FUUUUUUUUUUU

This blog hasn't gotten any updates for...wow, 11 days? Has it been that long already? I guess work, a side project and blogger seemingly being down for what seemed like three days has taken its toll on continuity.


What's more, my computer's on the fritz right now, so I can't really play any new games to review...so I've decided to do a little bit of low end gaming. By low end, I don't mean playing older games you never played while they were new, although that obviously has more than its fair share of merits. There's classics out there you missed, and I will be doing a post on that at some point. What I'll be doing now, though, is exploring some gameplay gems, some indie, some not, that due to lack of marketing budget or focus on gameplay rather than shiny graphics have received less acclaim on release but have, over time, built a vehemently enthusiastic fanbase. But, what exactly does indie mean, someone may ask. Well, indie is nothing more than an affectionate way of saying independent. Games made by one or a handful of people without an agenda, without aiming to make as much money as possible without caring about the quality or fun factor of the end result (cough cough Electronic Arts cough). A throwback to the days of bedroom coding of yore, if you will. Let's break it down.

Games such as Death Worm, an indie instant classic. A game of simple yet addictive gameplay, of basic but functional graphics, of annoying midi music in the background, a game of many, many minutes wasted. The premise of the game? You control a giant, Dune-like worm burrowing through the ground out there in some desert. Your goal, to eat enough unlucky people or animals to grow in size as much as possible. Of course, the military eventually gets called in to deal with you. So, of course, you eat them too, and the circle begins anew.

Or, games such as One Chance. I personally consider this one of the finest slices of the gaming pie. It's extremely captivating as a story, it's heartbreaking, it's arty, its gameplay simpler than Space Invaders, for crying out loud. And, at the center of it, the idea that really sets it apart from games such as Braid (more on that later): you can't lose the game, but you also only get one playthrough*. Well, normally, at least.


*Someone pointed out that this is borrowed from Every Day The Same Dream, but still.

Some other fine examples of low end gaming follow: the time-manipulating puzzle platformer Braid, which, unusually for a game of its ilk, has a very human story at its core. And it looks so beautiful. In the same vein, more mischievous and funny but less involving, perhaps, is the Misadventures of P. B. Winterbottom, another puzzle platformer in which you control a self-replicating shifty man whose goal is to gobble down as many pies as possible. I couldn't be making this up.

Another game that should not under any circumstances go unmentioned is World of Goo, a puzzle game spin-off of the freeware Tower of Goo. That wondrous puzzle game that can't really be adequately described, although I'll give it a shot: you use a limited number of blobs of goo to build structures so you can reach the exit with enough goo balls to meet the level's quota. Of course, it gets much more complex than that eventually, when new types of goo balls are introduced and the more complex the levels become. A simple-core gameplay, becoming more and more complex as the puzzles become more difficult, without ever becoming tedious. And, of course, a huge factor in this game is the art style: from the lovable goo balls and levels, to the Tim Burton/Danny Elfman-esque soundtrack, to the dystopian story in the background, this game is simply unmissable.


And I can't not mention Popcap, that little games studio that has produced such gems like Bejeweled, Zuma, Peggle, Bookworm Adventures and their shining tip of the spear, Plants Vs Zombies. All of these simple, intuitive and addicting games. and, most of all, fun. Go on, see if you can guess the core point of each game based on just one screenshot.

Yes, you switch gems around to make stacks of identical gems.

Yes, you shoot coloured balls to make series of three-or-more coloured balls and eliminate all of them before they reach the hole.

Yes, you use a limited amount of balls to shoot all the red pegs.

Yes, you use letters to form words and defeat your opponents.

Yes, you place plants in your yard to fend off a zombie horde.

These may sound way too simple, or downright silly. These are just knock-offs of Tower Defense, Tetris, Arkanoid, Flipull, and Scrabble, right? Wrong. They are so much more than that, silly as it may seem. I downright scoffed when I first read about Plants Vs Zombies, but damn if it hasn't become one of my favourite games ever. What's more, they're filled to their proverbial brim with different game modes, mini games, twists on their core mechanic and fun, fun, fun. More fun for your buck on your computer you can get without involving naked ladies.


These are not in any way the only gems in that treasure chest. This is just a small sample. I more than urge to you to delve in there and see what you can find. Some are shareware, some are freeware, some low-cost commercial games made not by blundering behemoths, but gamers just like you and me. The least you could do is giving them a shot.