Tactical turn-based future-sports football game Frozen Endzone (holy hyphen spam, Batman) is now available through Early Access on Steam.

By pitting teams of sinister looking robots against each other in a deadly game of ‘future football’ (Not the British kind, but the pretend football you see in America) Frozen Endzone hopes to score the same popularity that its predecessor – Frozen Synapse - received.

Launching alongside its Early Access release, Frozen Endzone will also get a number of updates to the current beta version of the game.

• Players can now have stats: strength, resilience, “burst” (a small burst of acceleration when getting the ball), evade, intercept radius, block radius
• “Handball” (now called “Full Match”) game mode enters beta.  This has been totally revamped to accommodate stats and is now the main game mode.  Lots of turnovers, interceptions, end-to-end action, and new points zones make this really exciting and strategic.
• Team Editor allows you to name your players and set their stats; upload your team to the server and use it in multiplayer or skirmish with it offline
• Completely revamped, much more intelligent AI and a selection of new AI skirmishes
• Easy-to-use tile-based Pitch Editor (alpha)
• Custom Game Mode creator (alpha)
• Commentary system (alpha): commentary makes use of player names; in single player, the AI calculations are also used to allow the commentators to analyse your play-style; in multiplayer, the commentators will discuss your previous history with your opponent
• New animations and some big improvements to camera code
• There is now in-game audio to go with the music!

And if that wasn’t enough, here’s a brand spanking new trailer with developer Paul talking us through some of the new features listed above.

© 2014, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

As a retired UT2K4/Counter Strike enthusiast, there’s nothing more attractive to me than a game that requires precision, quick reflexes and nerves of steel. Enter Deadlock, a combination of puzzle and platforming presented in a first person perspective with a beat-the-clock attitude slapped on top to keep things moving as fast as possible.

Your goal is simple – scale the numerous obstacles each level throws at you in an attempt to finish it in the fastest time possible. Alongside the obvious hazard of falling into the cataclysmic void below you, there’s also giant red force fields, angry mechanised turrets, and giant floating cubes of death to contend with. Did I mention there’s going to be tons of death?

Because of its current alpha state I was given access to three of the game levels, each one featuring more complex and challenging obstacles than the last. What starts out as a simple hop, skip and a jump across a few platforms in the first level soon turns into a spectacular weave of double jumps and lightning-fast dashes as multiple laser grids fly at you from every direction. Of course, we won’t mention the 20 ungraceful deaths and rage-induced shouting that came beforehand, but when you finally manage to pull off that perfect medley of agility the feeling of satisfaction is worth the pain.

I can recall one tense situation near the end of level three forcing me to run down a long narrow beam as laser grid panels flew by. With each panel sporting a slender horizontal gap too small to jump through, you need to try and aim your switch gun at a small pad off the side of these fast moving panels to flip the laser grid and squeeze through the gap. To top off that display of dexterous hell, half way down the beam of Beelzebub is a set of giant fans, with the express mission to knock you and your delusions of skill into the pit of death below.

Freaking lazers man….LAZERS

The scope of Deadlock isn’t entirely certain at this point, but the developers are planning on adding more content over the next few months including two extra levels, extra enemies, power-ups, collectable items, cutscenes for story mode and achievements. From what I was shown in the alpha levels, Deadlock is well on its way to becoming a solid entry in the indie market, where nail biting tension collides with split second precision in a beautifully presented world. Oh and one last thing, F*** these moving blocks!

Deadlock is being developed by 5 Bits Games, and is currently available on Desura in its alpha state. For more information on the game, head on over to their official page. 

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

We’re in the last quarter, all the bases are loaded, and you’ve just scored a birdie on hole 9. By now you’ve probably guessed I know very little about sports other than the occasional buzzword. Fortunately, the upcoming turn-based future-sports title Frozen Endzone doesn’t care if you know anything about athletics so long as you can think tactically and enjoy watching robots clobber each other in the name of entertainment.

Frozen Endzone is best described as a mixture of chess and American Football, only set in the future and populated entirely by menacing looking robots who like to punch each other for fun. What strikes me the most about the game is how accessible it is to someone who couldn’t throw a ball to save his life. If you’ve played Frozen Synapse - the previous entry in this strategic series – you’ll find many of the gameplay mechanics to be similar if not the same. Multiplayer matches can be played without the need for both participants to be online at the same time, the player can simulate actions of all units on the playing field before committing to a specific play, and the overall control scheme and UI borrows from the previous entry.

New players need not worry about memorizing a long list of rules and regulations as the game is fairly straightforward and easily explained via the in-game tutorial. You spawn onto a grid with both teams players scattered across the various positions on the map. One team ‘attacks’ by attempting to move the ball down towards the end zone – a field that spans the bottom of the pitch – while the opposite team must intercept the ball before it can reach the goal. From this simple formula, both players must scheme and plot their way through each turn, making sure to have their units in the right place whilst simultaneously guessing what the enemy is planning.

In essence, the game is just as much about reading your opponent’s mind as it is about strategy. During one rather tense match versus an AI opponent, my situation looked so dire that the only option seemed to be to wait until my mechano-man got dog piled upon. I spent a good five minutes simulating a number of different moves, trying to find the right approach that would let me get out of this situation. I planned and I simulated again and again until it felt like I was simulating myself inside a simulation. Suddenly, a chance appeared, an opportunity that seemed so outlandish and drastic that it had to work, so I took a chance and committed my actions into the hands of fate. Unfortunately fate decided my ambitions of winning were much too high. As my loyal team member attempted to win the game in one heroic swoop like a glorious 90’s feel good movie, the crushing thud of an enemy player lands right into the poor guy’s face knocking him to the ground to lay in a pool of shame and motor oil.

The game is currently in an early beta state, but there’s plenty to do in the current version. Single player currently offers a Vs. AI mode which will have you facing off against a computer opponent in either one or three-round matches. There are also six challenge scenarios to play through. Multiplayer currently offers the follow four game modes:

• Endzone – Randomly generated playing fields where one player is attacking and one defending. Once the first round is over the positions are swapped and the team with the highest score at the end wins the game. This mode is very quick-fire and recommended for shorter matches.
• One Play – Similar to Endzone, except the teams do not swap after the first round ends. Once the ball reaches the goal or it becomes intercepted by the defenders, the match is over.
• Handball – This mode is less restricted than Endzone, with multiple tackles and changes of possession without the match ending. Both teams must get the ball to their end zone, so in many ways this could be considered the most comparable to a real game of football.
• Handball Easy – A variation of Handball in which most of the restrictive rules have been removed (ball throw limit etc…)

Future plans for Frozen Endzone include variable stats for individual players, allowing you to build up a more in-depth team of strengths and weaknesses. There will also be an expansion to the single player experience that will consist of a story mode, a single player “roguelike” season mode, and a long-form season mode. Multiplayer will also see additions in the future with the promise of more modes and the ability to create multiplayer leagues with your friends. The visuals are also set to receive more work with new animations, more stadiums and team armours, and a whole host of customization options for players to add a personal touch to their robot squads.

Today marks the launch of Frozen Endzone’s beta, and those looking to grab a copy can do so via the official website. The first tier, sitting at $25 (which is about £15 or €18.50) nets two keys for the beta, with optional Steam keys and access to the full version on release. Higher tiers come with a number of luxury extras including the game’s soundtrack, in-game cosmetic items, and animations for your team. Every purchase also comes with a 30% off voucher for Speedball 2 HD on Steam if you feel like going on a future sports binge.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.

Lines of sight.

The trajectory of your projectiles is the key to your victory as coconuts ricochet from your target to form robot-busting combos. It is thus possible to clear each screen with one neatly aimed shot giving a score of three out of three bananas, and a selection of bonus levels are only unlocked by completing all stages in this fashion. A line of sight helps with your shot targeting by revealing the path your coconut will take even after it rebounds from multiple targets.  It soon proves to be an essential concession to the player, especially when you are up against moving targets and yet others which blink in and out of visibility.  It can prove to be a frustrating exercise to score maximum points here, as not only do you have to find the essential trajectory, but you also have to time it precisely.  The variables of trajectory and timing when combined with moving targets and briefly invisible enemies are soon vastly multiplied.  Fortunately, there is an icon on the top left of the screen which enables you to restart the level quickly, but you’ll soon be pulling your hair or virtual fur out in frustration.  Ultimately, whilst the game mechanic is similar to a Bubble-Puzzle style shooter, if you set your heart on unlocking the extra levels you will have to focus more on skill shots. Whilst it can be played more casually, for fun, you won’t be unlocking those bonus levels.

Never underestimate a coconut.

The sound and music in the game are incredibly lively, setting a fun and atmospheric tone for the proceedings, and I found the graphics reminiscent of my Amiga gaming days playing Toki. The animations are also full of nuanced detail and character. The game is ideally suited towards casual play with each stage only taking a short amount of time to play. The later stages  pack a real challenge for players that wish to unlock the bonus levels.

Currently, gamers can only play this as a lite version, available now for free on the app store. If the developers hear positive feedback, they have agreed to develop the game further.

© 2013, The Indie Mine. All rights reserved.