Indie Game Pick: Flotilla

Flotilla is a quirky strategy game, available on PC and via Xbox Live Indie Games.

It puts you in the role of a spaceship captain with only seven months to live, asking you to go out with a bang.

You travel from planet to planet, encountering a wide variety of characters and opponents, many of whom are animals. You've got space flamingos, space koalas and...you get the idea.

Not all the characters you come up against are hostile:some will give you bonuses for your fleet of ships. When you do hit on an opponent, who doesn't like your style, it's battle time. You then get to take them on in a 3d, turn based space battle.

There are a variety of different ship types, each with different armour types and weapons. After you select your moves, you can watch the execution of them playing out in real time. For a game about space battles, I find it pretty relaxing, which is probably assisted by the subtle battle score and excellent character design.

The games tend to be very short, because of the character's terminal illness, but games are never the same. It has considerable replay value for this reason.

If the idea of a pretty easy going strategy game appeals, you can find out more at the Flotilla Homepage.

Looking Forward: Test Drive Unlimited 2

Test Drive Unlimited was, undoubtedly, among the most underrated of the early Xbox 360 releases. It gave you a pretty convincing facsimile of a Hawaiian island, a bunch of cars and an online multi-player mode that remains, to this day, pretty unique.

So, with that in mind, it's no wonder that I'm already counting down the days to the release of the sequel, due later this year. It promises improved handling, more customization and, to top it all off, a new playground.

The new location for Test Drive Unlimited 2 is the Mediterranean party island of choice, Ibiza. This promises all kinds of driving challenges, which will be perfect for showing off the new vehicles and their handling. There'll be plenty of twisty back roads for you, and the rest of the game's online players, to speed about in glamorous  automobiles.

Check out the game's website here, for a glimpse at what will be powering into stores this fall.

Rock Band 3 Expands Its Range

According to this post, from games industry news source Gamasutra, Rock Band 3 will offer the option of a 'real' guitar and a 'real' keyboard. The idea is to bridge that chasm between game and real instrument.

I'm not surprised by this. There's a clear need to expand the horizons of the genre, before the music game takes a nose dive into obscurity.

It could be a risky move, as those who fail to grasp the new guitar or keyboard, due to the complexity increase, may find their love for the game dipping quickly, and for good.

I can't, however, say that it appeals to me, an individual fighting the ever present need to spend money on crazy games related tat.

I've also been out of the music game loop for a while. I decided to stop the endless cycle of new peripherals after guitar Hero 2, to avoid having a room full of tiny plastic guitars.

As fun as the first two Guitar Hero games were, there was no sense that it was going anywhere. Besides, I'd pretty much already had my fill of tapping buttons in time, by then. Having geeked out on the likes of Parappa, Vib Ribbon and Gitaroo Man I had less patience, than average, for the big plastic guitar onslaught.

Looking Forward: Red Faction Armageddon

I was pretty late to the party with, Red Faction Guerilla, 2009's Mars set, open world game from Volition/THQ. When I got round to playing I was well aware of it's pedigree and the fun that could be had from the game's main hook; an ability to destroy buildings by explosive means, or by using a sledgehammer weapon.

So, keeping in mind that Volition also produced the underrated gem that is Saint's Row 2, I'm prepared to anticipate the upcoming Red Faction sequel, even if it seems a bit of a step backwards.

See The New Trailer here

It's all gone a bit Dead Space (which is on my pile of shame, for unjustly unfinished games) and it's also reverted to a largely underground setting, reminiscent of the PS2 based original.

Now, as long as it still maintains the enjoyable level of destruction, it's likely to prove satisfying. The trailers suggests the game may be going for a few shocks and scares, to accompany the carnage. This can only be a good thing.

As I'm expecting to say a lot over the next few days, expect to find out more when E3 rolls around.

E3 Is Just Around The Corner

The biggest event in video game promotion is just around the corner. E3 is the biggie, with all manner of developers and publishers appearing, to show off their upcoming games. Most of these titles will be the mainstays of the 2010 release schedule, though some longer term stuff will be on show.

I's an event mainly aimed at the press, though it gets more and more consumer friendly each year. This is largely down to the increased internet coverage, where info appears the moment it's announced.

Platform holders (Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft) and major publishers will each hold a press conference, in anticipation of the event, held in Los Angeles between 15th and 17th June.

This year's focus is sure to include the new motion controllers from Sony (Move) and Microsoft (Project Natal). Will new 3D tech also make its presence known?

I'm sure to be blogging about any new announcements, or news, catching my eye as things wind up over the next week.

How About Finishing This Game First?

I've been guilty, in my time, of some pretty heinous gaming crimes. Like many other gamers with busy lives, I rarely complete games.

Sometimes, it's the game's fault, with the reward for playing dipping off long before the end, or a spike in the difficulty that leaves you cold. I'm not an expert player and I'm not going to gnash my teeth through a misjudged difficulty curve. Life's too short.

More often though, it's my fault. I buy too many games. During the busiest periods of the year I'm transfixed by the hot new thing, before the last batch of hotness has properly cooled. Unless I'm glued to one particular game, my mind will wander. Give me something all-consuming, like Fallout 3, and I'll ignore all the rest. Otherwise I'm already asking 'What's next?' as I'm closing the disk drive.

I'm definitely getting better at dealing with this temptation, but there's almost always something sparkling in the unplayed pile, when I should be focusing on what I have in front of me.

Of course, the worst thing is the summer drought, where I would have plenty of back catalogue to consider, were it not for the fact that I've bought most of the stuff worth a go, only to get sidetracked by something with even more potential.

I will crack this problem though. The first step is to stop buying games in bulk, y'know, just because three good games came out on one day. Sometimes that could be the best stuff out for a month or more. And I should know by now; they won't all get a fair crack of the whip.

I'll probably never kill the desire to play anything and everything decent, but I can spread it out a bit more. I deserve it, and so do the fine people who make these games!

Looking Forward: Deus Ex 3

I'm pretty hyped about Deus Ex 3. Sure the team behind it is new, but the latest trailer is pretty impressive, in spite of being CG only.

Maybe I'm a soft target for this kind of thing, as I even liked the sequel; Deus Ex: Invisible War. Now, if you hang around the internet any, you'll be more than aware that loving the sequel ain't exactly the received opinion.

Okay it wasn't mind blowing, the way Deus Ex was in 2001, but it still scratched that gloomy futures vibe, with plenty of choice and a knowing approach to conspiracy folklore.

Check out the trailer and breathe in that cyberpunk splendour. Bladerunner influence, check. Ghost in the Shell influence, check.

Of course, the idea that all this futuristic goodness could be with us by 2027 is preposterous, but it's insanity of the good kind. It's got all the film noir trappings I like in my sci-fi, so I'll overlook pretty much anything.

Hopefully there'll be more to see at E3, plus there's plenty of time to go before it's early 2011 release date.

I've been playing a little bit of the original Deus Ex too, which I'll post about separately.

Open Source Pick: UFO:Alien Invasion

I love to find a good videogame via SourceForge. UFO:Alien Invasion is definitely worth a look, especially if you like some turn based strategy action.

Now, I'll level- I never played any X-Com/UFO games back in the day, but I've recently succumbed to the charms of a few related offshoots, which led me to this game.

The aim is to control a small squad of different combatants, equipping them and commanding them to wipe out an alien threat. The play moves from a configurable base and research set-up to the turn-based battles. During the battles multi-tiered buildings may be entered, for strategic purposes, as you try to wipe out the alien invaders.

The game is pleasingly deep, though not overly complex, succeeding in developing a satisfying tension as aliens can eliminate your team quickly, without player caution. Selectable difficult levels are provided to help you tweak this to your experience though, so it's never crushing.

It might take a little while to get your head round, unless you've played the X-Com or UFO games, in which case this open source tribute should be a cakewalk to get into.

The game's been developed pretty heavily over a number of years, so it comes highly recommended. Check it out.