. This game has story, characters, unique settings, and a progressive styled trophy system. Really, this is almost like the twin stick shooter to end all twin stick shooters.

Alpha Squad is available right now via the Xbox :Live Indie Games channel for 240 MS points $3).

[Buy/Try]

Trailer

Here’s where I’m going to talk briefly about my secret addiction to flash physics games. I love them. I love flinging things at things and watching the gravity and motion sort out the rest. They’re fun in browser and they’re fun on mobile platforms.

But today I headed on over to the XBLIG Channel and the first new release that popped up was a little game called Onager!

It features a cartoon catapult on the front and I immediately knew that it fell into that little category of games that satisfies my mildly destructive urges. I quickly downloaded the trial and decided to see how this kind of game would operate with a controller.

My first impression is that it’s exceedingly difficult to operate the game with a controller.

You pull back on the left joystick to choose the power and angle of the shot and hit your action button to release the game. It takes a few second to fully power up your meter that will give you a hard horizontal shot, which makes it really tough on impatient folk who want the destruction to begin.

The physics are solidly executed and towers collapse well, but there’s an annoying hiccup in that every time you kill one of the purple monsters in the game the entire game pauses for just a second in order to load the explosion animation. You’re going to see a few of these in every level.

From the levels in the early game I played I would like to point out that their design is top notch. From improvised teeter-totters to tall collapsables, you’re going to have some fun breaking this world down. But as mentioned, from the first levels the controls take some getting used to.

Please note this brief writeup is only a first-glance preview of the trial version of the game. You can download the trial or full version (80 Microsoft Points) of Onager! from the Xbox Live Marketplace.

With so many Xbox Live Indie Games being released almost daily at this point, it’s easy to see why a few indie developers felt the need to band together to create what they considered to be a “cream of the crop” sort of event highlighting a bunch of great XBLIG games being released back in December (and a couple in January). Still, that doesn’t mean that any game not part of the event was bad. Case and point: Return All Robots!

The primary premise of Return All Robots! is fairly simple. You play as an intern who got stuck in a laboratory disaster where robots are turning evil and malfunctions are running rampant. This has caused a series of robots to go bad while a number of them have remained normal. The goal is to save the good ones while avoiding the bad ones.

Sounds pretty easy right? Actually, it can be quite difficult. Unfortunately, the robots aren’t functional in terms of AI. Basically meaning you have to control them with a small remote. The robots are then designed to face you wherever you go. Using this method you can control them and move them in a straight line towards the teleporter which will bring them out of harm’s way (those robots are expensive, after all).

Of course, having the evil robots thrown in each level just adds to the game’s challenging puzzles. You see, while directing robots all over the place, you’ll have to make sure that the evil robots never come in contact with you, the teleporter, or the normal robots. Should it happen even once you’ll lose the level and be forced to restart.

Overwhelmingly I enjoyed Return All Robots! for what it was: a simple, yet challenging, puzzle game that offered a high level of polish that I’m not entirely accustomed to in Xbox Live Indie Games. As such, I’d easily recommend this game to anybody out there looking for a unique, robot-inspired puzzler.

Return All Robots! is available right now via the Xbox Live Indie Games channel for 240 MS points ($3).

[Buy/Try, Space Whale Studios]

[This is not a review. This is a "first impressions" piece based on less than an hour of gameplay.]

Trailer

While it might not be the spelunking adventure platformer we’ve all been waiting for on the XBox 360, I did manage to come across an Xbox Live Inde Game that might just hold you over in the mean time. The game I am referring to is, of course, Tobe’s Vertical Adventure.

Tobe’s Vertical Adventure is, as you already know, an adventure platformer that has you playing as a huge headed little boy named Tobe, a boy who’s typically used to playing video games about adventuring, not actually adventuring himself. Through a series of comedic cut scenes it’s only through his sister — I’m assuming it’s his sister anyway — that Tobe actually attempts to find adventure and treasure himself.

The game plays like a fairly standard platformer. You can jump up on to platforms, wall jump, collect trreasure, use items, etc. There’s not much here to gush about really. If you like the way 2D platformers play then you’ll certianly enjoy Tobe’s Vertical Adventure.

Each level you come acr0ss will give you various items to pick up and a series of treasures and helpless animals for you to save. The goal is to keep moving through the cave, typically in a downward direction until you reach the big treasure. Upon acquiring the big treasure the cave will begin to collapse and you’ll now have to climb all the way back up, except this time you have a timer ticking down in order to give you that little extra challenge and adrenaline rush.

All in all, Tobe’s Vertical Adventure is a charming little adventure platformer that I had quite a lot of fun with in my limited time playing the trial, enough so that I’m seriously considering picking up the game. I’ve always enjoyed solid platformers and this one is certainly looking to be one of the best the Xbox Live Indie Game channel has produced yet.

Tobe’s Vertical Adventure can be bought right now for 240 MS points ($3).

[Buy/Try,  Official Website]

[This is not a review. This is a "first impressions" piece based on less than an hour of gameplay.]

Screenshots

Whakman, by developer Kobingo, is a new oddly fun yet very strange platformer that has recently graced the Xbox Live Indie Games channel. The game allows players to play as a creature named Whakman as he travels throughout various levels attmepting to get from one point to the next.

Now, before I go into the strange-ness of the game, allow me to explain the machincs a bit. First, this game is a straight 2D platformer. You don’t get much more “platformy” than Whakman. You’ll jump, dash, grab coins, avoid spikes… the usual. Not to say that’s a bad thing, but people should know what they are getting when they check this game out. If you love platformers then this one is for you.

Now, back to the oddness, you play as a creature named Whakman. As I’m sure you gleaned from the cover art above, Whakman is a weird, mutant ball creature. I can’t say what he is exactly, all I know is he’s weird and likes to roll/bounce around. He is certainly one of the strangest characters on XBLIG I’ve seen yet.

Each level starts you out with no coins and a life meter that goes up as you die. Did I say up? Yes I did. In Whakman, the goal is to get from one end of the level to the other. If you collect all the coins, and don’t die a single time you’ll get a gold medal. If you die more than once but still collect the coins you get a silver. If you just complete the level you get a bronze. It’s a simple ranking feature designed to encourage replay. Unfortunately, getting gold the first time around is pretty easy in and of itself. At least for the first three levels.

Overall Whakman is a fairly standard platformer that not only looks good, but also offers a very unique character. While the game fails to stand out from the crowd in terms of gameplay, I certainly can’t fault it for it due to the solid platforming mechanics we’ve all come to know and love over the years.

Whakman is available right now via the Xbox Live Indie Games channel for 80 MS points ($1). If you’re at all interested in picking up a new 2D platformer I recommend giving Whakman a try.

[This is not a review. This is a "first impressions" piece based on less than an hour of gameplay.]

Screenshots

When you have powerhouses like Bejeweled and Puzzle Quest defining an entire genre, it’s tough to break into the world of the Match 3.

Steam Heroes joins the genre with some solid artistic stylings, good gameplay and enough unique elements to make it a successful Match 3.

You play as a trio of heroes, each with a different power that must battle through twelve levels of bad guys. By matching different steam-punk themed pieces, you build up your defense, offense and general ability to stay alive against bad guys.

By matching bombs you attack the enemy and get one step closer to winning the match. If you match five you gain a special icon that may be a super bomb or a token to fill your various power meters.

But in this Match 3, time is of the essence. It isn’t a back and forth like Puzzle Quest, instead, you are constantly attacked by the enemy and must match as fast as possible in order to fight back.

The trial version of the game contains three different stages and is quite well executed.

The voice acting isn’t the best and the writing almost unnecessary, but seriously, the art is good. It really nails the setting from a colorful perspective and the variety of enemies and characters look cool.

The game clocks in at 240 Microsoft Points ($3), which isn’t much, but frankly I would have liked to see more content. The game only contains twelve stages, and the trial version takes you through three of them.

But if you love Match 3 games, definitely check this one out.

This brief preview was a first look at the trial version of Steam Heroes and does not represent the full game.

Physics Sandbox 2 is the sequel to the original Physics Sandbox game that was released onto the XBLIG channel a while ago. To be honest, it’s a pretty self explanatory game and one that should either instantly appeal to you or not depending on how much you enjoy 2D physics based puzzlers. But we’ll get a bit more in depth with the title anyway.

Physics Sandbox 2 comes with two different game modes, there’s the puzzle mode which offers an array of physics based puzzles for you to complete or the sanbox mode which allows you to just dick around with various shapes that you create; each of which has its own physical properties.

The puzzle mode is fairly simple and is reminiscent of games like Crayon Physics Deluxe. In each level you’re given a red ball and a star. The object is to get the red ball to hit the star. Doing so will allow you to move on to the next level for a total of 20 levels.

The way you go about this is by drawing either squares, circles or triangles (along with other mechanics such as springs and hooks) and then pushing the play button to see if everything goes according to plan. In many instances it can be quite fun to watch as your creations react in the way you had envisioned. Other times it can be downright frustrating to know that nothing is happening. But that’s physics for you.

Of course, being tasked with drawing and creating objects within the game isn’t all that great. Let’s be honest, there’s a reason why Crayon Physics Deluxe didn’t get ported to a console and that’s because the analog sticks make for poor drawing apparatuses. While the developer did use a lot of automation in the process, it still wasn’t an ideal situation, at least not one that could have been easily been fixed were the game available on the PC instead.

Overall the game is fairly robust for a $1 puzzler. The physics are all splendid and the art style has this whole “hand drawn” style to it that’s quite endearing. Finally, the game’s been given quite a discount from the original title which was priced at $3 instead. With all that said, I’d recommend this to anybody looking for a “poor mans” Crayon Physics Deluxe.

Physics Sandbox 2 is available right now via the XBLIG channel for 80 MS points ($1).

[This is not a review. This is a "first impressions" piece based on less than an hour of gameplay.]

[Buy/Try]

Screenshots

Storybook Tactics, by developer Mercury Wave, is a strategy RPG in a similar vein as games like Ogre Tactics and Final Fantasy Tactics (one of the very best games to ever be released). Now, I haven’t played every single XBLIG title out there, but I believe this may be the first SRPG on the XBLIG channel making this game a unique proposition for any fans of the genre. That is of course, if it’s any good.

Here’s what I can say about Storybook Tactics: the game accurately mimics the great SRPGs of the past. If you’re at all familiar with previous SRPG games then you’ll feel right at home with Storybook Tactics. Of course, being that the game is an XBLIG title you shouldn’t necessarily expect the same level of polish that mainstream SRPG games enjoy for obvious reasons.

Still, despite that, everything works well. Your characters take turns moving around on a grid and attacking using an AP (action point) system that’s not terribly uncommon within the genre. From what I was able to play, each character is given 5 AP per turn which can be used to move, attack, defend or meditate. While the former three actions are self explanatory, the meditate is simply a device so that you can regain MP at the end of each turn using any left over AP you might have.

Of course, one thing you’ll instantly notice about the game is it’s unique art style. Yes, everything looks like blocks with heads attached to them. It doesn’t really look all that bad, although some of the attacking movements could definitely have been given a bit more polish, especially when it comes to magic. Spells like “flare” or ‘fireball” look woefully plain compared to what you’d expect.

There’s really not much more for me to say about the game. It has unique classes, a overarching story, a world map that’s reminiscent of Final Fantasy Tactics. Overall it seems like a great way to spend an afternoon if you’re a fan of the SRPG genre, especially given it’s “indie friendly” price point.

Storybook Tactics is available right now via the XBLIG channel for a scant 80 MS points. While I can’t say just how in depth the game is given my relatively short time with it, I can say that the game seems to be worth the money based on what I was able to experience.

[This is not a review. This is a "first impressions" piece based on less than an hour of gameplay.]

[Buy/Try, Mercury Wave]

Screenshots

Alright, this can probably be filed under news/rant because it’s gonna be both.

First, the new Xbox Live dashboard update is out. It, once again, makes your Xbox feel all sparkly/shiny/new and generally does a nice job of making the aesthetics of the UI far more enjoyable than it was previously. The entire system has a nice “green and white” feel to it, which is especially nice for me given it’s the same as my favorite soccer team.

Anyway, I digress. If you have an Xbox 360 all you have to do to get the new update is boot up your Xbox 360 and log into Xbox Live where you’ll be prompted to get the update.Easy-peasy.

And now for the rant part of this post. Which, by the way, you’re welcome for the warning.

As many of you know, we are HUGE proponents of the Xbox Live Indie Games channel here at DIY HQ. Not only do we review games on a regular basis, but we’ve dedicated an entire day of the week to the service called XBLIG Thursday. This was done just so that we could try and play as many of them as possible to give you guys, the readers, an overall sense of what the channel is doing at the moment. Additionally, we also keep track of every single game released in our weekly “Xbox Live Indie Games Releases” series which premieres once a week with screenshots and descriptions of each game that’s been released for that prior week. So, to call us dedicated to the channel’s well being is a bit of an understatement.

Unfortunately, Microsoft isn’t as committed as we are. Now, honestly, I don’t really believe they should be. XBLIG was a nice gesture by them back in 2008 that’s done a lot of good for the indie game scene around the world. While I’d love it if they would advertise the channel, or do anything to give the channel some more publicity I don’t really expect them to given their dedication to their console, XBLA, primary games, and now Kinect. Let’s face it, when faced up against all those things XBLIG is a pretty low priority.

However, after today’s newest update, I do believe that the indie developers of the service have been given a figurative slap in the face. You see, along with the new dashboard update, it seems that Microsoft has decided to rearrange the game marketplace into categories: Features, Games & Demos, Add-Ons & Extras, Genres, Titles A-Z, and lastly Specialty Shops. Obviously this isn’t the problem as I believe it does help reduce the amount of clutter on the storefront with the last update.

Indie games aren't real games apparently.

However, while one might assume that XBLIG would be placed under the “Games & Demos” category along with XBLA, Games on Demand, and demos it was not. Instead it was given a spot under “Specialty Shops” along with the Avatar Marketplace, Game Room, Rock Band, Guitar Hero, and the Lips music stores. Oh and just as a final “piss off” from Microsoft, the XBLIG channel was placed behind the Avatar Marketplace within the Specialty Shops.

Behind the Avatar Marketplace? Really?

So, in affect, Microsoft is telling indie developers as well as gamers in general, that these aren’t “real games.” They’re just small little specialty things/trinkets they have added to the store but aren’t really cared about. Misused and abused, to say the least.

I know this might not seem like a big issue to most, but indie developers deserve a fair shake when it comes to placement within their own store. I’m not asking Microsoft to put out a $50 million ad campaign for the service. I’m not even asking for Microsoft to highlight the store/games on the “Spotlight” anymore like I used to. All I want for them to do is to treat the Xbox Live Indie Games channel like a real channel with real games like they do for XBLA, is that really so much to ask? Apparently…

Geoff’s post about the sad puppy and no XBLIG Thursday had me feeling pretty down, but then I remembered I could directly influence the fate of this feature and its (thus far) absence from today, October 28…a clearcut Thursday. Let’s remedy this situation.

With so many Halloween titles rolling out on the channel in preparation for the upcoming holiday, I decided to pick one from the hat and just see what I got myself in to for better or worse. That game was dollar twin-stick shooter Mutant Zombie Onslaught.

The game takes place in post-apocalyptic 2012. Most of the human race has been wiped-out by a horrible flu virus that has left some alive, mutated and completely feral. It’s up to you to go into a facility where the virus was created and retrieve the storied antibody. As either the ‘Hero’ or ‘Heroine’ you, your cash and your guns must make a path down into the underbelly of the structure and come out alive; of course standing between you and the prize are the aforementioned monster zombies.

The game plays pretty typically for what it is, you walk through a hallway and into a room where you’re promptly attacked by enemies, who look kind of like regular zombies more than mutant ones–though the screenshots show some bigger, badder dudes in the later levels. The music is alright and the sound effects are good but some I thought necessary (such as zombie noises) just weren’t there.

That said, where the gameplay lacks a bit in polish it makes up for in depth. A variety of weapons to purchase and upgrade (I went with the nice shotgun/chainsaw starter combo) and all the fun of back-pedaling from and blasting at the expanding hoard you could ever ask for. Perhaps best of all, the title offers up to four-player co-op, always a welcomed feature in a game like Onslaught.

One issue I did have specifically with the trial version is that it took so long to pick my weapons and settings that by the time I got a minute or two into the actual gameplay the time expired. I had to run through it all over again to get a reasonable hands-on session in. That’s more of a complaint to the system in place for the XBLIG demos rather than the game itself.

For 80 MS Points there’s no reason I can’t recommend MZO for fans of the top-down or twin-stick shooter niche. Check it out, it’s definitely worth a spin.

[Buy/Try]

[This is not a review. This is a "first impressions" piece based on less than an hour of gameplay.]