Return of the Blogs / Summer of Arcade Series

It's been long. Perhaps too long. In case you were wondering, the past few weeks haven't been totally devoid of indie games, I just haven't had the motivation to write this blog. The main reason I started writing this in the first place was to connect to and meet other people who loved indie games. So far apart from the one comment, this hasn't really happened.

Although having said that, I couldn't resist the allure of it all. Turns out without writing about indie games to an audience of myself and my mum, life just isn't worth living!

I decided to start with a feature celebrating what got me into indie games in the first place - Xbox Live Arcade. A few years ago I was still playing generic, churned-out First Person shooter types (you probably know the one) but it was through Xbox Live Arcade that I found some absolutely brilliant games, from Trials HD to Geometry Wars and Castle Crashers. So to celebrate, I bring you a series devoted to the other three fantastic indie games in this year's Xbox Live Summer of Arcade.

Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet mixes the enigmatic and mysterious graphical style of Limbo with the alien landscapes of Metroid with well, some really rather unique side scrolling action. It is basically erm, an Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet.

And honestly, that's the best I can describe this game. It's such a complex, yet fun and simple mechanic and design that just leaves you wanting to play more and more. The only downside would be that after spending 4 years creating the game, Shadow Planet Productions' game is annoyingly short. 

However, the multiplayer looks to add some longevity to the game, with the Lantern Run mode. So far however, I've only managed to see videos of this online though, with no one to play this fantastic game with! That's where you come in. Leave a comment below or contact me on twitter @IndieGameTweet to play Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet with me this Sunday.

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You can buy Insanely Twisted Shadow Planet from the Xbox Live Marketplace for 1200 Microsoft Points. This blog is an indie game blog and is not payed for or in any way affiliated to Xbox Live.

Frozen Synapse

Today's game is somewhat of a blast from the past. Or the future. Depends which way you look at it.

The game itself is just over two months old - released on May 26th by Mode 7 Games. I was first drawn towards it by it's extremely unique visual style - a mix between the retro top-down games of the past with a uniquely cyberpunk-esque futuristic art style.

It was when I started playing however, that it struct me just how awesome the game is. It is basically a simultaneous, turn-based strategy game, but like no other I have played before. Simply put, you can simulate how your opponent's move before choosing your own. Although this sounds like a fairly minor innovation, it's effect on the gameplay is huge. It creates an element of second-guessing, which is not only intelligent but fun as hell.

It is for this reason that the multiplayer in particular, is where much of Frozen Synapse's depth lies. Ultimately, this is best playing an opponent, one versus one, over the internet and as such the competitive scene has flourished. Maps are created both randomly or via a seed and the game does incorporate a strong modding scene.

Although there is only so much one can write about a game like Frozen Synapse. You really have to play it to get a feel of it's brilliance. The beautiful graphic style, the unique gameplay mechanic and even the extremely awesome electronic music combine into one massive piece of awesome. But that's just my opinion. What do you think? Please leave a comment below.

Frozen Synapse is available for $25 or £19 at www.frozensynapse.com and you get a free copy for a friend!


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