The Indie Insider – Frozen Rush Vessel

Well it’s all GO! GO! GO! just now in the Indie world with the voting open over at the 14th Annual Independent Games Festival. Some of the titles look absolutely brilliant and if you’re not sure where to start with Indie games then this is a great place to start. Dear Esther by TheChineseRoom is all over the place and you can go and grab it now.

Without further ado lets go have a look at Indie’s past, present and future.

The Indie Past – Frozen Synapse

Frozen Synapse from Mode7 has been around for quite a while now and it was reviewed by our very own Kami back in May 2011. I can honestly say it’s one of the most persistent games in the Indie category just now because if Mode7 aren’t pushing out updates and music, they’re attending seminars about what it’s like to be an Indie developer. Sometimes I wonder if they’ll ever find the time for a new release and I really hope they do.

If you haven’t had the chance to play Frozen Synapse then you can pick it up on the PC or the iPad. It’s a tactical turn based shooter that forces you to consider each and every angle of approach for your team. Different guns lead to different puzzles and whilst I’m still playing the game I’m constantly being surprised by what people invent and inject into their tactics.

While you painstakingly calculate every step you have to consider weapon range and power. Do you sacrifice quick movement so you can move while you scope or just take a chance a run for the corner ignoring everything around you? Should you crouch to avoid being seen? There are so many aspects to the game that it just keeps people coming back for more. No two games are ever the same.

The Indie Present – Kingdom Rush

Kingdom Rush is a free to play tower defence browser based game… phew, take a breath! It draws you into the mental state that some people refer to as ‘Just One More Shot!’ and you, if you’re human, will find yourself playing the game for hours on end.

It’s a medieval ‘slash’ fantasy based game, pitting your wits against endless (not really) waves of enemies who have an ever expanding box of tools to counteract your abilities. Your goal, is to gain three stars per level and upgrade the towers made available to you in between rounds. As you progress the maps become more challenging and placing your towers and other miscellaneous tools becomes increasingly important.

It’s a browser game that allows you local saves so you don’t have to restart every time you fancy a shot. Also, you can, if you’re feeling flush, spend some sheckles to gain premium content and if the game isn’t mobile enough for you then it’s available on iPad too.

The Indie Future – Vessel

A game I’ve been following closely for a long time now is Vessel from Strange Loop Games. Strange Loop Games have been working very hard on releasing Vessel to the masses and it looks as though we’ll see it in March on the PC. It will be coming to PSN and XBLA but there are no release dates yet for that.

You’ll play the part of M. Arkwright, an inventor, who has some problems on his hands. The puzzles are all based around using Fluros to go places that humans can’t reach. Fluros are made of water and they are an invention of Arwright’s. The whole game is based around water. You will capture it in your backpack and disperse it when necessary. Fluros have different colours and you’ll have to exploit their different personalities to progress.

With fluid sounds and beautiful visuals Vessel is an Indie game that just shouldn’t be missed.