Xbox Indie Review: Murky Horizon

While my initial thoughts of Murky Horizon weren’t very good, it quickly won me over. It is a hybrid of a twin-stick shooter and tower defense game, but with a bit of a twist. Your enemies don’t have a set path, instead you start off in the center of the screen as a Master Chief-like character defending a bunker containing families, set in a post-apocalyptic world. While the visuals aren’t stunning, the cool night-time effect does add a bit of ambiance to the title.

While I always thought the enemies looked like robot-wolves, apparently they are giant lizards; regardless, they come en mass and from all sides. You can either kill them by firing with your character, or funneling them toward the bunker by placing missile turrets and slowing towers in their path, along with boxes to create a set path. Each tower/turret has a range at which they can attack from as well. To further complicate things, night slowly draws and you are required to drop 5 flares between rounds. Fortunately your rifle offers a flashlight as well. The catch however is that your turrets can only attack what they can see by the light. Your character can collect pick-ups as well, similar to Contra. You begin with a single-shot rifle, but can also collect a tri-burst and homing missile. Between rounds you use the money you’ve earned from killing the lizards to buy more boxes or turrets.

For added variety, Ham Studios has included another play style dubbed “survival” where the creatures attack you, as there is no longer a bunker. For those of you who have friends on Xbox live, up to three other compadres can assist you in your building and destruction to make the gameplay even more frantic and intense. To master this game you’re going to need plenty of strategy, and quick hands. At just a dollar, this game is a great value. As that guy in Clueless would say this one gets “Two very enthusiastic thumbs up!”

Visit the Xbox Live Marketplace to add a free demo of Murky Horizon to your Xbox 360 download queue.

Murky Horizon was provided for review by the developer and the review is based on the full game. It is available for 80 MS points ($1)

By Dave Voyles at June 30, 2010.

About Dave Voyles

Dave is based out of Long Island, NY and is currently working on projects using the Unreal Engine. He earned his degree in Communications from SUNY Oneonta and currently doing his MBA in Management of Information Systems. Dave is also Co-Coordinator for the Indie Games Summer Uprising on Xbox Live. You can follow him on Twitter, at @DaveVoyles