Indie Games Spotlight for December 4th, 2011

Indie Games Spotlight for December 4th, 2011

Ergo Me Smart and myself pick our top games of this year

Written by mancide on 04 December 11 at 16:17 | Credit to Ergo Me Smart

This is part one of a three part series where Ergo Me Smart is assisting me in selecting our top Indie games of this past year. We each have selected three titles we feel were the best of the best. This week we detail our third best game of the year, and I will lead off with our guest contributor's pick first:

Blocks That Matter

Combine your platforming and puzzle-solving skills in this incredible mashup! Playing as the Tetrobot, you can collect blocks of matter, recycle them into new shapes and trigger chain reactions. Contains 100% natural Slime extract.

RELEASE DATE: 5/12/2011
DEVELOPER: Swing Swing Submarine
GENRE: Platformer

FEATURES
Offline players 1
Dolby Digital
External image


External image


External image


Winner of 2011’s ‘Dream. Build. Play.’ contest, these blocks do indeed matter. This platforming puzzler is best exampled as the unique love-child of Minecraft, Tetris and Mario. You go through the levels, drilling blocks, using these blocks to create platforms and then jumping your way to the next portal, and to the next level.

This game is amazingly well made, with the soundtrack matching the look and feel of the game. The platforms stand out vividly against the backdrop of the levels, with the graphics being amazingly clear. This game could have easily been a XBLA game, and is very much worth it’s 240MSP pricepoint as a result.

And my number three pick of 2011:

Toy Stunt Bike

A fun packed micro sized motorbike trials game.

RELEASE DATE: 12/15/2010
DEVELOPER: Raoghard
GENRE: Racing & Flying

FEATURES
Offline players 1
Dolby Digital
External image


External image


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What could be better than a trials game where my avatar can jump a mini-motor bike with his Mark V Flaming Avatar Helmet? Nothing, I say, nothing. This game plays just like you expect it to. I found a few places where the track design could have been tightened up just a bit to keep the frustrations down, but overall I had a smile on my face the whole time I was playing this game. I love the level design, using hot-wheels-esque tracks, pencils, desks, and chairs as the obstacles you must jump, climb, and drive over. You can get in on this mini-bike fun for 80 MSP.

Be sure to check back next week when we unveil our second best Indie Games of 2011.

If you have an Xbox Live Indie Game that you feel should be featured in an edition of the Indie Games Spotlight, please PM your suggestions to mancide.

Related story: Indie Games Spotlight for December 11th, 2011

// Xbox LIVE
AuthorMessage
General Arcane
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General Arcane - Check my boost list and message me on TA if you're looking for an extra person in a boosting session.
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Last post: 30 Mar at 14:13
 Posted on 04 December 11 at 16:22
Toy Stunt Bike does actually look quite fun, and for only 80MSP, I'm probably going to get that when I go home next! Don't usually play Indie games, but maybe I should look into it.
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Avata
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Avata - Just DLC left now :)
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Last post: 11 Jun at 01:57
 Posted on 04 December 11 at 16:35
Wizorb gets my pick :)
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o Shadowlaw o
172,190
o Shadowlaw o
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Last post: 28 May at 19:42
 Posted on 04 December 11 at 16:56
I've played Toy Stunt Bike at a friend's and it's great fun, it's basically just a much easier Trials HD. The ragdoll physics make for some hilarious bails. Plus it's even more fun if your avatar has an "interesting" outfit.

Blocks That Matter looks good, might give it a try.
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blkalleykat
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blkalleykat
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Last post: 11 Jun 12 at 12:11
 Posted on 04 December 11 at 18:09
I think I'll try out the blocks that matter
Carlos Again
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Carlos Again
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Last post: 28 Sep 12 at 15:56
 Posted on 04 December 11 at 20:31, Edited on 04 December 11 at 20:32 by Carlos Again
Blocks That Matter is a fantastic game. I have bought a lot of Xbox Indie games, and I would easily put that game in the top 5.
FinderKeeper
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FinderKeeper - Ouch. Watch the video. http://tinyurl.com/kdwv79g
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Last post: 13 Jun at 03:57
 Posted on 04 December 11 at 21:21
Both of these look pretty good, but I'm definitely more interested in getting Toy Stunt Bike first due to the price point and the "fun factor". Will see if Blocks that Matter ever ends up on sale (it seems that every so often some of the pricier Indie Games are discounted), or I'll get it after the holiday craziness.

Thanks for featuring these, mancide and Ergo! toast
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JMJimmy
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Last post: Today at 00:53
 Posted on 04 December 11 at 21:27, Edited on 04 December 11 at 21:28 by JMJimmy
The question I have is how long are they?

I gave DLC Quest a shot and it wasn't even an hour long.
Life, it's funny that way.
OmegaRob3rt
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OmegaRob3rt
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Last post: 16 Jun at 16:45
 Posted on 04 December 11 at 22:16
Blocks that matter is a great indie game, I'd go so far as to say it's one of the best, if not the best, indie game on the marketplace.
RuukuSukotto
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RuukuSukotto - Ahaha - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OvvJwbxW3Q
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Last post: Yesterday at 22:51
 Posted on 05 December 11 at 02:27
I bought Toy Stunt bike, I tried the trial and enjoyed it, a lot of fun, though it's way too short.
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J Pinder
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J Pinder - Too many games to play and not enough time to knock down the backlog.
Achievement Completion Percentage: 88.89% (Includes owned DLC) - 4 more achievements required to reach 89%TrueAchievement Ratio: 1.6184642 posts
Last post: 12 Jun at 20:42
 Posted on 05 December 11 at 21:04
Blocks That Matter is awesome stuff! The gameplay is a great mix of platforming and puzzle. It's well worth the 240.

Toy Stunt Bike has a fun demo. I liked it better than the Trials HD demo. It has more comical fun.
Dcon6393
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Last post: 11 Dec 11 at 19:04
 Posted on 11 December 11 at 19:03
Blocks that Matter is one of the best games on the XBLIG service. If you want a bike game in the same vein as Trials HD go get OSR: Unhinged. I like it a ton more than Toy Stunt Bike
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