The past few weeks have been pretty light on the new releases, so of course that means it was time for developers to release 3 quality racing games in the same week, right? There’s also a compilation of comic bookshelves from the 90s, a remake of an old PC RTS, and the weekly dose of balloon boobs.
Armless Octopus Bloody Tentacle Award of the Week
Little Racers STREET – Dave
This is the best value on XBLIG this year. It’s one of the deepest games on the platform with a world that is beautiful, cars which handle wonderfully, and gameplay that will suck you in or hours. Milkstone Studios has a history of creating some of the most prrofessional looking games on XBLIG, and their latest release further reinforces that idea. At $1 it’s hard to find a better deal in the past year on XBLIG. Whether you’re a racing fan or not, you’re sure to find something to appreciate within this indie gem.
We Recommend
Ocean Drive Challenge – Erron
It has a distinct feeling of something like Rad Racer, down to the odd sticky-driving, slow-down mechanic, and heaps of traffic on the road. It’s a play at nostalgia that’s definitely worth a look.
Avatar Grand Prix 2 – Dave
In a sentence: AGP2 is Mario Kart 64. And that’s a good thing! It handles similarly, offers multicolored transparent boxes scattered throughout the race which contain power-ups, and a number of tracks that can also be played in reverse. It even has online multiplayer for up to 8 people. Who’s ready for another Community Game Night?
Gold Digger The Comic 1-7 – Mike
As the title implies, this isn’t a game, it’s a collection the first seven Gold Digger comics. I’m not all too familiar with the series, but a quick glance at uh taught me that it’s “the second most extensive, long-running, entirely original creator-controlled, self-contained North American comicbook in history.” That’s pretty damn impressive, and while I wasn’t able to get a strong feeling for the actual quality in just a few minutes, I can say that the artwork looked great on the screen, and using the thumbsticks to move and zoom in and out worked pretty well. It’s an interesting experiment, and seven issues for a buck is a really good deal.
Defy Gravity Extended – Erron
This is an interesting take on a platformer, but the right-stick aiming is too fast and loose to be precise. Still, the concepts behind it are solid, so it may be worth a look. (Ed. Note: this is an update to one of the best indies of last year, so of course it’s worth a look!)
Ninja Sneaking 2 – Taylor
Ninja Sneaking 2 is really an action platformer with a bit of stealth gameplay thrown in. You’ll have to avoid the line of sight of enemies, but more than that you will also need to navigate the levels with extreme precision. It’s a bit tough, but worth a try.
Dark Reign Redux – Dave
A big time RTS on XBLIG you say? Why yes, yes it is. This remake, originally published by Activision on the PC in the mid 90s is pretty fitting for the platform. Rightfully so, RTS games have a bad rap on consoles due to the asinine control schemes which translate poorly from the PC’s mouse and keyboard setup. Fortunately, this one actually gets it right. It can be confusing at first, but the tutorial does a competent job of explaining it all. It’s a bit steep at $5, but fans of RTS games will find enjoyment here.
Other Releases
3D Stereo Studio – Mike – I don’t actually own those old blue and red 3D glasses, so I couldn’t properly “play” this game. It’s basically just a collection of 36 objects that pop out at you with the glasses on, so it’s Magic Eye without staring at the page.
StardustHunterPopoy – Mike – You play as a little gnome on the bottom of the screen and move left and right collecting stars that fall from the sky. It’s agonizingly simple, and the stars move so slowly. I went through the entire demo without missing a single one.
Who’s the Daddy? 2 – Dave – Silver Dollar Games strikes again with their FMV antics, and this time it’s pretty entertaining. A woman utilizes IV fertilization and now wants you to tell her who the daddy is. She’s a bit drunk, and has a difficult time remembering who it is, so it’s up to you to narrow down the choices. You do so by eliminating pictures of the suitors as she recalls the night with a series of hints. If you enjoy simple FMV games, then it’s certainly for you; otherwise, skip it.
Worlds Best FREAKING Card Game – Dan – For a game titled “World’s Best Freaking Card Game” it’s really not. While the idea of taking solitaire and making it multiplayer is…unique, the end result falls short of anything resembling fun.
Diamond Diggers – Taylor – This is a pretty standard puzzle game. You have to arrange the board in order to drop the diamond. The puzzles are well designed, but it gets a little old.
MegaUP: Upload If You Can! – Mike – When you’re trying to churn out a game based on current events, I guess you have to stick with some generic templates. It’s a random running game where you can only jump, hit boxes are impossible to determine, and “restart” seems to mean the same as “next.”
TurboRocket3 – Mike – I seem to recall recommending TurboRocket 2 a few months ago, but I can’t go down that street again with the third iteration. I literally thought I started up TR2 at first because this looks exactly the same.
Kiss Kiss – Dan – Answer trivia questions while a pair of CG boobs bounce around on the right side of the screen… If I wanted to see CG breasts bounce around, I’d look them up on the Internet. I’m not willing to pay money for it and I’m dang sure not interested in answering trivia questions during the “show.”
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