Who you gonna call?

Got another weird indie RPG for you today, its got ghosts, bats, and onion rings (maybe?). It's called OFF. It's hard to go into detail about this game and not give anything away so I'm going to keep this short and quick. First off: ghosts

GONNA GETCHA

 Ghosts are the primary enemy of the game. There are big ghosts, small ghosts, typical ghosts, weird ghost, upside down ghosts, stretchy neck ghosts, people ghosts, animal ghosts, and even more types of ghosts. The art for the enemy sprites in the battle screens are also well done, they're exactly as weird as you'd expect for this game. Moving on to the second topic: Bats

This kind, not the flying kind

The protagonist of this game is known only as The Batter, and his goal is the purification of all specters everywhere. At his disposal are the various bats you find through the game, and his moves, which are all named after baseball in one way or another. No pitches though, so that kind of sucks, but then he'd be the pitcher, not the batter, wouldn't he? Moving on to the last topic: Onion Rings.

Hmmmmmm

By "Onion Rings" I mean everything strange in the game, from the music (all great, especially the battle theme), the plot (no spoilers here), and the world  that the game takes place in and the people that you meet there (The over world map is mostly a black void with strange voices whispering at you). You'll eventually see what I'm referring to in the game by Onion Rings, though they aren't golden or delicious.

CRITICAL HIT

The only problem some people might have with this game is that they might see it as a poor attempt at being "deep". But that's down to personal preference, and it's a part of what makes the game weird. Still, if you like RPGs, oldtimey stripped baseball uniforms, ghost busting, things that are shaped like onion rings but aren't actually onion rings, and talking cats, then you should like OFF.

Watch out, ghosts

You can snag OFF here.

Thanks to Indiana Jones ALL archeologists use whips

Happy new year! Since the Mayan's weren't actually faking everyone out and planning on blowing up the planet at the dawn of 2013, we can all breathe a sigh of relief, and get right back to the important things: preparing for the post apocalypse, and video games.

"Man, if the world really HAD ended I wouldn't have to clean this"

Today I got something REALLY good for you, its difficult enough and long enough that it's going to take more than a lazy afternoon to get from start to finish, and that's not even counting the bonus dungeon, that game is La-Mulana. The game plays like an adventure platformer game, with items to find, puzzles to solve, and traps to get murdered by repeatedly until you figure out how to get past it.

I'm surprised the traps still work after all these years

The game itself has a strange history to it. Starting out as a PC game way back in 2005 for the first release in Japan, at some point being translated into English for PC, then coming out on the Wii in Japan in 2011, then it was updated and remade for PC in 2012.  La-Mulana  for the Wii was localized for American and Europen markets later that year. The Wii version obviously isnt free, and neither is the fancy updated PC version, but the original PC version is, so if you're a hobo playing this on a laptop, you're still good to go.

"I'm no hobo! I'm differently financed"

LA-Mulana is an extensive game, with multiple bosses, great music, secret stuff to find, and puzzles that are harder to solve than "put the red block in the red hole", all with a difficulty curve that will kick you right in the face if you give it half a chance. If any of that sounds appealing to you, then you should snag La-Mulana and prepare yourself to get really mad at scorpions and bats.

Bring on the scorpions and bats

you can snag La-Mulana at a bunch of places, like here or here

Capcom had to put Street fighter first in the name just because

Hey would you look at that! We aren't dead! Guess armageddon will have to wait for another time. Guess you could use all of that canned food you bought for Christmas dinner...or you could do the smart thing and keep that bunker stocked, because you never know

Well shit

Short post today, we all have stuff that needs doing so lets just dive right into the thick of it. This time I got a fan Megaman game that was officially sponsored by Capcom. Because its the 25th year of the Street Fighter franchise there's been a lot of stuff coming out of Capcom this year, like art books, music, and other tributes. However it's also the 25th year of the Megaman franchise, but since Capcom hates the shit out of everything Megaman related, it hasn't been a fun year to be a Megaman fan.

WHY

Recently, Capcom threw money at a megaman fangame instead of sending a cease and desist e-mail so they could use it for their anniversary thing, probably because it crossed over with their PAY TO WIN street fighter game. Street Fighter X Megaman plays like a typically Megaman game, you pick stages, get power ups from beating bosses (and you'll probably end up looking up what power up counters which boss)

Because that's just how the internet works

If you like Megaman, go snag the game, the street fighter bosses are pretty neat and have some cool animations. If you like Street Fighter, I hate you.

The sooner we accept that he's not getting off the moon, the sooner the healing can begin

You can snag Street Fighter X Megaman here

The little guy totally jumped like Megaman in earlier versions of the game

Last day before the Mayan sky god Quetzacotal comes down from space and makes everything explode, or something (who knows, weld armor plates to your car just in case there are mutant bandits in the after math). In the mean time, pass the final hours teasing your brain, because you never know, that bit of mental exercise might just save your ass in the future when you need to defuse a makeshift bomb (hopefully not the one you made yourself to fight the mutant bandits).
Perspective is a neat puzzle game that's about just that: your own perspective. Using the combination of the little 2D guy you need to guide to the finish with the 3D environment full of platforms for him to run on and obstacles you need to get him past makes for a neat puzzle game, making a weird side scrolling platformer game that's also played from the first person perspective.

How many triangles? 100% of people who cant count get this wrong!

Perspective came out on 12/12/12, so when everyone else was freaking out because its a "once in a century event" not realizing that the next day and the day before only happen once in a hundred years as well, the developers behind this game, who go by the name "Widdershins" were probably doing last minute bug fixes and having a launch party. Widdershins also comes out of DigiPen, so you know they're not screwing around with this, probably planning on using this game to get a job in THE INDUSTRY, so here's hoping they do if that's their plan.

Orange and Blue color contrast is everywhere: THERE'S NO ESCAPE

 If you like puzzles, Perspective might be what you're looking for, you can snag it here

"I cant shake this guy!"

Only five days left! All the planets are getting ready to break from their regular orbits and shift into alignment and the Mayan skeleton warriors are sharpening their spears in their caves, waiting for the big day. Got more video games for you to stick in your bunker computers so you wont get bored while waiting for the fires to die out and the air to clear. Today I got something new for you today, its got killer robots, nuclear missiles, spaceships, and genocide. Its called Diaspora: Shattered Armistice.

Diaspora is a fan made game based on the Battlestar Galactica show, not the series that played in 1978, the "RE-IMAGINING" that premiered way back in December of 2003, which has been in development for over four years. The game itself is made on Free Space 2's open source code, meaning that the reason this game is free is because the developers would get sued by two separate groups of people if they tried to charge cash for it. The game uses both the shows' source material and Free Space 2's code to full effect, making missions that feel like they're from the earlier episodes of the show, and the zero-G flying physics feels like it was lifted from the show as well. The cockpits for the ships are well detailed, and based off of the show.

The game has the giant clouds of SPACE FLAK as well

Gameplay wise the dog fighting feels fluid, and the game works with Track IR if you have that. During missions it almost always feels like shit is hitting the fan, with missiles everywhere and raider wings that keep jumping faster than you can shoot down the ones that are already there, all while the FTL system slowly charges. And then you have the civilian ships that join you, have fun trying to save everyone from everything at the same time.

"WE JUST LOST THE AZURE SUNSET!"

If you like Battlestar Galactica, or Space Combat Flight Sims, then Diaspora is definately worth a look.  There are episodic releases planned for the future so if you like what you hear then good news because there's going to be more of it. I mean it has space ships AND robots, who doesn't like that?

This guy

However, this game isnt no quick download, it's at least a gig, and it need a litte bit more "omph" from your computer to work, so I wouldn't recommend trying to play this on a toaster (My jokes are only getting worse as time goes on). You can get Diaspora: Shattered Armistice here

I have no idea whats going on and neither will you

The Mayan day of reckoning, December 21st edges ever closer, gotta get more video games up here before time runs out! What I got for you today is so strange, so odd, so far out there that I need to put up a warning first before I start talking about it. The game for this week is Middens, and I cannot recommend it if you have a poor mental constitution, are prone to nightmares, or are easily over stimulated, because this game really doesn't screw around.

This game might cause mental illness, we don't know

Middens jumps right on the crazy train right at the start and never lets up. Even the title screen is strange, what with the earth being in the middle of getting a new piercing in the background. All aspects of the game art ooze surreal weirdness, from the strange shifting sprites to the backgrounds where freaky beings roam just out of reach.

Why yes, that gun does have a face

The sound work in this is top notch, the sound sometimes being actual music, others just ambient background noise. It is dissonant, disturbing, delightful, and probably other describing words that start with "D" that I cant remember, the point is: its awesome.

The protagonist looks pretty slick in this

Gameplay wise, at the surface Middens seems like a "regular" RPG, or at least as close to regular as anything gets in this game. But thats not the case: in every battle you start off alone and you muse summon aspects of your mind, body, and soul to fight alongside you. Middens is structured around freeroam exploration, you are given the vaguest hint of a plot and then set loose upon a strange ever shifting landscape. Getting lost is part of the game, and part of the fun if you ask me: wandering around seeing new things is great, especially when you pass through an area you've been before and you discover new stuff. Though it might seem like its trying pretentious, it doesn't seem that way to me, rather that it's just trying new things.

How do i get back to the bus from here?

If you like turn based RPGs, open world exploration, weird music, or really screwed up art, then Middens might be for you. It might even prepare you for the aftermath of the Mayan apocalypse (that is if whats left of the world is a shattered and twisted landscape filled with broken souls, otherwise it wont help). Again, I cannot recomend this if you dont have the mental fortitude. If you play this then only have the drab concrete walls of your bunker to look while angry mutants claw at the doors you might lose it if you cant handle it.

An open window? Dont be crazy, they'll throw spears at you through there! Get some bullet proof glass

You can get Middens here

Skeletons, whales, and cats

Time for video games! Also an important public service announcement, but first video games. Today I got something really short. Like, two minutes if you rush short. So much so I concidered not putting it up on here, but if I did the weird werewolf music video game I can do this one too. It's called Dear Esteban, and yes, it's basically a big riff off of Dear Esther.

Look at that cursive "Begin" button, so sophisticated

Made back in November as a part of "Fuck This Jam", which is about making games for genres you dislike, rather than smashing jars of jellied fruit preserves, the developers have said that they actually like Dear Esther, and that, in their own words: "We love Dear Esther. Dear Esteban was made in good fun & parody. Dear Esteban is not so much 'Fuck This'. It's more a love letter to Dear Esther from the weird kid who doesn't have a shot but you kind of feel bad for." So if you liked Dear Esther, or like weird surreal stuff, then Dear Esteban might be your thing, and even if it isn't its not like it will take up much of your time to try it.

Doesn't any melting clocks though

You can get Dear Esteban here, and with that said and done its time for our the really important part of this post, the public service announcement.

"Buy canned food and shotguns!"

December twenty first is rapidly approaching, are you prepared? If you already have a bunker stocked with food, water, a generator, and a computer filled with video games, then you're ready. If not you really need to get on that, because how else will you deal with the waves of flaming Mayan skeleton warriors looking to use your torso as a pin cushion and your skin as a decorative throw rug?

Seems appealing, but its Walmart so you know those boxes are filled the to brim with Chinese lead

I mean sure, some of you might be looking to preserve things like "art" and "literature", but that's boring. Have some common sense and snag a flash drive and fill it with games so future generations can know the joys of games of the video variety.

Look at this guy, why don't you have a place like this?

 I mean obviously not everyone is going to escape from the mutants, fallout, and angry skeletons but you should at least put some effort into it.