Greetings and welcome back fellow strategists and gunners. Hope you have kept your wits sharp and your trigger-finger ready to go, because we are going back into Interplanetary for some more planet-bombardment action. The folks at Team Jolly Roger Games have made many improvements to the game since we last looked at it, including graphical fixes, network improvements, more weapons of mass destruction, a tech tree and research mechanic, a working spying mechanic, and other improvements and goodies. I have been purposefully keeping myself in the dark about the game’s development, so that way each iteration can become more of a surprise for my next skirmish. Boy I must say, they really have made some great strides since my initial preview, which you can read here if you haven’t already.

The first topic I wish to talk about is possibly the biggest and most influential of them all, the spying mechanic. Previously you could view your opponent’s planet and see where all cities and developments have been placed, allowing precision-based weapons to take a huge advantage and dominate the weapon selections. With the recent changes, you no longer have all that info readily available. In order to view possible enemy weak points, you must construct buildings which will allow you to view planet infrastructure. Depending on your planet’s level of intelligence – the number of spy buildings you have – the possible targets available range from a couple low-value locales up to the entire planet. To keep away prying eyes, you can counter by building “cloaking” or counter-intelligence buildings in order to hide your planet’s infrastructure. This feature alone adds much more strategic gameplay and flow to the system, as players are no longer just racing to get the biggest and best guns. Priority is now split between getting your planet ready for conflict and keeping your cities and important structures hidden, creating both an arms and intelligence race.

Along with intelligence comes the research aspect of the game. You now need to research technology in order to access the bigger and more advanced weaponry. No longer are you able to build missiles and laser weapons right from the get go. Now you must allocate time in order for research to be done. This is done via a simple tech tree, where various tech and bonuses can be researched and applied to your advantage. Techs include giving permanent boosts such as more power production or spying levels as well as the ability to manufacture one of the two new weapons of massive destruction.

Now we are getting to the juicy parts of the new additions, the new weaponry. A new laser and artillery weapon have been added in the form of the ‘Solar Laser’ and the ‘Asteroid Diversion’ respectively. Once I noticed these weapons in the tech tree, I just HAD to acquire them and give them a shot (pun intended).

FIRE THE LASER!

The Solar Laser is a satellite parked in the sun’s orbit which focuses the sun’s power into a giant solar death ray, obliterating anything you set its deadly sights on with pinpoint precision. I couldn’t help but feel like an evil genius, pinky to mouth, when I set loose the focused wrath of the sun onto my enemy.

As cool as the Solar Laser is, I felt that the Asteroid Diversion was more “in tune” with the sci-fi nature of the game. As the name implies, the Asteroid Diversion weapon takes an asteroid from the local asteroid belt and diverts it to a course of your bidding, into say perhaps a nearby planet that you dislike. Nothing beats the sight of an asteroid hurtling out of space at full speed and slamming right into your enemy’s precious home planet. Numerous blockbusters and B-movies have been made on that premise, and now it is in your hands to unleash upon your foes. So set an asteroid loose on that pesky planet and whip out some popcorn for the show (3D glasses not included).

Recreate a B-movie disaster film on your enemy’s home planet

While all these additions are great, I have merely touched upon a few of the major updates to the game. Many other improvements have been made to the game such as improved multiplayer networking and graphical fixes, all showing that Team Jolly Roger have been putting a lot of effort and love into this project. I was blown away by my first look into the game many versions ago, and the current build they have on offer is no exception to that statement. I look forward to the next iteration of the game. If the additions they have made so far are any indication of the future trajectory of the game, we are in for an Earth-shattering (pun intended) release once the full game is out.
You can check out Interplanetary on Steam Early Access for those interested in some tactical fun. Let’s get those guns primed and lasers flying!

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

How do you put a fresh spin on a 35 year old classic? You’ll be hard pressed to find a way to do it, all while keeping the heart and soul of the game intact. I have to give Industry Entertainment a lot of credit for their game, Astroids: Space Game of The Year. Although they do put the game out there as “NOT ASTEROIDS”, the game looks like a reboot of the 1979 classic. This game is far more than that though, and if you don’t believe me take a closer look at the teaser trailer.

Visually speaking, this game is stunning – no detail has been overlooked in the creation of this game. The result of their in-house 3D engine is outstanding. Every object flows smoothly in the fully 3D space they have created. They were going for best overall visuals and in my opinion, they nailed it. Now the teaser only shows glimpses of the full game experience, but some of the still images show real promise. I’m really interested in how the other aspects of the game will flow into the visually amazing environments that they have crafted.

Based on the teaser trailer, the game play seems to move quite a bit faster than the original, and this itself is a double-edged sword. While you might move faster, so does everything else. Overall, the game feels almost identical to the original. Don’t count Astroids out just yet – it does have a few tricks up its sleeve. Shields could make all the difference in those hairy situations. That’s just a minor addition compared to the others. The weapons available to you will hopefully make for some interesting situations. A few of the clustered asteroids should act very different if hit with a rocket over the standard lasers. The most interesting thing Astroids has to offer is co-op. I’m a big fan of the 1979 version, but I never liked waiting for my turn. Co-op brings new challenges to the table. Not only do you have someone else to watch your back, you have to have to keep an eye out for their destructive collateral. Maybe even having to watch out for friendly fire, this will be something that players shouldn’t take lightly.

Are these few things enough to put Astroids in the space game of the year category? Only time will tell. I feel that Industry Entertainment has done something great with this game. I know that I’ll be looking forward to its release in late 2014 on the PC.

For further information, check out the following links:

http://www.indus3.org/

http://astroids.tv/blog

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Master Spy is everything you could ever want in a 2D platformer. It’s got enough lasers, guard dogs, and patrolling guards to make even the most heinous bond villain feel inadequate. With the game set for launch next year, developers TurboGun have released a demo of the first level, complete with stylish retro cutscenes and 80s spy movie clichés to help set the mood for any sneaky shenanigans.

You just triggered my trap card!

The basic mechanics of the game are simple enough and easily comparable to most 2D platformers. You control *the* Master Spy, a man gifted with the uncanny ability to jump between platforms and armed with a prototype cloaking suit that renders him invisible to patrolling guards and security cameras alike. Your goal is to reach the exit of each level which requires a keycard to unlock. Naturally this wouldn’t be a fun game without some challenge, so the keycards are usually found at the epicentre of a series of hazards within each stage. Your goal is to weave between each obstacle through a careful mix of well timed jumps and a few toggles of your invisibility gadget.

The controls in this game feel tight. There are a bucket-load of platformers out there that seem to miss the mark when it comes to something as important as responsiveness, but Master Spy nails it with the simple controls and sharp animations. These solid controls will come in handy during later levels which require a more precise approach to your skulduggery. The invisibility mechanic also lends to the overall alchemy of the game, where activating the cloak will cause you to slow down considerably, encouraging a more thoughtful and precise approach than just flailing your sneaky spy avatar around the levels in the hope of winning a ‘Spook of the year’ award.

Now *that* is the chin of a man who means business.

What I love about Master Spy is the homage it paints to classic titles of days gone by, cast onto the backdrop of pixel art scenery and minimalist cinematic cutscenes. Even the dialogue is enough to take you back to the era of Battletoads story composition, and that’s not a bad thing by any means. “Bad stuff is happening” followed by a swift “It’s a good thing I’m awesome and also the only one who can stop it then” is all anyone will need to dive into this world of hired goons and laser grids.

Master Spy doesn’t ask for much, and what’s already on offer for people to try out is well built and generally fun to play. The game embraces its pixel art and platforming mechanics in a way that compels you to tackle the progressive challenge of each level segment as it comes. With a total of 50 levels across five different environments planned for the final version of the game, if Master Spy maintains the fun factor throughout the project it’ll likely be a hit amongst fans of the genre.

 For more information on Master Spy, check out their official website & Greenlight page.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.