The Indie Insider – Dynamite Rifles

For the first time we’re seeing an indie bundle provider donate all the money to charity. Indie Royale have take the plunge with four games and three albums if you pay more than the average which at the time of writing hasn’t even reached the spiralling heights of £3!!

Amongst the titles is Osmos which was nominated for four IGF awards and was part of PAX 10. So, if you’re feeling charitable then pop over to Indie Royale and donate some of your cash to the needy.

Indie Past – InMomentum

Sometimes I feel that Mirrors Edge was highly underrated and that also makes me wary of comparing InMomentum to it but, like a word association game, I couldn’t help but compare the two as soon as I saw it.

InMomentum consists of a load of maps floating around in the sky that you have to race through, collecting objects and moving through gates as you go. As you would expect from any good racing game worth its salt, there are multiple paths to each gate and to the finish. The reason I compare it to Mirrors Edge is down to the running aspect. The running is dynamic and slick which leads to you rarely taking the same path to the finish line twice.

To add to the excitement there’s a jumping bonus too. Think back to the early days of the FPS where in Quake, a precisely timed jump would yield a bonus, taking you that bit farther. InMomentum does the same thing and jumping can take you to new heights and you’re often rewarded with faster race lines.

Single player races are available but this game is at its most rewarding when you challenge other players to how good you really are. Or in my case, how shit you really are.

Indie Present – Dynamite Jack

I never really thought that a plan view game in glorious 2D could really cause high blood pressure but Dynamite Jack creates more tension than a badger baiting debate at an animal rights parade.

Dynamite Jack consists of a number of short levels and your goal is to reach the light and move on to the next level. Getting the most out of the game involves being as stealthy as possible. There are achievements for not killing the guards you encounter but if you’re a murderous wretch then you can plant huge bombs, that even in the brightest light, the guards don’t see. No guilty conscience here.

When the levels start you don’t have anything at all but you quickly find a flashlight (check me and my inner American), and then a detonator. The detection system in the game is simple. If you make noise with your bombs, the guards will move toward the sound. If you move in the light, they will shoot you. This is just the start of it because there are plenty more traps and gimmicks to be aware of.

Great game to just pick up when you have five mins and it’s cheaper than an Americano and apple doughnut from your local Starbucks.

Indie Future – Running with Rifles

Modulaatio Games are working on their latest top down shooter title, Running with Rifles. Initially you start as a private and as you gain rank you also gain influence over your NPC allies. Your squad will grow and the AI will recognise your actions and behave accordingly which is behaviour that you would expect in Call of Duty or Rainbow 6, not necessarily an Indie title.

Running with Rifles doesn’t have quite as many guns as Borderlands but there’s a great selection of assault rifles, shotguns, light machine guns and explosives so applying tactics is important. All those guns plus varying ranges of cover fire makes this game exciting.

Visually, the game has a cartoon style feel to it with a cell shaded approach which I have a weakness for. Speech bubbles appear when the characters are speaking which is fine apart from when the screen is stacked with soldiers because it gets a bit cluttered.

I’ve had the pleasure of getting in early on this and it’s a lot of fun. After speaking to Pasi Kainiemi, the developer behind Running with Rifles, it looks as though the game could be delayed until the third quarter before it’s released which surprised me somewhat. The changes that the game has undergone so far are great so I can’t wait for the final product.