Review of Miner Dig Deep

There sure seems to be a lot of mining games out these days. You know the drill, dig deep into the earth, find some minerals, use those minerals to make a better pickaxe, then use the better pickaxe to mine better minerals. The same rules apply to Miner Dig Deep. So then, how does it stand out from the rest? Miner Dig Deep reminds me a lot like a simplified Terraria. Of course Terraria came out a couple years after Miner Dig Deep, but I'm sure some of you can easily see the resemblance.

At the start of the game you begin with a pickaxe, a lantern, a bag, and a really big mining helmet. With those items equipped you then begin your descent into the earth. On your way down you look for minerals that you will be able to sell back at the shop. One key feature is that of the lantern. The lantern will help you see what minerals are in the dirt. The longer you stay down in the caves the smaller the light from the lantern gets. This adds a timed element to your spelunking. Once your light is up you won't be able to tell where the minerals are and whether or not it is safe to keep digging. When you get back to the surface the shop is available for you to buy and sell. The shop sells a variety of equipment including ladders, elevators, pickaxes, inventory bags, bigger lanterns, and a few other items. After you get better stuff you can go down deeper to find even better treasure. Along the way there are blueprints to be found. These will unlock better gear in the shop. Dying isn't too painful in game, the main penalty is that you will lose all minerals that are currently in your inventory.

I did not get as far as I possibly could in the game. I think I got to the very bottom of the world (about 500-600 depth I believe) but I didn't have the best equipment. Honestly I got a little bored towards the end and lost interest in finishing with the greatest things. It took me something like two and a half hours to get where I currently am. The game for the most part was enjoyable. Finding good minerals was always fun, and there's a few extra tools like the grappling winch and a power drill too give you a hand. The main issue I had was the fact that you had to climb up and down to get to where you were currently mining and the surface. This process took up several minutes, and since your going up and down so much it really eats into how much of the mining your actually doing. Eventually you can buy elevators that help you get around a little faster. Towards the end of my playing session I did find a teleporter that instantly brings you back to the surface. This helped some but it was still a pain to get back down.

Graphics are well done. I enjoyed the surface area and wish I could have maybe explored it a little more. Seeing the green grass and large trees was a little more exciting than looking at the brown dirt that surrounds the rest of the world (although that is probably all they would see if they were 500 feet below ground.) The background music isn't anything special. One of the soundtracks was actually quite annoying. Of course if it's that bad you could always turn it down.

I'm sure several people will enjoy Miner Dig Deep more than me. It is by no means a bad game, it's just not my favorite type of game. If your interested the game sells for 80 microsoft points.

I give Miner Dig Deep a 3/4.

Review of The Impossible Game

The Impossible Game. Is it really impossible? Well it's close to impossible.

The point of the game is simple. You jump over spikes and onto other blocks and try your best to get to the very end. That may sound easy... but it isn't. The game immediately throws you into the action. The first few second start off slow but then it picks up fast. Only the jump button is required to play. Every time a mistake is made you must start all the way back at the beginning. There is a practice mode where you can set checkpoints down as you go. It's a good way to learn the game and get a feel of what's coming ahead. Of course the game gets dramatically easier if you can set checkpoints everywhere you go, so if you beat it in practice mode it will not count as actually beating the game. Also the game keeps track of all the attempts you have done. Don't be surprised if you see it quickly going into the hundreds.

The game is hard. I played through the game in practice mode first to get a feel for everything. Then I tried to play it the normal way. I didn't do very well. After a couple hundred attempts I decided the game is practically impossible for me. Unfortunately, I never beat the game. It was still enjoyable the times I tried. The soundtrack that goes with the game is incredible as well and was a good incentive to keep me going.

Some people will enjoy the challenge that this game brings. Others will be deeply annoyed within the first minute of playing. There is a level pack out there as well with an additional two levels if you just can't get enough. The game is 80 microsoft points and I would recommend at least trying the trial. Maybe you will beat the impossible?

I give The Impossible Game a 3/4.

Review of Avatar Karting

As far as I know there aren't too many kart racing games out on the 360. The few it does have are not considerably good. So does Avatar Karting surpass all hopes and dreams of becoming the biggest karting game on the 360? No, not really, but it is still a solid kart game that you can play for only a dollar. It also includes avatars!

Avatar Karting is a pretty basic game. It includes a single player area that lets the player race with seven other A.I. controlled racers. Single race, series mode, and a time trial lets the player choose what they would like to do. Along with that they can choose the color of the kart, the flag that they represent (USA, Germany, etc.) and some options about the brakes and the steering. It also contains sixteen different tracks to race on. Most of this is also included in the multiplayer, which features up to eight players and a consistent scoring system that seems to follow the player for his entire career of Avatar Karting.

I decided to team up with my legendary friend thepwnboss and jump straight into the multiplayer. When we first got on there was only one game going with about five people in it. We weren't able to join them but we noticed they had an absurd ping rate of like 63,000 or something. So we just played against each other for a while. The game is simple with right trigger for gas and left trigger for brakes. You also have a constant charging turbo power that you use by pressing the A button. That's pretty much it. There are no power-ups to pick up or traps to watch out for. The game does okay for itself even with such simple concepts. Periodically we would have another player join us (and somehow they were always super fast compared to us). While we hosted the game everything was fine. Eventually thepwnboss and I tried to join another game that popped up and we were able to play with about four other people. For the most part the game ran smooth and we didn't have any issues. Afterward I did a couple single player races. The A.I. is okay but they were rather easy after facing opponents online. There is a feature in single player races where if you hold the left bumper you can rewind time. This is useful if you make a mistake or crash into another vehicle.

There really isn't too much special about Avatar Karting. All the tracks look similar except for a few lighting differences. It seems like the same song is playing throughout the whole game too, of course you could always turn it off. But the game really doesn't do anything bad, it just doesn't do anything special. Still, for only a dollar this might satisfy your racing craving long enough to find something else.

I give Avatar Karting a 2/4.

Review of Minions!

Being on the battlefield can be hard work. With bullets flying everywhere, tanks demolishing the area, and crazy people with swords charging into the heat of the frontlines, it can be one hectic place to be. Luckily you're not alone. You have a whole army of minions right beside you. Though they may not be the smartest allies you've ever seen in battle, they are some of the most loyal.

Minions! puts you in the boots of a hero. Your job is to defeat the enemy. To assist you are minions who wield a variety of weapons to push the frontlines forward. There are two main types of minions, the first which consistently spawn from your base and continue to push the enemy back to their base. Though they are free they are relatively weak and can't do much without any help. The second type of minion you can hire are special minions. These you can customize their appearance and weapon selection. They can either be told to help the other minions advance the line or told to follow you around the battlefield. While your minions are fighting you are trying to find weapons and reinforcements to aid you in completing the mission. The missions vary from tug of war style scenarios to stopping tanks from reaching your base. The game can be played as a twin-stick shooter from a top-down perspective or as a third person shooter.

Minions! has a great retro feel to it. The game reminds me of Army Men: Sarge's Heroes for the N64. The graphics may look rather simple, but I think they go well with the style of the game. The soundtrack also adds to the game, and I was actually quite impressed. The game features six levels. Although that may not seem like very many levels they are varied and long enough to not be an issue. Along the way you will also level up enabling you to upgrade basic attributes like health, speed, and damage. The actual gameplay works well too. I found it easier to be in third-person mode rather than top-down because of the more accurate aiming. Even with all the action going on around you I found the game to continue running smooth.

There are a few issues with the game though. A few of the menu/create options seem clumsy at times. For example, to change any of your previous minions weapons you must recreate all the minions. There was also a weird difficulty curve. The first three levels aren't much of a problem at all; the next three, however, are much more challenging. Each one takes longer than the previous one and if you fail you have to start the whole level again. This can be annoying when you are only a couple of seconds away from winning and then all of a sudden a tank gets past or the last small group of enemy minions manages to penetrate your base only for you having to do it all again for another five to ten minutes. Finally, when I was at the very end of the game I was just about finished with the level when all of a sudden the game crashed. I don't know if that was just a rare mishap, but it was enough to make me want to stop playing.

Minions! was a rather enjoyable game. It took me about an hour and a half to make it to the end (right before it crashed.) If you are looking for some sort of shooter this could be a good choice. It only cost 80 microsoft points. I would recommend trying the trial to see if you would like it.

I give Minions! a 3/4.

Review of Bird Assassin

Ever wanted to assassinate birds? Well here's your chance. Bird Assassin give you the chance to slaughter thousands of birds on your quest to avenge your father. However, you won't be going at it all stealth like as Ezio would. Instead you will be like a redneck Mario blasting away birds with your rifle or shotgun. Either way many birds are going to be dead by the end of the game.

The story goes something like this. Birds kill your dad. He then comes back as a ghost and tells you to avenge his death by going after the birds. You take your dad's trusty rifle and get to work. That's pretty much it as far as story goes but at least it gives you a decent reason to go and destroy every fowl that comes across your path. The game plays as a platform shooter. You start on the left side and then shoot your way back to your truck. Along the way these very angry birds try to stop you by whatever means possible, whether that means dropping bombs on your head or trying to run over you in your own truck. A single bird on its own isn't much of a challenge, but these birds usually travel in flocks. Luckily for every bird killed some money is given to you for the shop. The shop contains more guns and upgrades to help you along the way.

The game is fun and simple. It won't require much thought as you mindlessly mow down birds with every weapon you have. It's actually quite amusing to see hundreds of birds falling to the ground in a bloody massacre. Graphics in this game are nice and crisp and go well with the theme of the game. The game is also a good length with my second play through being about 50 minutes.

Bird Assassin does have a few problems though. The first and probably my biggest complaint is that the game starts to get repetitive. After slaying a few thousand birds it begins to feel the same. There are a few bonus mini-game type things you will find through out the game like shooting all the cans off a tree and collect as many coins as you can in a certain amount of time. But the repetitive feeling doesn't go away when you see that all three bosses are the exact same in every way. Although the shop is nice all the weapons you buy are either a faster shooting rifle or a shotgun with a larger spread which dents much of the weapon diversity. The graphics are good but some of the animation could use a little more work. Also the Map Select screen can be hard to move around.

Overall Bird Assassin is a game worth checking out. It's perfect when you just want some mindless fun. I'd recommend trying the trial if it sounds interesting to you. The game is available for 80 microsoft points and should provide enough entertainment for an hour or so.

I give Bird Assassin a 3/4.

Review of I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1

This game has a special place in my heart. It was the first game I ever played and bought as an Xbox Live Indie Game. In fact, I don't think I had even heard of Xbox Live Indie Games before this came out. So I thought I might as well do the first review on the first game I played.

Now don't worry, I didn't spell the name wrong. I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1 (or we could just call it Zombie for short) is a dual stick shooter meaning that with one stick you control the movement and with the other one you control the shooting. Other twin stick shooters include Geometry Wars and the Dead Ops Arcade in Black Ops. The game revolves around you running around the area trying your best to survive against thousands of zombies. Zombies aren't the only things after you though. You also have to deal with green slimes, fat zombies, space amoebas, centipede like creatures, geometric shapes, exploding zombies, and very angry demon boxes. Luckily you get a variety of weapons to fight the zombies like shotguns, machine guns, flamethrowers, lasers, and some sort of green shuriken thing along with some power-ups. The point of the game is to survive until the end of the game (or just to survive as long as possible!) It also includes local co-op for up to four players.

This game is amazing. At first you might suspect the game may not be what you are expecting. The menu is plain with no sound or music, and you still see the same "spelling errors" that plagued the title of the game. However, once you start Zombie up you will see how great the game is. The graphics are very well done and seem good enough to be put up on an XBLA title. They range from well drawn zombies to retro looking boxes. The background also changes as the game goes on giving a different feel of scenery. (One warning though: if you suffer from seizures you may want to stay away from the game, at several points the backgrounds and enemies all flash in different bright colors which may not be very good for you!) One of the best parts of Zombie though are the songs. Throughout the game you can hear the developer singing about fighting zombies and buying the game. I think the music is good enough to buy the game just for that. If you survive the whole thing it will take about 12 minutes from start to finish. Not the longest game ever but you most likely won't make it through your first few times. Also it's fun enough that you'll come back to play it again. It has local high-scoring as well if you are into that. Zombie is so great the only minor complaint I have is that I can't tell how many lives I have because my gamertag is too large. Everything else I think is just right for the game.

Zombie sells for the very large amount of 80 microsoft points ($1). There is really nothing bad I can say about this game. Everything works well and runs smoothly. Honestly I don't see a reason why someone wouldn't buy it. I highly recommend I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1 to everyone!

I give it a 4/4!

The Review Process

I am by no means an expert on reviewing games or any other media. However, I am still a gamer and very passionate about finding the good qualities out of games. My goal is to provide a review for the many indie games that are out there. Remember that these reviews are my opinion and most of the time are completely subjective to who is playing the game. You may or may not agree with my opinion and that is perfectly okay. My reviews are mainly here to provide some information on different indie games that otherwise would have no kind of review or description at all.

Now for each game I will play it for at least an hour or until I beat the game twice. After that I will give the game a basic description and then an opinion of it as well as whether I would recommend it or not. This should give you enough information to be able to decide if you want to check out the game (remember many of the games have time trials although much of the time it is not long enough to see if the game is right for you.)

My goal is to get at least one review out a week but hopefully I can put out more. The first batch will probably be some of the more popular ones that you may have heard of. Later I will venture out into the ones that are more unknown and see if there is anything of value. If there is enough interest I may try out certain games readers would want me to check out.

I hope you will find my reviews helpful and informative. If you have any advice or comments please don't hesitate to ask!