In an industry where every successful indie title requires a powerful story or a unique art style to achieve media attention equal to that of blockbuster studios, Knightmare Tower is a breath of fresh air. This is a game purely focused on having fun by being incredibly addicting. Knightmare Tower by Juicy Beast brings players back to a time where it was common practice to sneak into the high school library and play on the (likely outdated) computers, and it is absolutely perfect.

It is difficult to describe why Knightmare Tower is so great, but you play as a knight and you get to pummel dragons in the face. The player’s primary goal is to save ten princesses who have been kidnapped and locked in a massive tower. Instead of simply taking the stairs, our hero launches himself from a barrel and gains speed by slaying each monster along the way. Failing to hit a monster results in losing friction, and if you miss too many times, the risk of falling into lava becomes greater.

The simple mechanics are reminiscent of the flash games of yore in a sense that Juicy Beast fixates on the “Less Is More” ideology. It works wonderfully, of course. The music is over the top and the art style is aesthetically similar to that of Behemoth’s Castle Crashers. The developers acknowledge that this is a very silly experience, but the bells and whistles are part of what makes Knightmare Tower so much fun. It all blends together seamlessly, and nothing feels out of place in this gravity-defying adventure.

More importantly, Knightmare Tower is addicting. The player earns gold for each turn, and depending on the performance, a better score means more gold. Gold can purchase any number of items including armor that can take more damage, or boots that increase the player’s overall speed. By the end of the journey, your roughshod knight will look like a valiant warrior. This is not to say that the game is without challenges, however. Knightmare Tower is very easy to pick up but it can be difficult to master. Certain levels of skill and timing are required to beat the game’s later levels, but it is a steady stream of progression that anyone can jump into without feeling overburdened. Not only that, but it is quite rewarding to beat your previous score with each turn.

Knightmare Tower succeeds at everything it attempts. While the journey to the top is not without its fair share of challenges, the smooth gameplay and silly artistic landscape make the climb a much more enjoyable experience. Plus, Knightmare Tower is cheap. It is on Steam for $3.99, and it is available on iOS, Android, and OUYA as well. Juicy Beast gives players a great product at an affordable price, and I can not give it enough of the praise it deserves. The bottom line? Knightmare Tower provides hours of fun and is easily one of the best indie games available right now.

To purchase Knightmare Tower and check out more from Juicy Beast, feel free to check them out here.

Overall Rating: ★★★★★ 

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

The entire premise is, for lack of a better word, ridiculous. The developers even tell us that this is a completely pointless game riddled with bugs and glitches, but that’s okay. Goat Simulator is not a commentary on the videogame industry, nor is it a satire for poor game design. Goat Simulator is an entirely different animal altogether. This is a game which not only tells us that we should wait until it goes on sale, Coffee Stain Studios even admits that we would be better off buying a hula hoop. Many will argue that Goat Simulator is merely exploiting its absurdity and sense of self-deprecation as a selling point. Others might say that this is a chilling reflection on the game development cycle as a whole. The scholars will likely argue about the underlying messages of Goat Simulator for the next three years – all I know is that you are an indestructible goat on a jetpack.

YOLO

There are no objectives in Goat Simulator. You simply move around in a poorly rendered suburbia and cause as much mayhem as possible. There are trampolines in swimming pools, giant slides, an indoor skate park, and a gas station which is just begging to be tampered with. Explosions and greatly exaggerated animations ensure that players are always one hoof away from complete and utter chaos. The small town is a sandbox in which players entertain themselves with whatever tools happen to be at their disposal. In one instance, I dragged an unsuspecting hillbilly to the top of a building and used my jetpack to throw him out of the map. Shortly after that, a gas station exploded and my goat was hit by a truck for no reason in particular.

The physics are a major part of the gameplay as well. With the press of a button, your goat can become a ragdoll, which only increases the sense of absurdity. For those who have played Saints Row, it is basically an even more nonsensical version of Insurance Fraud. For those who have not played Saints Row, think of it as a part of the game where gravity simply ceases to exist for the sake of fun. The more anarchy your four-legged beast can create, the more points you acquire. The points mean nothing of course, but it is nice to feel accomplished.

This is how you climb things because reasons.

Unfortunately, the fun dies out fairly early. The first time you cause an explosion by throwing fruit at a car is great, but there really is not much else to laugh at after the initial gags. Absurdity for the sake of absurdity can only go so far before it becomes stale. The truth is that Goat Simulator is at its best when it is being showed to others. There is a certain joy in watching friends react to the notion that goats can ride jetpacks and headbutt gas pumps, yet like a skit on Saturday Night Live, the joke becomes really old in a short amount of time. Luckily, the Steam Workshop will allow for endless possibilities in the future, but as it stands the base game is very limited in a world that should have no limits.

This is a game that doesn’t just break the fourth wall – it completely destroys the whole house. Coffee Stain Studios is definitely going to create a cult following with any future projects. I would love to dive deeper into Goat Simulator, however there really isn’t much else to say. The game does not take itself seriously whatsoever, and the slapstick comedy is certainly welcome in an industry that is constantly out to prove that games can be art. Goat Simulator is entertaining, but the joke dies so quickly that you are better off taking the developer’s own advice and waiting for it to go on sale.

Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

What does this score mean?

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

In Turf Raiders, you play as the leader of a horde of blue kitty commandos (they look more like squirrel…bear…things to me, but hey! Still cute!) on a mission to collect energy cubes known as gluons which power your defenses against the diabolical red dog hoards. In order to do this, you and your enemy take turns playing cards that have a variety of abilities, such as summoning units to the grid-like field, moving your own or your opponent’s units, or even getting rid of your opponent’s units! Each part of the grid yields certain items, such as gluons or cash which is essential to being able to play cards at all. In essence, Turf Raiders is a tactical area control game in a vein similar to the classic board game Risk.

Despite its strategic leanings, Turf Raiders is simple and easy to learn. After a few tutorial levels, the player is thrown right into over forty different missions which all feature different field layouts and enemies that get increasingly aggressive. While it’s a free game, there is an in-app currency that allows you to buy ‘Perks’: one-use items such as extra cash or cards to give you an edge over your opponent. I found that I usually had enough of the currency available that I didn’t really need to opt for actually buying more.

Turf Raiders feels like a game that appears simple but actually hides complex and engaging strategy beneath the surface. If only this were true. The game is awkward, teetering on the edge between something casual and light and something deeper, something that I need to sit down and consider. There are elements which are annoyingly slow, such as having to touch the screen every time both my opponent and I draw a new hand.  The cash as the beginning of my turn takes way too long to auto-gather to me. I end up just touching on the little sprites myself to have them available faster. These are, admittedly, minor grievances, but the constant touching for aspects that should be automatic wore down on me. It was tough to continue in this war of attrition, having to convince myself to play the next mission and deal with the weird slowness of it all.

I like cute games with adorable characters, but maybe Turf Raiders was also a little too cute for me. The bouncy music became repetitive, speeding up to a stressful crescendo at odd intervals, leading me to eventually turning it off. Overall, I was saddened that Turf Raiders became an unpleasant, tedious experience for me. Perhaps some tightening up of certain mechanics and a little more variation in music and animations would improve the experience, but for now this is a game I’d rather skip.

Turf Raiders Card Battle is free and available in the Google Play Store. You can find more information on the developer’s website.

Overall Rating: ★★☆☆☆ 

What does this score mean?

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Khaba at first seems like a simple enough puzzle game. Using statuettes and mirrors, players reflect and direct a beam of light onto a door which leads to the next level. It is a simple and logical concept that would probably become boring after a while if not for all the little tricks and additions Hello There pulls off. There are other doors acting as obstacles in your path that can only be opened by directing light towards certain orbs. Some of these doors remain open, while others close up again if the direction of the light is changed.

A few levels in, another type of light is introduced as well: dark light. The beam of dark light can only be activated if the beam of sunlight continually hits a blue orb. Both of these kinds of light must be used in tandem to reach the final door, but there are a few conditions. There’s only a limited amount of reflecting statuettes and mirrors, and the dark light and sunlight cannot use these objects simultaneously. What at first seems like a simple game ends up offering a satisfyingly cerebral challenge as players have to test out different set ups and figure out in what order to open certain doors and other obstacles. Unfortunately for some, the sheer level of challenge might put them off. Khaba has a few tutorial levels followed by some levels with a fairly reasonable difficulty curve, but then suddenly ramps up the difficulty to a point that might end up causing a lot of frustration. A few levels definitely forced me to walk away for a bit and try to come back later with a different perspective. This isn’t exactly conducive to quick bouts of gaming on the go, but might appeal to someone looking for a hard puzzle when they have a meatier chunk of time available to them.

Besides its difficult and cerebral puzzles, what sets Khaba apart from a lot of mobile puzzle games is that it features a fully voic-acted narrative tied into the puzzle mechanic. Players take the role of Michael, an explorer seeking vast treasures and excitement within the pyramids. Mysteries abound as Michael ventures deeper into the pyramids, and it actually ends up being a neat little story. Besides small “cutscenes”, collectable scarabs are introduced which not only add another element of challenge to the puzzles, but also give up more tidbits of the overall narrative. These aren’t mandatory to collect, but offer an extra reward for players that find interest in the story. Probably my only nitpick story-wise is that Michael’s voice acting is a bit cheesy, but not so much that it really detracts from the game.

However, my biggest issue with the game is its touch controls. I have small hands and I still found myself getting frustrated when the game would misinterpret my finger touches and I would end up moving statuettes entirely when I just wanted to change the direction of the light beams. Certain parts also required an amount of precision that had me re-doing things so many times because objects would move when I lifted my finger up from the screen. This is mainly a problem with playing Khaba on a mobile device with a smaller screen though–playing the game on a tablet was significantly easier. Nevertheless, I found myself wishing there was also a desktop version as the idea of playing this game with a mouse really appeals to me.

So, while not for folks looking for a lighter puzzle game to play on short car rides or on quick breaks in between other obligations, Khaba does provide for folks looking for something with a little more substance in their mobile gaming needs. If you can get past the sometimes frustrating controls, Khaba is a real treat. The game is available for both iOS and Android tablets and mobile devices, and more information about it can be found on the developer’s website.

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ 

What does this score mean?

An Android review copy of the game was provided by the developer for that purpose.

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

We’ve entered the new year, so it’s high time we started to look at the cool, creepy, and downright strange games hoping to find success in 2014. So, we gathered together around the Indie Mine table, and came up with a list of our most anticipated releases this year.

Spy Party

Ever wanted to shoot someone at a fancy soiree? Well Spy Party offers the ability to do just that with two players assuming two very different roles. The first is an assassin with a single bullet on a mission to murder an unsuspecting party-goer. The second role is occupied by the spy who must complete a series of challenges whilst mingling amongst a sea of NPC’s and remaining anonymous to the ever-watching scope of their would-be killer. The game’s focus on keen observation, perception, and crafty use of psychology helps create this ‘battle of wits’ atmosphere, making each round as tense as the last

Spy Party is currently in open beta, and available to buy now for $15

Magecite

2D side-scrolling RPG platforming is the name of the game in Magicite from student developer Sean Young. You assume the role of a beleaguered human, removed from your home and forced underground by an evil scourge. Whilst taking refuge in the tunnels below the surface, you discover an ancient system of caves filled with magical creatures and ancient gods. You and a group of friends can gather together and plunder the depths, fighting baddies and looting treasure on the way. Expect procedurally generated caves, boss battles, character progression and perma-death in this neat looking action RPG.

Assault Android Cactus

Arcade games were awesome back in the day, and the developers of Assault Android Cactus know this. So much so that they’re making their own bullet hell title… with 100% more robots. Assume command of a number of unique characters, each equipped with different weapons and tactics to take on the hordes. Paired with an addictive rank system and leaderboards, AAC is great fun even in its current state and will be one to watch for when it’s finished.

Assault Android Cactus is currently available on Steam Early Access for $14.99

Chroma Squad

Chroma Squad is a unique spin on the tactical ‘XCOM’ turn-based combat game genre. In essence, you assume control of a TV studio, and you must manage its production of a Sentai TV series (think Power Rangers). Buy new equipment for the shows production, ‘fight’ over-the-top menaces of the galaxy, and even square off against other ‘shows’ in multiplayer ‘episodes’.

No Man’s Sky

No Man’s Sky was revealed to the world during last year’s controversial VGX awards and whilst most of the show will fade into a distant memory, this game definitely left a lasting impression. With promises of an ever expanding universe, No Man’s Sky is set to be a big deal. Details are sketchy at best right now, but we do know that this is a space/planet exploration game in which everything is procedurally generated. Everyone will start their adventure on the outskirts of the universe, with the goal of making it to the centre for reasons unknown.

Volume

Volume is pegged as a retelling of the Robin Hood legend set in the near future, so expect more robots and neon glow to go along with your ‘steal from the rich’ narrative. As hero Locksley, you’ll be sneaking through each level avoiding crossbow wielding robot patrols and stealing everything on your path to the exit. Those familiar with the Metal Gear Solid series will feel noticeable similarities with the gameplay in Volume, as the game draws influences from Kojima’s earlier releases. Bundle all this with some great voice talent (Danny Wallace, Charlie McDonnell) and it’s easy to see why you should be watching this one.

Starbound

There’s a good chance you’ve already played this game considering the pre-orders alone breached the $1 million mark. Now currently available in a beta state on Steam’s Early Access, Starbound is set to make waves in 2014. The game is akin to Terraria in that it’s cast in a side-scrolling 2D view and shares a heavy focus on exploration and resource gathering. You’ll also find yourself sailing across the stars in a huge procedurally generated universe. Jump from planet to planet as you search for new equipment, new species and a new home. The game includes both single and multiplayer modes, allowing a number of friends to explore the universe together in what has so far been an enjoyable experience.

Starbound is available on Steam Early Access for $14.99 and is currently in its beta phase.

Son of Nor

If you’ve ever wanted to set giant rocks on fire and throw them at lizard men in the desert, Son of Nor is the game for you. Featuring a unique telekinesis and element manipulation mechanic, you’ll be expected to utilize every aspect of your surroundings to fight off your reptilian overlords and solve a variety of physics based puzzles. Multiplayer will also feature in the game and will include a number of extra abilities to make it more interesting like the newly introduced spell fusions. These allow you to combine the elements into bigger and better spells.

Son of Nor is still being developed and planned for release in Q2 this year, but you can purchase a $5 ‘Sandbox demo’ if you can’t wait that long.

The Witness

The latest project from fan favourite ‘Indie Darling’ Jonathan Blow, The Witness is an homage to the older days of exploration and discovery. Drawing from the MYST series, the game aims to allow the player to advance at their own pace, progressing as they solve puzzles and venture deeper into the island. Little more is known about The Witness other than we’ll be seeing it launch on PC and PS4 simultaneously, with an IOS version planned afterwards.

The Forest

As if getting lost in a forest wasn’t bad enough, The Forest introduces a bunch of genetically mutated wood-folk into the mix to add that extra ‘Oh crap!’ factor. Explore the lush undergrowth during the day as you scavenge for food and supplies. Once night falls you can expect your jolly through the woods to take a much more sinister turn. With full Oculus Rift support, The Forest is sure to have us on the edge of our seats.

Transistor

Creators of the isometric narrative-action game Bastion are onto their second endeavour now with Transistor, a sci-fi action RPG focused on a mysterious weapon of great power. Framed in a similar style to Bastion, the game will showcase some of the most loved aspects of its predecessor as you seek out the mysteries behind the Transistor’s previous owners and unlock the secrets of its power.

Overgrowth

Rabbit ninjas fighting each other to the death? Yes please! Overgrowth is all about the fluidity of play, from its almost gesture based combat to its parkour platforming, there’s a ton of potential in this game. In its current state, the game is more of a sandbox than anything else, with a robust editor included to make your own fun happen. Eventually we’ll see an entire campaign spring out of Overgrowth, and judging by the content so far it’s going to be bloodier than a screening of Watership Down.

Overgrowth is currently available via Steam Early Access for $29.99

Paradise Lost: First Contact

Metroidvania fans take note as Paradise Lost is something you should already know about. If not, then allow me to implant some knowledge sacs into your body. You play as an unfortunate extraterrestrial, which crash landed onto earth straight into the arms of a shady government organization.  It’s up to you to sneak and slither your way to freedom, using a number of skills and tactics to evade the guards and scientists roaming the facility. Expect an expansive game world, with chambered rooms and loads of content to explore.

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter

The Vanishing of Ethan Carter is set to be a finely polished story driven adventure title from The Astronauts, a small team of ex AAA developers. The narrative centres on Paul Prospero, an occult detective with the ability to peer into the final moments of a murder victim’s life. You must use supernatural detective skills to investigate a series of murders in the picturesque setting of Red Creek Valley. There will be no combat in the game, so expect this to boast a strong focus of what the developers describe as ‘weird fiction’.

The Long Dark

Forged in the fires of post AAA development, a small team of developers hope to create this “first-person post-disaster survival simulation”. In The Long Dark you’ll have to combat the elements and inhabitants of the wild as you struggle to survive in the icy tundra. To go along with the challenges of surviving in the wild, you’ll have to make morally questionable choices as you encounter others in the fight for survival.

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Better put your boots on, there’s treasure to be had on the 26th floor. You probably won’t make it though. The dastardly duo at Robot Loves Kitty made sure there are more dangers than you can shake a +1 mace at, but is the game worth spending countless hours and most of your sanity on?

Legend of Dungeon is a roguelike dungeon crawler that takes no prisoners. The game tasks you with the seemingly simple goal of reaching the 26th floor where gold, diamonds, and other lucrative goodies are just waiting to be hoisted from the depths. Along your journey you’ll be forced to square off against a variety of monsters and traps, most of which will present as simple obstacles. However, with this being a roguelike, not everything is as it seems, and you will often find yourself caught out after underestimating the deadliness of your enemies. This style of play isn’t for everyone, and you will have to shed a good amount of blood before you can stand much chance of reaching the lower levels. Combine that with a randomized layout on each excursion to the depths and you can see why the game appeals to the more masochistic player who likes a challenge.

Throughout each lifetime, you will come across a variety of randomly dropped loot ranging from stat boosting hats to uniquely obscure weapons. On one of my many sessions I stumbled across a Feeble Oculus Rift hat which gave me a handy speed boost, as well as a giant red glowing glaive that would shoot out angry red skulls to seek out my enemies. The items hold some rarity to them, but their usefulness means the player has to decide whether to risk searching further into the side rooms on each level, potentially meeting a grizzly death in the process. When you do finally succumb to death’s common embrace, it’s time to start again from the very beginning.

I would have settled for a sword, but this works too, I guess…

Once you do finally crawl down to that final level, expect to be showered in numerous riches. After you’ve grabbed your fill of the booty, it’s time to  start the second leg of your journey as you progress back towards the surface up the path you came, which has now been inhabited with harder enemies. This way of generating a new experience on each run ensures gameplay remains dynamic, so as to keep that level of uncertainty throughout each session, and in many ways it keeps the game itself from becoming stale and easy. It’s the high level of difficulty in the challenges that are presented which give Legend of Dungeon its appeal, and by causing things to be different each time there’s always a sense of tension when you take your next apprehensive step into the abyss.

Controlling your wary adventurer is a fairly simple matter, given that the levels stretch out on a horizontal plane with some depth. This means you’re always interacting with things that are directly parallel to you along the plane, but never above or below you. By doing this, they’ve made the game feel slightly more restricted for the player, as they have to take into consideration where they are standing in order to attack an enemy or flick a switch.

The game is presented as an homage to the old school style 8-bit graphics, where each sprite is sporting a highly detailed appearance, from the slimes all the way to the grim reapers. The dungeon is brought to life through the use of dynamic lighting, which helps to set the mood for exploring around corners, and in some cases it actually acts as its own hazard where certain rooms are plunged into complete darkness. There’s something quite charming about seeing the shadows of a thousand angry bats cast against the wall as you’re fleeing. It contributes a sense of depth that most games in this genre seem to disregard. This is a dangerous place, and it feels as ominous as it should.

I always bump into the strangest people at night…

Legend of Dungeon also sports a healthy co-op mode, allowing up to 4 local players to join forces in an effort to plunder the depths of the dungeon. By joining forces, the game shifts from a very careful and calculated process of risk vs. reward into a mad dash through the levels as each player sprints for the next big piece of loot. Sure, you’re “supposed” to be a team, but the lure of loot can break the strongest of bonds. I’d sell my friend for a laser beam cat any day. It’s just a shame this mode doesn’t see an online aspect, as not everyone can persuade their friends to join them in the same room.

Unfortunately, some aspects of the game detract from the fun of dungeon diving, holding you back with unnecessary obstacles that could be easily addressed to keep the player better informed about what’s going on with their character. The bottom left of the screen displays a series of digits, including your current health and experience values. These icons are made fairly obvious by being marked with sensible symbols, like a heart for the health bar. Unfortunately, there are certain elements that get absolutely no explanation, through in-game prompts or icons. After a few Google searches, I discovered these mystery numbers to be secondary stats, relating to attack damage, run speed, and armour. It’s understandable that games of this genre don’t hold your hand, and that the enjoyment comes from learning through experience. However, I feel that in this respect some guidance during the starting tavern scene would have been enough to inform the player of each value and its purpose, so that they can make better choices of what loot to equip during their journey.

Legend of Dungeon stands out as a successful venture into the roguelike genre, where my time inside the murky depths was spent in fear and desperation, clambering for the last ray of hope that I might not die in a corner with my hard earned loot. The dynamic lighting and well designed textures help to breathe life into the narrow corridors, and creates an alluring environment for you to explore and eventually die in. There are a few issues with fiddly controls and a lack of information on certain aspects of your character that can cause some unnecessary complications, but these are easily overlooked as you’ll probably be too busy stuffing your pockets full of VR helmets and cats anyway.

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ 

What does this score mean?

This game was reviewed using a copy provided by the developer for that purpose.

If you want to find out more about Legend of Dungeon, check out the trailer video below, the game’s website or their Steam page. You can also follow them on Twitter @RobotLovesKitty.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

In Cubetractor, you take the role of a little blue robot named Endroi that just wants to have fun. Its builders are none too happy, however, as its idea of fun seems to be destroying the local area’s turrets and generators and other such cube constructs by building its own rival ones. Endroi accomplishes this through the method of “cubetracting”–attracting cubes together which act as the materials that form Endroi’s arsenal. For example, bringing a brown block and a ‘claw’ block together forms a power generator, and so on.

Thus the basic shape of the game comes together. It’s a very simple idea with surprising depth and challenge. This is not a straightforward tower offense game, but rather a mix of elements from that genre with those from bullet-hell, puzzle, and real-time strategy games. The defensive constructs are not on a linear path but strewn about in strategic patterns that must be carefully assessed and are, really, one big puzzle to solve. The player must direct Endroi to not only build its own turrets, defensive blockades, generators, and so on, but must also keep it safe by avoiding the fire of the rival turrets. Heck, little Endroi is also vulnerable to getting hurt by its own blocks if you don’t hurry to move it out of the path of one. Luckily, there are little wrenches around that you can gather to fix it and keep on building.

Don’t be fooled by its charming and simplistic pixel art, Cubetractor is hard. This is one of those games that fits the bill of the old saying, “easy to learn, hard to master”. The controls are incredibly simple, and the tutorial is, as you might expect, a breeze. However, the levels quickly become merciless and it’ll take lots of planning and quick reflexes to make it through them. That’s just the basic story levels too. There are optional levels that are even more difficult. On top of that, there are batteries to collect and a timer that will give you a bronze, silver, or gold rating depending both on how quickly you got through the myriad challenges and how intact Endroi came out of them. This provides plenty of reason to go back to previous levels to try and get a higher rating.

As said before, while very simple, the art is intensely delightful and colourful. It feels like a children’s playground, if that playground was littered with cute little robots and turrets that could kill you. The characters, especially Endroi, all raise the sheer likeability of the game with adorable and occasionally funny dialogue and the music is appropriately upbeat and undistracting. Despite how difficult it is, Cubetractor doesn’t wear out its welcome with seemingly unfair frustration. It is, quite simply, an utter pleasure to be around and play.

Cubetractor is available for Windows and Mac both on Steam and directly from the developer’s website.

Overall Rating: ★★★★☆ 

What does this score mean?

This game was reviewed using a copy provided by the developer for that purpose. This review is based off of the Windows version.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Combat Cats’ story is pretty basic. Kitty Island is a peaceful haven, plentiful with catnip. That is, until one day when all the catnip disappears. Seems the local aquatic life has a bone to pick with catkind, so its up to Kitty Island Homeland Security and its brave fighter pilot squad to defeat this bubbling menace and get back the catnip. Leave it to cats to have a war for drugs.

While Combat Cats is fairly typical, it does change up a few things. For once, it’s a match-four game, not three. Plus, there is far more flexibility in matching than the typical puzzle game. A myriad of shapes are allowed, so long as at least four similar blocks are connected in some way. Everything happens very quickly in each level. While tempting to go full-out with a barrage of weaponry, it’s important to keep track of your health in later levels as things become increasingly harder. The aquatic alliance has a few tricks up its sleeves, including bubbles that will sometimes appear on top of your blocks, obscuring them and keeping them from matching from with others until you pop them.

While primarily a block puzzler, the game has action/rpg elements to it that increase the stakes. Your kitty pilot has a life meter, and all the blocks have different effects, such as repairing your ship (healing you) or dishing out different kinds of damage to your enemy (shooting rockets, poisoning them, etc). There’s even an occasional nuclear bomb block that blows out an entire row of either horizontal or vertical blocks and deals out massive damage to your fishy foes. All of this serves to fight and hold off enemies until you can reach the end of the level, at which point you will be awarded up to three stars depending on how quickly you finished.

The stars are not just a way to rate your play, however. Each subsequent level requires a higher number of stars in order to access it. If you don’t have enough, you’ll have to go back to previous levels and try to do better to earn more stars. While this does give the game a bit of replay value, this is where its mobile trappings become apparent. Besides stars, you get cash and catnip after each level which you can use to upgrade your blocks/health and buy different ships. While not terribly hard to get more currency with which to upgrade, it is slow enough that without dishing out some real world cash, it becomes easy to lose interest after a while unless you’re really dedicated. Luckily, if you don’t mind this, the prices are pretty fair.

Control-wise, the game is satisfyingly smooth. The mobile version features standard one-finger tap controls, while the desktop version only requires a mouse to play. Both are quick and responsive, however I personally found the desktop version easier and visually clearer to play since there’s so much going on during the game.

The pixel-style art is cute. If you like cats, it’ll be quite adorable, and there’s several familiar feline faces to be seen in the bunch. The music itself, is, unfortunately, nothing to write home about. It’s fairly forgettable, but at least in the mobile version it’s always present. A few levels in on the desktop PC version, the music straight up stopped. I eventually had to restart the game to end the eery quiet. Luckily, this is the only performance issue I found while playing.

Overall, though, despite adding a few twists to the traditional block puzzler, Combat Cats is just too typical to really stand out amongst the rest. After playing through it, I asked myself, “Did I have fun?” Well, no, not that much. The smooth controls are really the highlight of an otherwise standard and somewhat bland game. Unless you really really like cats and are in desperate need of another match-three block puzzler, honestly there’s not much of a draw. It’s just okay.

Combat Cats will be available on the Google Play store for Android and the App Store for iOS on September 9th. PC/Mac/Linux versions are still in development, though there is a version for Windows 8 already available. The game is also up for voting on Steam Greenlight.

Overall Rating: ★★★☆☆ 

What does this score mean?

This game was reviewed using a copy provided by the developer for that purpose. The Windows and Android versions were used.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

So here’s a project that’s worth a look. Attack Mountain (also known as ATKMTN) has a Kickstarter campaign running for two games set to be available in one package known as the Attack Pack. Due to their previous campaign for the retro RPG Legend of the Time Star being unsuccessful, the team has scaled back its ambitions, seeking a smaller funding goal and developing smaller games with more flexibility. So what makes up the Attack Pack? Attack Mountain is kicking off their first game pack with SOS and The Grey Man, two games that couldn’t be further opposites from each other.

SOS

In SOS you play as the Agent, a spy with an illustrious career spanning forty years. With an episodic framework, the player weaves the tale of some of the Agent’s most thrilling missions. SOS takes notes from games such as Metal Gear Solid and action movies like Rambo, giving players the opportunity to choose between a more stealthy approach like a classic spy or go in guns a-blazing like a macho man straight out of the eighties. Every decision you make will count–guards WILL notice unconscious or dead bodies left out in the open, will follow trails of bloody footprints, and so on.

The Grey Man

The Grey Man, however, takes a quieter approach. Players take the role of the titular character as it lands on Earth and explores its surroundings. Although things start off peacefully, the Grey Man may make mischief with its powers and catch the attention of the local human life which will inevitably be none too happy with its presence.

Despite their smaller scale, the duo that makes up Attack Mountain still has big plans for their games. While SOS will launch with two episodes, further funding will allow the team to develop additional tales of the Agent. Meanwhile, The Grey Man will receive more content such as new areas in the form of patches. Other stretch goals include voice acting for SOS, comics, and even the addition of a third game to the pack.

I’m really excited for this Kickstarter. Video games could learn a lot from the world of indie comics and zines, and the Attack Pack gives off that comic anthology feel I know and love. Plus, I’ll never let good pixel art and music go unappreciated, and the Attack Pack seems to have that in spades. Especially promising is that the games are already in development and have been for almost a year–the developers just need some help getting them funded and into the hands of you folks, the players. Head on over to the Kickstarter page and check out the video, music previews, and concept art and maybe even make a pledge! Want more Attack Mountain after pledging? Check out their Dev Diary, their official website, and their Facebook page. You can also help the developer out by voting for the Attack Pack on Steam Greenlight.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

It’s no secret that mobile gaming doesn’t have the best reputation amongst more traditional game enthusiasts. Whether mobile gaming needs to be more like console/pc gaming or those conventional forms should take a hint from the mobile sphere is something that constantly sparks heated arguments. Well, whatever side you’re on, Hardscore Games is attempting to make a statement with Star Admiral, their first game: mobile gaming can be better.

Star Admiral is set to be a massively multiplayer competitive strategy game for the mobile space, set in, well, space! Featuring PVP and tournaments, Star Admiral has players commanding a fleet of spaceships from a variety of races using mechanics reminiscent of trading card games. Players will upgrade their fleets and use all sorts of tactics and strategy to defeat their opponents. Like any good TCG or TCG-esque game, Star Admiral seems to have some really nice visuals and designs, albeit in 3D rather than art on cards. I’m a sucker for sci-fi settings and cool looking ships, so I’m looking forward to seeing the release of this game.

Hardscore Games promises a strong community focus and is standing against the standard “pay to win” model plaguing mobile games. The developer is also offering some incentives to get people paying attention to Star Admiral sooner: be one of the first 5,000 to sign up to  their newsletter and you’ll get an exclusive ship to use in the game. Be one of the first 1,000 to register for the forum, and get a Founding Member forum title. Finally, like their page on Facebook and you’ll have a chance at beta access.

Star Admiral currently has a ‘late 2013’ release date and will be free to own on iOS and Android. For more information, check out the game’s website.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.