In an unintented effort to maintain a theme of odd game recommendations that is probably born more from mismanagement of time rather than ambitions to stay consistent, I have another very short and simple arthouse type game to share with you this week. Created by independent developer Abraham Parangi of Cambrian Games, Phyta will both relax and entertain you with its simplistic gameplay and mesmerizing soundtrack.
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This week’s game is an odd one. I really can’t tell you much about the game without ruining it. It’s called Execution and it was created by a Game Maker Community forum member by the name of 2Dcube. He has a good assortment of other games which he has made at his website, but this game is not listed. I’ll link you to the forum thread where he originally posted it, but I urge you not to visit it until you’ve played the game first. It is a free download.

1. Get it here or here and play it.

2. Please share your thoughts in a comment.

3. Finally, visit the original forum thread.

Not only is this week’s cheap game is free, but it’s also the first MMORPG that I’ve covered here at DoSu. Both published and developed by NCSoft, Dungeon Runners has been available for free or paid play as a download for just about over a year now, but starting last week retail boxes have been hitting shelves. While my boxed copy is still in transit to me (B&Ms are for suckers!), I’ve been playing on a free account and I am ready to recommend it.
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And I’m back! I had to skip a week. I ran out of good ideas to show you guys. I have some new things in bag now, though. We’d been wanting to promote Beyond Good & Evil for a while and decided that PseudoKnight is the most passionate about it here, so it’s only appropriate that he do the post. I hope you enjoyed that, and I hope some of you ended up checking out BG&E. It really should not be missed.

Attack or defend? This is the question at the very core of any good combat strategy game, once you look past all the tech trees and resource management, diplomacy and build orders. This week’s featured game from Introversion Software entitled Defcon: Everybody Dies will have you asking yourself this question during every crucial second of gameplay.
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When I first considered tackling the vast library of GameTap games for our cheap gaming feature, the first title that popped into my mind was Beyond Good & Evil. Subsequent deeper considerations unavoidably retrieved the same result. It grabs you by the soul. I’ll try and restrain repeating the “propaganda”. So, with news of the sequel on its way, let’s discuss the original.

Released in late 2003 to positive reviews, the game nevertheless sold rather poorly. It was a new franchise with an image that didn’t grab gamers’ attention… until later. Through word of mouth alone BG&E steadily grew a base of adoring fans long after it was considered a financial failure.
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Trials 2: Second Edition is a physics-based stunt-racing game created by Helsinki, Finland-based studio RedLynx. The developer’s previous releases include Warhammer 40,000: Squad Command for the DS and PSP.

In Trials 2, players control a masochistic individual on a motorcycle who’s got it in his mind to climb, flip and sacrifice life and limb to make his way through all manner of obstacle courses. Course types are separated by various objectives. These include “Wheelie”, where points are awarded for driving on one wheel; “Flips”, where extra time and points are awarded for doing flips; and Dynamic, which sets you on courses filled with any variety of obstacles. These are in addition to the general track compilations of various difficulties. RedLynx has made a habit of distributing new tracks via free patches as well.
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I have another “Shmup” (Shoot’eM–Up) for you here today, similar to Geometry Wars from a couple of weeks ago. Unlike Geometry Wars, however, and more similar to Every Extend Extra Extreme from Q Entertainment, the object of this twin stick shooter is to create chains of explosions over top of some pretty interesting music. The game is Everyday Shooter, created by Jonathan Mak of Queasy Games, and this formerly PS3-exclusive shooter is now on the PC. As the winner of three IGF 2007 awards including Design Innovation, Excellence in Audio and the GameTap Indie Award, it’s very much worth a look.

You’ll forgive me if I refer to Geometry Wars more than a few times. It’s just the most convenient point of reference that I have on hand. Anyway, in Everyday Shooter, like in Geometry Wars you will be navigating your way through a 2D board while avoiding shapes of all colors, shapes and sizes that are swarming around and toward you. Unlike in Geometry Wars, however, your objective is not to destroy as many enemies as possible, as quickly as possible. Rather, you’ll be attempting to set off a chain of explosions that will take out as many enemies as you can. By creating chains you will cause your fallen enemies to “drop” you points that you’ll then have to pick up manually. Bigger chains will net you larger point rewards, so take your time on setting them off.
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