Xbox Live Indie-Dome is a weekly feature where we sift through the Xbox Live Indie Games Marketplace to find the best and worst… so you don't have to!

Big week.

Lots of indies in this here Dome, and thankfully a lot of them are exceptional. In fact, I kind of regret finishing the Buyer’s Guide when I did as there are a couple in here that I’d easily pick to feature in it. I suppose featuring them in this week’s Dome will have to do.

But enough whining. This has been a surprisingly great week for indies. A whole mess of excellent titles are in here for your enjoyment and this year’s Humble Indie Bundle was quite the success, even if they didn’t quite crack 2 mil. So without further ado (read: stalling), here are a few of the best Live indie games to come out this year.

As always, not every release will get more than a few sentences. The games with multiple paragraphs have basically managed to stand-out due to their entertainment value and/or shockingly amazing awesomeness (these will feature the *Must Play* tag) or because they’re so incredibly terrible potential consumers deserve a warning (these feature the *Utter Failure* tag).

Remember, the Indie-Dome (like all reviews) is an opinion piece. The comments (or lack thereof) made throughout convey the reviewer’s thoughts on the overall quality (or lack thereof) of the submissions in a given week. These comments are not directed towards the developers, but rather their games. Seriously, we know most of you folks put a lot of hard work into these things, so please don’t take it personally.

Unless otherwise stated, only the trial versions were played and will be taken at face value. So if features present in the full version of the game are not shown or indicated in the demo, we obviously won’t be able to mention them. You don’t seriously think any of us has the money to buy each and every indie game that comes out each week, do you?

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A Game yOu can’t BEAT! 2

(Developer: Latin Soul Studio – 80 points)

*Utter Failure*

Well this is a great start to the week. I was planning on simply talking about how A Game yOu can’t BEAT! 2 was yet another “impossible platformer.” It looks better than the first game, features more insidious levels and so on. Basically, it’s improved, but not quite on-par with some of the other Impossibles you can find on Live. That’s what I was planning on going over, anyway. Instead I get to slap on a Poop Stamp and rant about yet another (*expletives deleted*) developer shamelessly trying to dupe players out of their virtual money with (*expletives deleted*) button-swapping scams. I really wish devs who try to pull this (*expletives deleted*) would get their XNA memberships revoked. Or at least suspended.

Don’t bother with it. And if you do, make sure you’re very careful about what buttons you press.

Polar Escape

(Developer: Pelarro – 80 points)

If I had to use one word to describe Polar Escape, it would be “rough.” If I were allowed to use two, they would be “very rough.” The premise is that Global Warming is attacking the polar bears, and it’s up to God and Al Gore (this is taken from the game’s “story,” honestly) to save them. The game itself is basically a Frogger clone which looks like it was cobbled together in MS Paint. While it’s not particularly appealing, it’s still Frogger at its core so it can be entertaining in small doses. The only real issue, aside from the visuals, is the irritating choice to use the face buttons to move. So rather than guiding your bears with the analog stick or digital pad, you have to press Y for up, X for left and so on. It’s awkward and seems totally unnecessary. Rather like Polar Escape itself, really.

Zombiez 8 My Cookiez

(Developer: Fritz – 400 points)

Zombiez 8 My Cookiez is a cute little twin-stick defense style game. You have to use your diminutive tank to fight off masses of diminutive zombies who want to steal your cookies. You yourself can’t really be hurt but you can be slowed by any zombies that may latch on to you, and if the zombies manage to drag all of your cookies away, you lose. It’s a relatively fun game that feels damn near impossible to play alone. So many zombies come from all sides and they don’t die as quickly as you’d expect. Plus you have to try and protect several cookies simultaneously. It’s definitely suited for more than one player.

Still, it’s pretty fun and it looks nice. Although some people may find the hefty price tag a little hard to swallow.

Retrovaders

(Developer: Games4Kids – 80 points)

Retrovaders is exactly the kind of game you’d expect it to be. In fact, it’s so much like its obvious inspiration that there really isn’t much of a reason to play it, unless you’re feeling nostalgic and can’t get your hands on the real thing. That’s assuming you’ve also somehow gotten sick of all of the other similar (and vastly superior) titles that have come out over the past couple of weeks.

This doesn’t mean Retrovaders is garbage, just that it’s a little too retro for its own good. Considering the fact that you can find a number of better games that do almost the same thing, and tend to offer more, for the same low price… Well let’s just say this one may have come out just a few weeks too late. Chalk it up to bad timing.

The Earth Machine

(Developer: IconJ – 80 points)

*Must Play*

I’m not entirely sure what you’d call The Earth Machine. I suppose it falls under the Obstacle Avoidance tag or something. The basic point of the game is to roll the Earth around (not unlike a marble) to different spots within a grid of six squares (that you can switch on and off). The reason you’re doing this is because you have to avoid oncoming asteroids. I know, I’m lost, too.

It’s not all about avoidance, though. As the moon spins around you, you can take advantage of it’s positioning and launch satellites into orbit. Each time the moon is “directly” above the Earth you can launch one, and if you have enough of them they’ll create a sort of defense shield that can protect the planet from smaller, harder-to-spot space rocks. You also have the option of setting up a laser defense system that gets its power from the satellites you have surrounding you. These lasers will automatically shoot down small asteroids, keeping you safe and netting you points. It’s weird and it’s more than a little slow to start, but damned if I can’t get this game out of my head for some reason.

Vertigo

(Developer:Run Jump Duck Entertainment – 80 points)

In a world saturated with games involving running, jumping and sliding, a game has to do something different in order to stand out. Or be really awful. Fortunately in Vertigo‘s case, it isn’t awful.

Vertigo is all about making good time. You’ll have to leap over gaps, kick-jump off of walls and activate boosts in order to reach that coveted top spot. Scattered throughout each stage are red orbs that you can trigger with a well-timed button press which will give you that speed boost I mentioned, and triggering multiples consecutively will increase your speed even further. There are also special jump icons that will launch your character around, much like the barrel cannons in Donkey Kong Country, only you’ll have to keep mashing A if you want to keep your feet off the ground. You can’t actually die as far as I can tell, but screw ups will slow you down.

There are also multiple modes on offer, including up to four player multiplayer, a campaign mode and more. It stands to reason that if you like “runners” and prefer them to have responsive controls with no overtly obnoxious obstacles, then the inappropriately named Vertigo (seriously, it seems as though vertigo plays no part in the actual game) is probably right up your alley.

Return All Robots

(Developer: zircon – 240 points)

*Must Play*

Return All Robots is one of those “push an object to the goal” type of games where the object in question will move in a continual straight line until it hits an obstacle. Then you move it again and so on. I’m sure you know the type. Well in this case the objects in question are robots, and you aren’t so much pushing them as you’re “pulling” them towards you with a special remote.

In the beginning it seems fairly basic, but once you get past the first couple of tutorial levels it becomes apparent that Return All Robots is a fairly complex puzzler. And deserves the multiple stars it’s been given. Things are made much more complicated (and interesting) through the addition of berserk robots that will wreck your game if they touch you or the regular bots, as well as environmental hazards to watch out for. This is definitely not a puzzle game you want to miss. If you like puzzle games that is.

Space Gladiator

(Developer: 80 points)

Space Gladiator is a nice little twin-stick arena shooter that has you blasting your way through waves of enemy ships (other gladiators, probably) as well as random alien-looking things. There are quite a few power-ups and many of them do interesting things, like making your turret gun shoot rings of energy that will wreck everything. There’s even the requisite ship upgrades you can purchase once you’ve defeated a level’s boss.

The one issue I have with the game is the odd choice in audio. The music is sweeping and epic, but it’s a bit too epic. Actually, it’s way too epic. It’s the kind of thing you’d expect to hear as you’re clambering up a colossi or saving the world from a tyrant-turned-god. But top-down arena space battles? Not so much. It’s still a decent enough game though, despite many of its peers providing a more complete package.

GGC X

(Developer: Ludosity Interactive – 80 points)

GGC X is every bit as crazy and awesome as the first Garden Gnome Carnage, only now it sports a Christmas theme. Which honestly makes a little more sense than the other one. I mean it’s hard to imagine why a bunch of soldiers would care about a gnome on a roof, but when you throw Christmas elves into the mix it just seems to fit better.

Anyway, it’s every bit as great as the first game, sure, but it’s also the exact same game with a slightly different theme. It plays a chiptune rendition of Jingle Bells and you’re flinging bricks at elves and flying sleighs. Other than that it’s exactly the same. Which doesn’t mean that you should avoid GGC X, just that you probably won’t find anything worth your while if you’ve already purchased the original. But then if you haven’t you can go ahead and choose which version you’d prefer. Either one is well worth the dollar.

resistanceBlocks

(Developer: ThePocketOfResistance – 80 points)

*Utter Failure*

resistanceBlocks is another block-dropping puzzle game that attempts to try something new. In this case, it’s swapping between several blocks as they drop simultaneously. Some people may find it an intriguing concept but it’s rather annoying in practice. And this irritating mechanic, combined with the rather grating and repetitious music, as well as the somewhat slow (but not slow enough) block speed, makes the game both dull and frustrating to play. There is an option to adjust the block speed in the menus, but it just doesn’t feel like enough. I dunno, if you like block puzzles you may enjoy your time with resistanceBlocks, but it’s not something I ever plan to come back to.

CyberSnake

(Developer: Codiak – 80 points)

*Utter Failure*

It’s pretty obvious from the screen below that CyberSnake isn’t a pretty game, but that’s not why it’s sporting the Poop Stamp. Or because of the extremely poor tutorial that’s actually just a wall of text explaining the (seemingly over-complicated) rules. No, the reason for that is solely because of the controls. Basically, they feel broken. Sometimes the “snake” will turn, other times it won’t. Sometimes it’ll turn a square earlier than you’d intended. And quite often you’ll end up colliding with the wall because the damn thing just won’t respond. It’s a letdown, pure and simple.

iFate Tarot Explorer

(Developer: iFate dotCom – 240 points)

If you’re into Tarot stuff, then I can’t think of a better Live indie offering than iFate Tarot Explorer. Granted there aren’t very many choices, but of those choices this is probably the one you want. For starters it has a very slick presentation. The menus look professional, the cards are both detailed and rendered in high definition and there are a multitude (seven, total) of different tarot readings available. What’s even better, each card gets a full description for both normal and inverted so folks like me who know nothing about this stuff can still get something out of it. If you like metaphysical stuff, you might want to check this out.

Combat Tanks Part II

(Developer: Diego Salazar – 240 points)

*Beyond Utter Failure*

Pre-Playing: This game is going to be every bit as awful as the recycled garbage Mr. Salazar has been releasing since… well since I’ve started doing the Domes and have grown to loathe seeing his name on the screen.

Post-Playing: I was right. Don’t buy this game. Don’t even bother to play it.

B.U.T.T.O.N

(Developer: Copenhagen Game Production ApS. – 80 points)

*Must Play*

If you ever have more than one person in your house/apartment/place you keep your 360, buy B.U.T.T.O.N. It’s an insane party game with a host of random and utterly bizarre tasks each player needs to perform in order to compete. These range from singing Happy Birthday to jumping up and down and more. It’s a very physical game, especially as the rounds progress, but it’s also one hell of a good time when you have at least one other person to play with.

Anywhere from two to eight players can partake in the madness, and if you’re playing with four or less you won’t even need any extra controllers: each player can be assigned to one face button. It’s hard to truly explain this game without a demonstration, but do yourself a favor and give B.U.T.T.O.N a try the next time you have company over. Company that doesn’t mind having fun while acting crazy. I guarantee it’ll be the highlight of your evening.

Astroman

(Developer: StarQuail – 240 points)

*Must Play*

Astroman is simply a great game. It’s pretty much a simplified Metroidvania, but it’s very well put together, has a good soundtrack and plays quite well. There’s even a rather noticeable nod to it’s inspiration at the beginning for the “night” planet. The controls are pretty basic: use A to jump and X or B to fire your gun. That’s it. At least for starters. There were plenty of areas I’d noticed in the first level that I couldn’t reach, leading me to believe that there will eventually be new abilities to unlock as the game progresses. Always a good sign.

Each level is a planet, and once you manage to fix your ship after completing the first level, you can travel between all of them. Presumably to find more stuff and/or gear. It’s cute, it’s colorful, it’s functional and it’s quite entertaining to boot. There’s really no reason not to buy this. And if the three dollar price tag gives you pause, don’t let it. Astroman is totally worth it.

Warbirds At Work

(Developer: kaapeDevPublish – 80 points)

Warbirds At Work is a decent shmup with a few interesting ideas and one glaring flaw. First the interesting ideas: there are a lot of different special weapons you can acquire, each with their own unique effects. These weapons actually have their own ammo count, so you’ll probably find yourself rationing them for when you really need the help. There’s also a shield you can activate (when available), which does exactly what you’d expect it to do.

Now the glaring flaw: the various ships and their bullets don’t stand out enough from the background. At least not in the trial level. This leads to a lot of confusion, and it makes aiming your shots obnoxious as you can hardly tell where they’re going. Hell, when I first started playing I didn’t even realize I was shooting, that’s how hard it is to spot some of the shots. Still, it’s only a buck and it’s not garbage. Just remember there are better offerings out there at comparable prices before you purchase.

Xenocide

(Developer: DrMistry – 80 points)

Xenocide is another Space Invaders clone that does things fairly well overall. It looks nice and there’s some satisfying feedback to your alien kills, but it kind of gets lost in the shadow of a certain Uprising game that uses the same basic formula. I’m also not a huge fan of the power-ups that speed up or slow down your cannon, as either one seems to make the game much harder. It’s not a bad game, but like so many others it’s also not exceptional. And you can get other games that are for the same price.

The Xmas Chainsaw Massacre

(Developer: Torturas – 80 points)

*Must Play*

The Xmas Chainsaw Massacre is simple, bloody fun. You run around as a chainsaw-wielding Saint Nick, carving up elves, turkeys and snowmen left and right. Well, no so much the turkeys. They blow up when you get too close.

The entire thing is basically a score/time attack survival game wrapped in a visually pleasing stylized package. It’s like a twin-stick shooter, only instead of shooting you’re aiming a motorized cutting implement. Boxes containing health or pudding bombs will occasionally pop up, but that chainsaw will remain your go-to weapon the entire time. Like I said; simple, bloody fun.

Insanity

(Developer: capturesteve – 80 points)

I honestly can’t figure out how I feel about Insanity. The developer is either a complete nut or a mad genius. By the same token I can’t decide if this game pisses me off or excites me. But none of this is actually giving you an idea of what it is exactly. So here you go:

Imagine playing a game of Pong and a game of Space Invaders at the same time. On the same screen, no less. One stick controls the paddle and the other stick and right trigger controls the ship. Like I said, mad genius.

I may not know exactly how I feel about Insanity, but I do think everyone should at least try it for themselves.

BoneD: Dead Men Don’t Jump

(Developer: QuimbyRBG – 240 points)

Parkour and skeletons. Two great tastes that taste great together? Maybe, maybe not. Either way, if you want to know how this frantic platformer will fare under the scrutiny of yours truly you know what you’ll have to do. You’ll have to run like you’ve never run before, jump over and off of anything that gets in your way and even outrun the Grim Reaper himself. Well, actually you’ll just have to take a look at our review.

Petunk

(Developer: Hypercube Games – 80 points)

*Must Play*

Petunk is essentially a game of minigolf, but viewed from a top-down perspective. You have to bounce and ricochet your balls around the screen and get them to rest on the target. The catch is you have to get at least two of them there for it to count as a win. Okay, there’s also a second catch: each ball is in a slightly different position, so you can’t rely on using the same exact angle and shot strength each time.

That in itself sounds like an okay game, I’m sure. But you’re probably wondering why it has a Must Play attached to it. Well, all of the visuals were made using construction paper. So it’s rather cool looking and highly stylized. And if you’ve been following up on a few of the Indie-Domes you know I’m a sucker for both those things.

Don’t judge me.

Casino Nights

(Developer: GZ Storm Games – 80 points)

I think it’s safe to say that if you enjoy playing casino games like Blackjack or Slots, then you’ll probably enjoy losing your virtual shirt in Casino Nights.

Lots of different games are represented here, including video poker, keno, roulette and more, and while you aren’t playing with real money (or winning any) it’s still hard to deny the warm feeling you get when you finally win a game or two. Each game is done well as far as I can tell, and the interface makes playing over and over with the same bet (or increasing/decreasing it) a snap. The fact that the game sports a retro “early ’90s VGA” look is just icing on the cake.

Bad Golf

(Developer: Adam Spragg Games – 80 points)

Bad Golf is a less refined and much less aesthetically pleasing version of Stick Golf. Anyone with an iPhone/iTouch should know what that means. That’s not a bad thing when you consider that there’s nothing comparable on the 360, but it’s still worth mentioning.

So what is Bad Golf? It’s like golf, only it’s played entirely in 2D. And the courses become utterly insane. It uses a simplified aiming system akin to Worms, where you choose the angle of your shot, then use timed button presses to set the desired strength and watch your ball fly. Hopefully into the hole. It’s fun and it features some wacky courses, but if you own an iDevice you’re honestly better off with the more expansive, prettier version that costs the same amount. If you don’t have one then you should probably check out Bad Golf.

BLOCKPLUS

(Developer: heloli – 80 points)

BLOCKPLUS is a classic brick-breaking game just like Arkanoid and the like. And when I say “classic” I mean it. This games feels old. In a nostalgic way, but still old. The screen even flickers repeatedly when you start up the game.

There are fifty stages for you to play through, but rather than having any sort of level progression you have to select each level individually from the options menu. You can also make other minor adjustments, such as how many balls you’re allowed and your overall paddle size. There’s also an option to watch your Avatar’s reflection in the “glass” while you play, but if it’s too distracting (or annoying) you can easily toggle it off with the Y button.

If you love Breakout and you’re feeling nostalgic, go ahead and give BLOCKPLUS a whirl.

Alien Hunter

(Developer: GBCoder29 – 80 points)

*Utter Failure*

Alien Hunter is an okay idea, but the game itself is just lacking too much overall to be much fun.

You’re stuck on an alien ship and have to gather parts on each level (four parts total) in order to activate a teleporter and move on the the next stage. This seems to go on forever or until you die. Whichever comes first.

The problems, and the lack of polish, found throughout this game are plentiful, but at least it’s vaguely playable unlike some indie first-person shooters. Even so, it’s just no fun. The levels are completely stark, the aliens look and animate horribly (don’t even get me started on their voices), your limited selection of firearms will run out of ammo really quickly but there don’t seem to be any bits of ammo to find and it takes too many shots to bring one of the green scumbags down. I mean really, two shots to the forehead from a scoped rifle? Seriously?

REVOLVER360

(Developer: Cross Eaglet – 240 points)

*Must Play*

I can hardly find the words.

REVOLVER360 is basically a very pretty shmup. One with some great action, great explosions, great feedback and great music. Basically, it’s great. Sure your enemies’ shots can get lost the the chaos of the action, but it’s really the big shots that matter most and those are bright blue. Kind of hard to miss them.

So yeah, REVOLVER360 is a fantastic and gorgeous shmup that has a visual style similar what I’d picture the bastard child of Ikaruga and Rez to look like. But as with all great shmups, what really makes it stand out is a unique mechanic. In this case, it’s the ability to rotate the playing field a full 360 degrees (eureka!). This allows you a degree of control over your enemies’ ordinance; by flipping the perspective you can turn that widespread fan-pattern of bullets into a single line, for example. My one worry is that there may not be very many levels, but with the infinite mode and the global leaderboards it’s still bound to keep shooting junkies busy for a while.

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*Must Plays*

• The Earth Machine (80 points)
• Return All Robots (240 points)
• B.U.T.T.O.N (80 points)
• Astroman (240 points)
• The Xmas Chainsaw Massacre (80 points)
• Petunk (80 points)
• REVOLVER360 (240 points)

*Utter Failures*

• A Game yOu can’t BEAT! 2 (80 points)
• resistanceBlocks (80 points)
• CyberSnake (80 points)
• Combat Tanks Part II (240 points)
• Alien Hunter (80 points)