TOOTH – Trials Out Of the Hat

Welcome to TOOTH – a new feature, in which I will take two random trials out of the Xbox Live Indie pool, and run them through the paces. This week, I’ve selected Bush Hunt by RiddlerSoft, and Word Duelist by Sowaz.

WORD DUELIST

Fact: Ninjas kick robot dinosaurs in the neck ALL THE TIME!

A game geared towards word puzzle enthusiasts, Word Duelist pits the protagonist against 9 other characters in an academy setting. To progress, you must out-word them in a duel. In my time with the trial, I only managed to sample two of the reported 15 word games in my duel, and they weren’t overly compelling. The graphics are pretty bare-bones fare. I found the use of the left analog stick to pick letters frustrating at times; it was a bit sensitive, and I found myself selecting letters I didn’t want.  Interesting premise, but I’m going to pass on the full game.

Words, words, words.

Verdict: Not much bite.
Word Duelist – developed by Sowaz

80 Microsoft Points

BUSH HUNT

It ain't the 70's anymore, gramps. No one hunts for bush.

In Bush Hunt, you are tasked with a sacred mission: Find rare, exotic creatures, and kill them all. You can choose a character (so the game says. It’s really all the same character, and you can change the main color of the sprite) and head into the wilds. You’ll parachute into a jungle area, and once you land, you need to find all the creatures and then shoot them. Use all of your skills! You can jump, duck and shoot. That’s about it.

jump and shoot and rinse and repeat

The graphics are decent enough, but the sprites are limited to two animation frames each. Killing enough of the creatures will provide you with an upgrade to your weapon which lessens the time between shots.  The levels don’t feel like they’re following any kind of design.  Maybe they’re randomly generated? I only played through the trial once, so I’ll never know.  There isn’t a lot going on in the single player experience, but you can play two player co-op, or online with three other players.

Verdict: Emergency root canal.

Bush Hunt – developed by RiddlerSoft

80 Microsoft points.

So Indie You: Developer Profiles

Andrew Roberts, Cosmic Logic.

The indie gaming scene is here and growing like a CA brush fire, but it wouldn’t be what it is today without the dedication of programmers, designers and companies willing to release quality titles without the backing of major publishers. Here at IndieGameReviewer, we want to know what makes ‘em tick.

We had a chance to interview Andrew Roberts, CEO of Cosmic Logic, a new and talented team who are already making a name for themselves in the indie gaming community.

IndieGameReviewer: Andrew, can you tell us how Cosmic Logic came into being?

Andrew Roberts: Cosmic Logic officially became incorporated in April of 2008, however, was in conception for over 4 years before that point. In 2004, while still in college studying business, I had the idea that someone should start a video game company that was rooted in the 80’s. I thought it would be unique for a company to start making games as if it were 1983, and simply make a game as if it were to be launched on NES or Atari 2600. From that, the company would take that same game, and do a 16 bit sequel, followed by a 3D sequel, etc. The main point however, was to start small with a game that could be realistically put on the market with minimal development time, while at the same time building brand recognition by designing strong characters and planning sequels.

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For whatever reason this great ad for Xbox 360 never aired.  Maybe it’s because society doesn’t mass John Woo styled flash mobs invading airport terminals.  Whatever, it rocks.  Jump in.