OK, this week I made use of the excellent Indie Game Database to find a couple games, and followed up on a recommendation that didn't quite work for me. Read all about my breakneck adventures in the Land of D after the jump.
D:
Don't Look Back (Browser, PC, Mac, free)
Don't Look Back's stark art style initially drew me in. Its simple, rough-edged, blocky style (reminiscent of old Atari games) had a strange appeal on me. Couple that with its horror-movie name, and I knew I had to give it a shot.
And I'm glad I did. DLB has a quick learning curve (not surprising since all you do is move, jump, and shoot), and a quick total playtime from beginning to end -- 10 to 15 minutes. In that time, it throws some enemies your way -- bats, snakes, and more, who follow the most basic of patterns but can be challenging in groups -- who you take out with your pea shooter of a gun.
Some of the enemies actually make for some touch battles. I appreciated that if you get hit and die, the game immediately drops you into that same screen (or the previous one) to get right back to it.
DLB mixes in some other side-scrolling staples as well. You'll navigate disappearing platforms and deadly pits, and you'll have to make your way through a near pitch-dark cave -- bascially, enough variety to keep your jaunt through this strange world interesting.
After a few bosses, DLB takes its one twist and enables its namesake for the rest of the game. I feel the game's ending wants to be more clever or impactful than it is, but it's nothing more intense than you'd hear around a campfire. The journey, though -- that's what I dug.
As soon as I saw the name Dino Run, the memory came flooding back. I'm not sure if I was bugging him about a late EGM assignment or was just walking by, but while working with the 1UP crew I remember seeing Scott Sharkey playing Dino Run once.
I hovered for a few minutes, watching this simple game and being transfixed. He described it as a "run right" game, and that tells a lot. Constantly chasing your mini-raptor-like creature is a wall of death; your objective is to outpace it...and extinction.
I never played the game at the time, but I happily stumbled upon it now. Of note, it involves more than just pressing right -- it's more about maintaining momentum while collecting eggs and eating smaller critters, which help you move faster and purchase upgrades.
Similar to Dead Rising in some aspects, Dino Run's setup has you replaying from the start a lot. While you can earn an occasional continue that will let you restart a level, when you do become extinct, you get shot back to level 1...but with any leveling up achieved.
Playing through this multiple times, I began to appreciate additional details each time. You aren't the only one running; various other dinos are on the move as well -- steggos, triceratops, brontosauruses, and more -- and you can interact with them. Jump at the right time, and a pterodactyl will carry you a few dozen feet. Land on the back on a stampeding grazer, and you'll get a free ride.
But if you hit another dino the wrong way or bump into a rolling boulder, you can absolutely mess up your pace, losing precious seconds as death begins to overtake you. It's intense, quick, browswer-based, and fun.
Dwarf Fortress (PC, Mac, free)
OK, I tried this one briefly and probably didn't give it a fair shake, but I have no idea what's going on here. It may have more to do with my impatience, but seriously, give it a try and let me know what you think.
Back? Yeah, no idea, huh? Bitmob's very own D-man Demian suggested this one to me -- with uncharacteristic excitement, no less -- and in response I have to say: Buh?
Now, this game seems like it could have incredible depth -- at least that's what I judged from the screens upon screens of menus and text, and from hearing it's part-roguelike (which, admittedly, isn't my idea of a good time). Hell, I even found a few things I liked. The ASCII, zooming-through-rooms intro is amazing in a low-fi way, and it has a twangy, soothing folk soundtrack.
But at one point I thought I was about to start fishing and instead got to a Moving Records screen. Never once feeling like I was playing a game, never once crossing the boundary of "huh?" to the land of fun -- I threw my hands up and shut this game down for the first and last time.
Readers, do you see an appeal in this one? Personally, I suggest you don't look back.
Having fun yet?!
