Seasonal Fun! Xbox Live Indies!

So as part of my search for great games to play this Halloween season, I turned this weekend to the XBLA service and dug around in the dark, cobwebby and overly-cluttered basement that is the Xbox Live Indies service. Besides the obvious Pumpkin Carving sims (hee, hee), I came up with four treats, each a different style of gameplay, to offer you a cheap gaming break from your holiday festivities.

Monsters (Probably) Stolen My Princess! - $3 

Originally a PSP Mini, Mediatronic’s Monsters (Probably) Stolen My Princess! was recently released (yay!) as an Xbox Live Indie. This frustratingly fun upwards-scrolling platformer will drive you nuts as you guide your little demon in relentless attacks against (probably) scheming monsters. A surprise gem amongst a lot of crap (and a must have PSP Mini), Monsters (Probably) Stolen My Princess! has some of the coolest design on the service and provides a lot of challenge for platformer fans.

Soul - $1

In Soul your goal is to bring a dead man to heaven by guiding his glowing soul through a gloomy and monster-filled set of mazes. Although it’s basically a collection of “don’t touch the walls” puzzles meant to test your skill with the left joystick, Kydos Studio’s Soul excels in its art and sound design, and is a worthy addition to your Xbox. Also, the monsters are frickin’ cool and will constantly piss you off.

Breath of Death VII - $1

For Xbox Indie fans who want a little more depth to their Indie holiday gaming fun, you can’t do better than the insanely economical, 6-hour “retro parody RPG”, Breath of Death VII: The Beginning. Ugly 8-bit in the best way possible, Zeboyd Games’ Breath of Death VII has you exploring an undead world with your skeleton knight and offers all the RPG standards… multiple game modes, character customization and obsessive leveling! Seriously, all this for a buck.

The Shadows in the Underworld - $3

I know a lot of people came down on the art and pacing of this game, but Polaris Games’ The Shadows in the Underworld, a one-man production inspired by the works of H.P. Lovecraft, deserves some attention and certainly rises above the expected quality of the average Xbox Indie. A submarine shooter that has you exploring a lost, underwater city, The Shadows in the Underworld offers co-op play, multiple difficulty levels and a different experience every time. Crank up the difficulty and go as fast as you can!

-Andy