Game Critique Redux: Super Meat Boy

In December 2010, one of my all-time favorite games was released. I remember hearing little murmurs here and there about this game earlier that year. It was another one of those New Grounds flash games that was about to make it to the big time. I mostly dismissed it, but the game stayed in the back of my mind, if only because of its weirdness. Finally, towards the end of October it released, and at the promotional price of $10, no less. So I thought "What the hell, why not give it a try?" and I downloaded the demo. I nearly passed it up because I thought it would be too difficult for me to enjoy. I've never been more wrong. And so a game I almost didn't give a chance ended up becoming my Game of the Year pick for 2010. I am, of course, talking about Super Meat Boy.

Review Redux: SteamWorld Dig

These days, I typically avoid anything with "dig" in the title because that implies that the game has some sort of crafting component. Show me a guy with an axe and you basically show me the door. I saw SteamWorld Dig on the 3DS eShop last year and completely ignored it. In the interim, I actually read what the game was about and became pretty interested. When I heard there would be a cross-buy version for the PS4 and Vita, I jumped right on it and got a PS+ discount to boot!

Review Redux: Shovel Knight

The year was 198X. A small but dedicated development team was creating the ultimate NES game that drew from the most popular titles of the time while introducing some innovative new mechanics. Mere weeks away from shipping, the team came into work and their game was gone. Not a trace of it was found. No concept art, no music tracks, no design documents, no computer files. Nothing. Fast forward to 2013. New development studio Yacht Club Games asks for $75,000 to create a game called Shovel Knight. But Yacht Club held a dark secret. They didn't use the money to create Shovel Knight; they used the money to build a time machine. And with that time machine, they traveled back in time to 198X and stole the development materials for Shovel Knight, modified it to run on modern platforms, and took all the credit.

STEALER

Here's one to look out for.

The Mac version of Dusforce is broken... but you should still buy it

I picked up the just released Mac version of Dustforce today, the indie platformer about the war on filth. Unfortunately, the game is completely unplayable. It loads up and the sound works but... that's it. Apparently, I'm not alone with this problem and the devs say they're working on it. In the mean time, head on over to the Steam forums and give them your info if you're having the same problem. If you don't have the game but are interested in the Mac version, I suggest you pick it up anyway because it's part of Steam's midweek sale for the next two days. You might as well grab it while it's $5 and wait for the patch. Both versions were updated today with a new level editor.

New footage of Chasing Aurora is lovely

There are 30 minutes left of PAX Prime 2011. My friend and I saw this awesome indie game days before and said we'd come back later to play it. With little time left, we determine to make make it our final game. We wait in line watch a few game. The game is beautiful and looks fun. It was a four player mode in which players chase after the fourth, who holds a magical glowing ball called "aurora". The objective is to steal it and hold on to it as long as you can. It's finally our turn. We sit on the couch of the most comfortable booth a PAX, grab our PS3 controllers, and... technical error. We didn't have enough time to wait for it to be fixed. Mission failed.

This new trailer is the first look at the game's single player mode, which I wasn't even aware of. Chasing Aurora looks even more beautiful than it did all those months ago!

Sword & Sworcery LP goes old school

Sword & Sworcery LP: The Ballad of the Space Babies is the soundtrack to the critically acclaimed Sword & Sworcery EP. The album's been available to download from composer Jim Guthrie's Bandcamp page for quite some time now for. If you want to kick it old school, there's a $30 vinyl edition available for sale that comes with a digital download as well as an original art print (pictured right) by Pendleton Ward, the creator of Adventure Time. This batch is limited to 1,000 copies and started shipping earlier this month. But lots of things come in vinyl nowadays. After all, it's retro chic. But there was also something I wasn't expecting.

Fresh, new FEZ trailer!

Jam packed with standing, rotation, and awesome music by Disasterpeace.

Review: Tower of Heaven

The GameBoy graphics are simple, yet strangely effective.

How did I miss Tower of Heaven when it came out two years ago? How did I miss it again when it was ported to flash with extra content last year? I may be late to the party, but this party is so damn good that I don't care. A lot of us here missed this gem, so the logical conclusion is that it flew under many a radar. Well, I'm here to introduce you. This is Tower of Heaven, and he is a work of art.

PSA: Buy this bundle now!

The Humble Indie Bundle will only be on sale for another day and sixteen hours at the time of this posting. I suggest you get it while you still can and help support indie developers as well as charity. It's a pay what you want package containing six indie games that are DRM free and compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux. The lineup includes: World of Goo, Gish, Aquaria, Lugaru, Penumbra Overture, and the recently added Samorost 2. Honestly, I hadn't heard of any of these besides World of Goo (this is my third copy) and Gish (which I have never played). And, once again, you can name your price. I'd suggest you snag this deal before it's gone and give your monies to a good cause. Whatever you can spare helps charity and indie game developers.

Band of the Month: Machinae Supremacy

So the planned band of the month for February didn't work out too well. Here's the replacement. Remember that band Anamanaguchi that I mentioned a few weeks back? Remember how awesome they were? Well these guys are 10x more awesome. They are a self-defined SID Metal band from Sweden that kicks major ass. What is SID Metal, you ask? Machinae Supremacy uses a SID chip in their music. That's the sound chip from the old Commodore 64 video game system. You'd think with a name like Machinae Supremacy they'd be some sort of really heavy screamo band. But no, these guys sing about, cover, and have even contributed to video games. The best way to describe their sound is F-Zero. Like I said, awesome.

Indie Week: Advance Review: Broken Bells

To close out Indie Week, I have for you an advance review of the debut album from Broken Bells! I'm sure you can't contain yourself. What's that? You can't get excited because you don't know who they are? Well allow me to introduce you:

Broken Bells is an American indie rock band featuring artist–producer Danger Mouse (billed by his real name, Brian Burton) and James Mercer the lead vocalist and guitarist for the indie rock band The Shins. The project was first announced on Tuesday, September 29, 2009. The pair decided to work together after meeting at a Danish music festival in 2004 and finding they were fans of each others work. Mercer and Burton began recording together in secret at Burton's Los Angeles based studio in March 2008 and describe their material as "melodic, but experimental, too".

Now are you excited?

Indie Week: Feersum Ennjin

Tool is one of my very favorite bands. Imagine how excited I was to find a new band formed by Tool's former bassist Paul D'Amour. Very much so. And guess what? They're awesome.

Indie Week: A Brief Smile

 

I recently discovered these guys and their music started to grow on me. Then I found out that they are now no more. That's disappointing, but I'm highlighting them here because not only is their music good, but the band still lives on spiritually as Sea Monster. As such, official info is hard to come by. They're not on Wikipedia and their website hasn't been updated since last July. I do know they're from New York, though. Anyway, last summer they released three EPs of three songs each, which were apparently their last work before becoming Sea Monster. I'll be reviewing them today and if you like what you hear, then you might want to check out Sea Monster. They have a brand new EP out (new as in last week) and you can download it for free on the band's website. 

Indie Week: Anamanaguchi

I could provide an actual photo of the band, but that would ruin the awesomeness. Plus, this one has an octopus. Anamanaguchi is probably the most unique band we'll be highlighting all week. They don't just make any old music, they make 8-bit music. Just as a note, this is to make up for my lack of update yesterday.

Indie Week: Animal Kingdom

animal kingdom are four

geoff, wayne, hamish, rich

skins, strings and sings

currently holed up somewhere cold and westward

they make wintery music that's strange, dark and beautiful

when it's done, you should come have a listen

That's the official bio for the band. It's been written in verse for some reason. You can probably tell Animal Kingdom already has a unique personality of their own. And they've got music to match.

Indie Week: Psyche Origami

Psyche Origami is the thinking man's rap music. You may not have heard of Psyche Origami, but chances are you have heard them. They are one of numerous artists featured during [adult swim] bumps. But if that's all you've heard of them, you're missing out. The real unique thing about Psyche Origami is the lyrics. Their second album, The Standard, for example, is a concept album that uses the idea that the body is a vehicle to focus on a metaphorical gas station as a pit stop on the road of life. I'll give you a minute to pick up the pieces of your mind which has obviously just been blown.

Indie Week: Stratospheerius

Since this week is Music Month, I figured the month should start off with Indie Week, in which we highlight a different indie, new, or relatively unknown artist and review some of their work. To start out, here's Stratospheerius. Why them? Because I just happened to be listening to them, that's why.