8 Games Worth Playing, 2011 Edition - Part 2

Here are the other four out of eight games I've played and enjoyed in the past year since writing the previous installment.

You can check out part one for the first four games if you haven't already.

1. Captain Forever - the first in series of abstract space shooters. You pilot a spaceship and try to survive & improve your ship by attaching components salvaged from enemy ships into your own.
2. vvvvvv - a retro-chic platformer with a great chiptune soundtrack. The main twist on usual side scroller mechanics is your ability to inverse gravity. The game is short but very enjoyable (and hard!).
3. Chime - a puzzle game that seems like a cross between Tetris and ToneMatrix. Your goal is to cover as much of the playing field as you can before the time runs out by placing blocks & forming "quads". The position of the blocks determines the procedurally generated tune - unfortunately the musical part is purely aesthetic and has no influence on the gameplay.
4. Ascii Sector - labeled a free space combat/exploration/trading game by its creators, it combines Elite & roguelike gameplay in a huge game world where you alternate between interacting with NPCs planet-side, flying in your spaceship & engaging in interstellar trade.

8 Games Worth Playing, 2011 Edition - Part 1

Here are four out of eight more games I've played and enjoyed in the past year since writing the previous installment.

Same as before - these games aren't all brand new, but I've only gotten around to playing (or finishing) them in the past 12 months:

1. His Dark Majesty - a Turn Based Strategy game inspired by Advanced Wars and Battle for Wesnoth for 8-bit Ataris(!). You start every turn moving your miscellaneous fantasy-themed units (such as archers, knights and catapults) and attacking the enemy units. A lot of the strategy depends on correctly positioning your troops for the attack & retreating your wounded before they are killed. Surprisingly enough, His Dark Majesty remains a truly enjoyable game long after the novelty of playing an Atari 8 bit game wears off.
2. Revenge of the Titans - the game pits itself as a mix RTS and tower defense, and manages to become greater than the sum of its parts. You have to position defensive towers and buildings in strategic choke points against the approaching titans, add support add-ons to boost their powers and mine the minerals for money before the time runs out. A really nice twist on old genre. It is easy to start playing this game but very difficult to stop!
3. Steambirds - a turn based strategy game (can you detect a pattern?) where you control fusion-powered airplanes in a fictional world war against the onslaught of enemy planes and zeppelins. Unlike His Dark Majesty, Steambirds is not grid based and the main challenge lies in setting your speed and trajectory beforehand on in order to gain an advantageous position against the other aircrafts.
4. desktop dungeons - part roguelike, part puzzle game, this is truly an original creation. Pick your race & class and venture forth into a single screen dungeon where all enemies remain stationary and various items and spells are spread across the level. Going into a previously unseen tile regenerates your health and mana and creates an unusual playing experience.

Coming up in the next installment: Captain Forever, vvvvvv, chime & Ascii Sector.

Funding is Complete

Funding for Cardinal Quest has ended, and the money was transferred to my account yesterday.

I have received $4,800 ($4,421 after 8bf's 5% fee + paypal transaction fees) which should go a long way in helping finishing the game.

We are working on it now (I am working on it full time and the others work on it part time) & hope to start beta-testing the new version by the end of the month.

If any of you is interested in beta testing, or used 8-Bit Funding to pledge for Cardinal Quest and did not receive an email from me, please contact me or leave a message here.

-Ido.