Cropky (Amiga)

Yikes! There aren't many games that will get me screaming at my monitor in pure frustration at my lack of skill. Ladies and gentlemen, this game is one of them. Cropky by C&A Fan is an Amiga port of an 8-bit Atari game released in 2011, which itself was an adaptation of an old pen and paper game that is commonly known as 'Dots', but with a little twist.

Starting with an empty grid of dots of varying shapes, two players (either human or AI) take turns to add a single line between two unjoined adjacent dots. These lines can be in any direction, including diagonally, but must not be longer than one square in length, and must not cross other lines already on the playfield. This continues until no more moves can be made. Whoever cannot make a line during their turn loses the game. Simple, right?

Malaika (MSX)

Created as an entry for the MSXdev 2013 competition, Revelo Videogames' Malaika was particularly well received by the judging panel and was awarded second place in the final results. Karoshi's Shouganai may have beaten it to the top of the winners podium, but as far as I'm concerned, Malaika was the real winner. Why? Well, its simply because I LOVE Bubble Bobble, and Malaika is an MSX exclusive love-letter to Taito's masterpiece, sharing many of its mechanics with the classic and the feel isn't too far removed either as a result.

Gaurodan (PC/Linux/Ouya)

[This review was originally written by J. Monkman for indiegames.com, and has been reposted here with the editors permission].

A mere five months in development, Locomalito's homage to Choplifter, Defender and the classic monster movies of yester-year has been unleashed into the wild! Destroy the puny armies of mankind, battle collossal creatures and lay waste to the sleepy towns of the sun-drenched Canary Islands, all in glorious vintage coin-op-o-vision whilst Gryzor87's thematic chip tunes blast out in the background! Oh yes, there is a whole lot of authentic 1980's fun to be had in Gaurodan.

However, the big reveal - and indeed the reason why this particular release is so special - is that Gaurodan is the first Locomalito game to be released on a console as well as PC. Enter centre stage... the Ouya.

Elansar Cartridge Available! (Jaguar)

"Welcome to the Island of Elansar. Will you uncover its mysteries?"

After two years in development, Orion's Myst-inspired adventure has migrated from its PC/Mac/Linux and Atari Falcon roots and has finally arrived on the Atari Jaguar in 4MB cartridge format (limited to 75 copies)! Explore the beautifully rendered tropical island, taking in the sights and sounds, solving logic puzzles and making good your eventual escape in this classic-style first-person perspective point-and-click adventure.

Heavy Recoil - Convoy Chaser (Ouya) (2013)

System Requirements

* Ouya console & controller (wired USB Xbox 360 pad also supported).
* HDMI compatible TV/Monitor preferably connected to a loud sound-system.

Despite being an Android .apk, this particular version of Heavy Recoil - Convoy Chaser only works on the Ouya console.


Download

You can either download the game direct on the Ouya via it's Discover store, or as a standalone .apk from it's page at Total Ouya. Initially, the game is in demo form (playable up to the first boss) but can be unlocked for $0.99.

BONUS! The OST is available to buy from Hasse Axəlsson's Bandcamp page HERE.

Introduction

Wide Pixel Games' Heavy Recoil - Convoy Chaser takes the run 'n' gun genre back to the coin-op golden age of the 1980's, when you hadn't really beaten a game unless you'd done it on a single credit.

Lead your auto-cannon wielding robot deep behind enemy lines and smash tanks, gunships and fearsome bosses with your awesome arsenal of deadly weaponry! Rescue prisoners of war and blast everything in your path like a REAL hero!

* No Nonsense! No Continues!
* Horizontal Firing Only!
* Abilities and Upgrades!
* Secondary Weapons!
* Good/Bad Endings!

Lights On (C64)

I'm obsessed about turning off the light when I leave the room. The laundry room, bathroom, and especially the closet; the light always has to be turned off. Now with this new Commodore 64 game from Avatar, I can role play and be the one who always leaves the light on.

Lights On is a puzzle game in which the objective is to light all the tiles on each of the 24 single-screen levels. Using a joystick, you control a character that moves around the grid of tiles lighting each tile it touches, and landing on a tile that's already lit turns it off again. Some levels take advantage of this mechanic, requiring you to move back and forth over tiles several times to turn them all on. Also scattered around the grid are arrow tiles that push your character in the indicated direction and teleporters can be used to instantly move to another corresponding tile. But we warned, this isn't a leisurely stroll of reckless lighting; a timer counts down at the start of each level. If you run out run of time you lose one of your five lives. Fortunately, some levels include a tile that add seconds to the timer - and you will need it, as there isn't much room for error.

Heavy Recoil - Convoy Chaser Available! (Ouya)

Due to some weird circumstances too tedious to explain here, RGCD ended up coming into possession of not one, but TWO Ouya consoles earlier this month. Coincidentally, our good friends at Wide Pixel Games were toying with the idea of porting across some of their XBLIG titles, and were more than happy for us to send our spare over to Sweden as a form of sponsorship. And today, like about 30 minutes ago, our first collaborative game went live on the Ouya store!

For those of you unfamiliar with the XBLIG original, Heavy Recoil - Convoy Chaser takes the run 'n' gun genre back to the coin-op golden age of the 1980's, when you hadn't really beaten a game unless you'd done it on a single credit. Lead your auto-cannon wielding robot deep behind enemy lines and smash tanks, gunships and fearsome bosses with your awesome arsenal of deadly weaponry! Rescue prisoners of war and blast everything in your path like a REAL hero!

Featuring multiple endings, brutal no-continues/no-nonsense gameplay, horizontal firing only (like a robotic Green Beret), abilities, upgrades and secondary weapons, Heavy Recoil isn't just NES hard, it's COIN-OP hard! Luckily though for you it won't eat your quarters, instead costing only $0.99 for the full game (the F2P part is simply the game up to the first boss battle).

Grab your copy now on Ouya (at the end of the 'Sandbox' section), or as an .apk file from the games' page at Total Ouya.

Huenison Reviews Incoming!

In case you missed the news earlier this month, Retream and RGCD teamed up to bring the genre-blending retro puzzle-shmup Huenison to PC's (and AmigaOS 4 machines) across the globe. Well, at long last the reviews have finally started to come in, and so far the feedback has been extremely positive. Cast your eyes over some of our choice quotes, and if you've £2.99 to spare, hit our online store to buy your DRM-free copy today!

"Take Arkanoid, Decathlon, Dyna Blaster, Impossible Mission, Oil's Well, Pac-Man, Pang, Qix, Slam Tilt, Space Invaders, Tetris and Vital Light, mix them up with some glowy retro visuals, throw in some decidedly C64 tunes, add a splash of classic arcade mentality and lo and behold Huenison will be born." indiegames.com

"Huenison perfectly captures the essence of addictiveness and gradual mastery that retro games are so famous for, but it does so without pounding you over the head with it or making you feel like a failure." jayisgames.com

"Being what it is, Huenison isn't about progressing through a story or any of that nonsense; it's all about racking up high scores and surviving the onslaught of bricks." indiestatik.com

"It's chaotic, challenging and so much fun! Welcome to HUENISON!" wraithkal.info

"A riot of dot matrix retro graphics, synthetic sounds from the Commodore 64 and mechanics taken from an era still magical for many retrogamers." inidevault.it (Italian)

"In short, when it comes to new ideas in the world of indie games inspired by the old glories of the past, it is not always easy to match the giants of the genre but there is a lot of innovation in Huenison." idealsoftblog.it (Italian)

"Huenison we liked." Retromaniac Magazine (Spanish)

"The musical theme of Huenison is very good, elevates the intensity of the game, and it sounds like it has come out of the SID chip of Commodore 64." amiga.gr (Greek)

"You need eyes of a chameleon to track everything that happens on the screen at the same time. And with the price of chameleons eyes implants nowadays, Huenison is hard game to beat..." ordordiretro.fr (French)

C64 16KB Cartridge Game Development Competition - Status Update #1

Ok, ok! I know that I should have posted a status update on our 16KB C64 game competition at least a month ago, but things have been stupid busy here at RGCD. So, without further delay, let's have a look at the progress made by the entrants so far.

---

Competition Entry #1: The Blob (Working Title)
Developer: David Eriksson
Status: In Progress

David Eriksson (he of the C64 Spike Dislike port and Driar fame) has returned to working on his tentitively titled 'blob' game, and already the current preview is miles ahead of where he was last year. Planned as a huge (for 16KB) metroidvania platformer, this flick-screen game already features a variety of beautifully presented enemies, wonderful animated landscapes, unlockable abilities and even checkpoints! With most of the work done, it seems that there is just the level design left - without meaning to sound too enthusiastic, I have incredibly high hopes for this one!

Maximus Action Carnage (PC)

Every now and then I encounter a game that kicks the living shit out of me, yet I can't help but to keep coming back for more. Maximus Action Carnage by Bruneras is one such game - and when I say it kicked my ass, it kicked so hard I tasted leather. Built as a stunning example of what Bruneras' Arcade Game Studio is capable of, as a standalone game Maximus Action Carnage doesn't exactly bring anything new to the shmup genre; a heroic army bloke shoots everyone, everyone dies, the end. This is a super tough vertically scrolling shooter made in the same vein as Ikari Warriors or Commando. There is a backstory, but whatever - we didn't come here for the reading.

Anodyne (PC/Mac/Linux/iOS)

From the moment you start Anodyne, its creators Sean Hogan and Jonathan Kittaka send you on an imaginative journey where the feeling of isolation runs rampant and the need to connect in a disconnected world where fantasy and reality exist adjacent to each other drives you to the truth. Your quest starts as you play a boy named Young and follow his progress through The Land to get to the Briar. Aided by the Village Elder, armed with a trusty broom (only real men use brooms), you traverse many lands solving puzzles in dungeons a la Zelda and unraveling the mystique that shrouds the world while ethereal sounds punctuate your footsteps.

Retro Racing (PC/Mac/iOS/Android/Ouya)

In a lot of ways, Retro Racing is exactly what I wanted. A top-down 2D racing game with simple, clear graphics and a perfect feeling physics model. Those who remember Nitro on the Amiga will likely start drawing some direct comparisons, and as well they should, because Jamie "Mr Qwak" Woodhouse was also the author behind that classic. With its engine roaring at the start grid alongside other releases trying to keep the cult genre of top-down racing alive, despite all its efforts Retro Racing is just not quite substantial enough to beat the competition.

Rogue Legacy (PC)

I forgot long ago how many generations have passed, how many flame-ring-tossing wizards I've slain, how many chests I've opened and how many spike-filled corridors I've traversed, how many times my IBS-ridden children have farted in midst of a dangerous battle. Rogue Legacy can do that to you.

Founded in 2009, the creator of Rogue Legacy, Cellar Door Games were already pretty well known in the indie scene for their portfolio of flash games - in particular the cheekily named "Don't Shit Your Pants", but their past successes are nothing in comparison to the mass exposure that they have received following the release of Rogue Legacy. And this exposure is well deserved, as Rogue Legacy is one of the most, if not the most, enjoyable 2D platformers I've played in a very long time (save for the superb Spelunky).

Super Amazing Wagon Adventure (PC/XBLIG)

Gritty reboots are the in-thing for cinema these days. Man of Steel recently reforged the camp-as-Christmas-and-twice-as-festive Superman franchise into a love poem to fatalism and duty, the Christopher Nolan Batman films did away with such marvels as the Bat Credit Card (never leave home without it) and there's a similar trend in video games, with the latest Tomb Raider excursion being more a bit grimy. But what is to be done with a game already brutal and unforgiving? A game that for thirty or more years has been chewing people up and spitting them out?

I speak of The Oregon Trail, the merciless edutainment game of watching settlers die horribly and uselessly. Often of dysentery. And the answer to the question is: go in the opposite direction and make a wagon-based migration game that is an absolutely unhinged and dirtily, filthily fun shoot-em-up. Welcome to the stage of history, colonist. This is Super Amazing Wagon Adventure. This is How The West Was FUN. Let's get edutained!

Thomas Was Alone (PC/Mac)

Games rarely balance humor whilst asking life defining questions. Who am I? Why am I here? Am I defined by my actions or by who I associate with? Mike Bithell is willing to rectify this with the wonderful Thomas Was Alone.

The game revolves around a rectangle called Thomas who blips into existence one day with no comprehension of what he is and why he is here. During his travels he encounters more individuals who are equally confused but seem to have inherent abilities that are useful to Thomas and continuing his journey through the unknown. The relationships the tiny blocks develop are hilarious and also heart warming - so don't hit Wikipedia before playing as you'll ruin half the fun.