The Humble Indie Bundle packages a group of independent games together and lets people pay what they want to help charity. This time around, the fourth Humble Bundle surpassed the third making it the most successful bundle to date.
Bit.Trip Runner is an interesting game to say the least. Your character runs automatically and it is up to you to avoid obstacles by jumping, ducking, kicking, and “springing” on special platforms. If you’re still having trouble visualizing it, think games like Canabalt or Adult Swim’s Robot Unicorn Attack. Runner is a great 8-bit throwback with its crazy pixel art and catchy chiptune soundtrack. Even though it is hard as nails and not for the faint of heart, Runner is a very entertaining title and will keep you coming back for more punishment.
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Name: Bit.Trip Runner
Available on: PC, Mac OSX, Linux, Wiiware, 3DS
Developed by: Gaijin Games
Published by: Aksys Games
Release date: February 28, 2011
EG Score: 4 out of 5 / “Worth Buying”
If you are a fan of “Metroidvania” style games, Cave Story is right up your alley. You play as a boy who wakes up in a cave and has no choice but to explore it and find out what is going on. Once you start exploring you won’t be able to stop. While it doesn’t look like much at first glance, Cave Story is full of content. During your adventure you will unravel a great story filled with interesting characters, and use awesome weapons against some very strange enemies and bosses. In the end, all I really need to say about this game is “jetpack.”
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Name: Cave Story
Available on: PC, Mac OSX, Linux, Wiiware, DSiWare, 3DS
Developed by: Studio Pixel
Published by: Studio Pixel
Release date: March 22, 2010
EG Score: 5 out of 5 / “Worth Buying”
This game threw me a curve ball. Instead of taking part in these space battles, Gratuitous Space Battles puts you in charge of planning what ships to use against the enemy and watching the battle play out. You have a budget for each battle and can choose from a few different size ships, but in most cases the larger ships will outmuscle the smaller ones so the strategy doesn’t usually change much. Multiplayer spices things up a little. You can set up a fleet for others to challenge, or you can try to defeat someone else’s fleet, and while it’s not action packed you can still take pride in your victories. However, if you’re looking forward to flying ships and blowing stuff up, this game is not for you.
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Name: Gratuitous Space Battles
Available on: PC, Mac OSX, Linux
Developed by: Positech Games
Published by: Positech Games
Release date: November 17, 2009
EG Score: 3 out of 5 / “Worth Buying / Worth Trying”
Jamestown is one of two games in this bundle we have previously reviewed, but another quick one won’t hurt. This game is a top-down shooter with a unique story about Sir Walter Raleigh and company fighting the Spanish and their Martian allies… on Mars. Armed with a few different types of ships, Jamestown will take you through some unique environments while fighting a diverse group of enemies along the way. The only problem with the game is the force-fed difficulty increase, which makes you go back and complete levels on higher difficulties before it unlocks new ones. However, that can be easily overlooked because the levels are not that long, and the game is a lot of fun, especially with some friends.
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Name: Jamestown: Legend of the Lost Colony
Available on: PC, Mac OSX, Linux
Developed by: Final Form Games
Published by: Final Form Games
Release date: June 8, 2011
EG Score: 4 out of 5 / “Worth Buying”
We have to have at least one relaxing puzzle game on here, right? NightSky is a physics based game where you control a ball through environments that look foreboding, but relaxing at the same time. Depending on the level, the ball can have powers like speeding up, slowing down, or changing the level’s gravity. You will see some puzzles repeated on parts of stages, but each stage is fun to play through, some are pretty challenging at times, and if you perfect those there are even harder versions of each stage.
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Name: NightSky
Available on: PC, Mac OSX, Linux
Developed by: Nicklas Nygren
Published by: Nicalis
Release date: January 6, 2011
EG Score: 4 out of 5 / “Worth Buying”
Shank is a 2D hack-and-slash game, and like the name implies, it is very violent. Under its cartoony exterior, immensely satisfying combo-driven combat mechanics are there to greet you. There are buttons for light weapons, heavy weapons and guns and once you get the hang of the combat system you will have tons of fun slashing and shooting your way through levels. However, the bosses are hit and miss, and some of the combat animations seem to get hung up from time to time causing you to be wide open for an enemy attack instead of blasting him in the face with your shotgun. Shank has its frustrating moments, but the awesome stuff you can do with the combat makes up for it.
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Name: Shank
Available on: PC, Mac OSX, Linux, PS3, XBOX 360
Developed by: Klei Entertainment
Published by: Electronic Arts
Release date: October 26, 2010
EG Score: 4 out of 5 / “Worth Buying”
It’s no secret that Super Meat Boy is a favorite among the Elder-Geek staff. Where else can you find a block of meat trying to save “Bandage Girl” from “Dr. Fetus?” Nowhere, that’s where. Partner the laugh out loud story with some punishingly difficult 2D platforming and you have yourself a must own title. The style of the game is also very noteworthy. The look of the game is a great throwback to 16-bit, and sometimes even 8-bit, games and the music is an awesome rock/electronic mix. We reviewed Super Meat Boy back before we had the Elder’s Choice Award, so now is the perfect time to give it that award because we still can’t find anything wrong with it.
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Name: Super Meat Boy
Available on: PC, Mac OSX, Linux, XBOX 360
Developed by: Team Meat
Release date: October 20, 2010
EG Score: 5 out of 5 / “Worth Buying – Elder’s Choice”