Review summary

Desura seems to be having a bit of a free game marathon at the moment; just today, three free games have just been made available on the store front that are certainly worth checking out.

It is unknown why all of a sudden three free games have been uploaded on to Desura, but who are we to complain? Each of them involve shooting in some form or another, albeit each of them manage the art in a different manner, with varying paces and different targets at the end of it.

Bullet Train

This shooter from Box Top Games is a short but frantic experience in which you must defend a cargo upon a train from various enemies in a Western setting. This isn’t a simple cowboy shooter though – you’ll be shooting animate cacti, tumbleweed spiders and rock titans amongst other desert-based creatures. Every time you reach a station there are new weapons and upgrades to buy. The most fun can be had when jumping into a turret and mowing everything down in your wake.

Download Bullet Train for Windows by heading on over to its Desura page.

Zombie Grinder

Twin Drills’ debut title involves a familiar trope if there ever was one; the killing of zombies. However, the focus of Zombie Grinder is providing cooperative multiplayer arcade mayhem. There are multiple game modes up for grabs too: co-op campaign, PvP and even wave maps for the ultimate zombie carnage challenge. The game provides further variety and replayability with achievements, ranking, player-customization, RPG style stats and more good stuff!

You can download Zombie Grinder for Windows, Mac and Linux from its very own Desura page.

Naev

The vast grandeur of space is opened up to you once again in Naev. Exploration, battles and trading is what will keep you occupied in this space operatic journey. Factions will be met, spoken to and pissed off and you will meet the consequences for you actions and inactions – this is space after all, we all know that humans in space always mounts to conflict and war.

Naev is available on Window, Mac and Linux and can be downloaded if you dock into its Desura loading bay.

Kyle Pulver is the lead design guru over at Retro Affect who are developing Snapshot, but he is also a solo developer and has just released the reveal trailer for his child flinging puzzle platformer Offspring Fling.

What do you get when you cross Kirby with child cruelty? Well, apart from this you also get Offspring Fling – a game in which you chuck children around. Yep. That’s not the worrying thing though; you play as the mother of all of these “misplaced” children across 100 levels, each of which have a handful of children to save within them. Who the hell is banging this bird up so that she has literally popped out hundreds of children in such a short time?! Brings a new meaning to “Kirby: Mass Attack”.

Anywho, Pulver’s reveal trailer is very well put together and showcases a pretty complex, but always cute, puzzle platformer. Not only are there 100 levels to beat, but replaying them is encouraged with ghost replays and “replay sharing” so you can compete with others to distribute the infant beatings!

There is no release window for Offspring Fling as of yet but it will be coming out on Windows and Mac and hopefully Linux. More information on the game can be found on the official website.

A new Humble Bundle has just gone live but it’s a little different from what you’re used to as it’s for Android, but fret not, it’s also available for PC too!

So you’re telling me this a a Humble Bundle for Android is available for Android devices and all the usual PC platforms? Yes that’s correct. Confused, stunned, in awe? Me too. Anyway, let’s not dwell on this crazy direction from the Humble guys and let’s get on to what games we have available here in this ultimate cross-platform bundle. As usual, all games are DRM-free, pay what you want and your money can be split between the developers, charity and the Humble guys.

• Anomaly: Warzone Earth HD
• EDGE HD
• Osmos
• And if you pay over the average price, World of Goo is thrown in too!

So if you do purchase this Humble Bundle there are direct downloads and BitTorrent links for each of the game’s for PC as well as the soundtracks too. You can even get World of Goo on Steam if you haven’t already. To get the games on to your Android device it’s a little more complex but the video below should help you out.

To make your purchase and to find out more information on the Humble Bundle For Android, head on over to the official Humble Bundle website.

Unigine have announced that their naval strategy game, Oil Rush, is now available to purchase across Windows, Mac and Linux – time to scramble for oil…apparently.

If you’re one for a crisp looking, high-risk strategy game then you need to look no further than Oil Rush. A naval strategy game, Oil Rush is all about conquering the seas, pumping for oil and dispatching your foes in a post apocalyptic world in which oil really does mean everything. Mostly, the game is a classic RTS but as you plant your oil pumps around the seas, some elements of tower defense are introduced too.

There is a single player campaign, quick game and multiplayer options over the net, LAN and on Steam when it is available. At the moment the game is only available in English and Russian but we are told the German and French versions are to come within a month.

You can purchase Oil Rush over on the Unigine website for $19.95 and the game will be coming to Steam, Desura, Ubuntu Software Center and several other digital channels within the next couple of days. Later in the year, Iceberg Interactive will help with a retail release in Europe.

More information on Oil Rush can be found on the game’s official website.

David Williamson has released his “single-player turn-based dungeon crawler”, or as we call it – a roguelike, for all PC platforms. It’s name doesn’t get any simpler either: Hack, Slash, Loot.

It’s time to go back a few decades with this new title; Hack, Slash, Loot takes the classic look and gameplay of ye olde roguelikes to its very heart, even the synthy sound effects warp you back in time. Of course, with this being a modern era (apparently), the game concentrates on providing a lot of depth to it. Huge random dungeons and thousands of items, monsters, and unique dungeon features are intended to make each playthrough radically different.

You can download a demo of Hack, Slash, Loot for Windows, Mac and Linux right here. You can also purchase the full game from there for a very reasonable $10.

For more information on Hack, Slash, Loot head on over to the game’s official website. Following the developer on Twitter will ensure you’re on top of all the updates too, visiting his official website isn’t a bad idea either.

Those Linux users among you will know that Linux gaming, despite being patchy and sparse for quite some time, has seen a significant upsurge in interest over the last year or so. Not from the mainstream gaming giants of course, but from independent developers. Most big players in the industry have stayed well away from Linux for quite some time now, due to the immense workload involved in supporting such a varied hardware pool, and the fact that Linux users simply don’t pay for games; but is this really the case?

Well, no actually. Wolfire’s Humble Indie Bundles have proved a consecutive eight times now that the penguin-hugging terminal enthusiasts actually pay considerably more per head than their Windows and Mac cousins, with The Humble Indie Bundle #4 showing that the average Linux user forked out approximately 25% and 50% more than the average Mac and Windows user respectively. This and the release of alternative digital distribution platform Desura has made developers and publishers more aware than ever of the fact that Linux is actually much more than just a niche market, and that its users are actually worth investing in.

Here are just some of the great titles that have made a second home on our friendly Linux shores, along with some that are due to do so in the near future.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent / Survival Horror / Frictional Games

Available Now

Proving once again that assuming the role of a defenceless protagonist always makes for a scarier experience, Frictional Games are a force to be reckoned with  when considering their latest title – as if such things even needed proving. As with their previous Penumbra franchise, the Swedish game developer honor their fan’s choice to scare themselves silly on whichever operating system they please, and deliver a truly nightmarish game on all three. Buy it, play it, have nightmares for weeks.

Shank / Action Platformer / Klei Entertainment

Available Now

Incredibly dynamic and tragically underrated, this furious platformer made its violent Linux debut only last December. Featuring as intense a combat system as I’ve ever experienced in a video game, the title is bloody, fast-paced, and very challenging. Fans of the classic “Nintendo-hard” platformers of the 90s will love this game for its difficulty and simplicity, while fans of more recent platformers will revel in the mixed-weapon combat and variance in level design. Klei are promising a sequel with even more gorgeous art in the near future, but there’s still plenty of time to cut your teeth.

Zombie Grinder / Isometric Shooter /Twin Drills

Coming Soon

Everyone loves a good zombie shooter, Linux users included. However, with its slick presentation, arcade inspired gameplay and charming visuals, Zombie Grinder stands out beautifully from the current myriad of uninventive, uninspired rubbish that seems to have such a firm grasp on the zombie genre. From playing the already available Windows build, and speaking briefly to the developers about the game, I can’t help but feel they are on to something really rather special.

Darwinia / Real-Time Strategy / Introversion Software

Available Now

Nothing short of absolute genius takes the typically somewhat overcomplicated mechanics of the modern RTS game and condenses them down into a format that can be enjoyed by just about anyone, without simplifying them so far that the element of skill is tarnished. The only title I’ve come across to do a better job of this is Ace Team’s Rock of Ages, and that’s saying something. You can also check out its sequel Multiwinia if you want to enjoy the experience with friends, although I personally find this first title much purer in terms of gameplay.

Super Meat Boy / Arcade Platformer / Team Meat

Available Now

Every bit as brilliant as the PC and Mac versions and with full gamepad support, this looks and plays like an absolute dream. Probably the best handling and most challenging platformer in history. I can’t think of a single reason not to buy this game and play the crap out of it.

Minecraft / Sandbox / Mojang

Available Now

Overrated and underdeveloped? Yes, but still well worth picking up a copy of. For long journeys and rainy afternoons, few things can compare to the sheer satisfaction of building an immense medieval castle and running around with your friends in it. This is a good title, if perhaps they add a bit more direction to the game in the form of a sensible and coherent objective of some sort, rather than the current “Sheep now eat grass” development direction, it could be great, but for now it’s good.

Survivors of Ragnarok / Strategy Sandbox / French Rice Games

Coming Soon

Most desktop gamers will, at some point, have had the misfortune of being ranted at by a friend about the game Dwarf Fortress, and having been genuinely taken in by the premise, install it, only to discover that the visuals are quite so spartan, and the gameplay quite so enthusiast-oriented that only a tiny minority of players in the world can really appreciate it at all. French Rice Games plan to put an end to that, by taking the original Dwarf Fortress formula and improving upon it in every way. SOR aims to be a spiritual successor that is more accessible, more diverse, more fun, and far prettier than the game that inspired it, whilst staying true to the aims of the original. Very, very cool indeed.

Warsow / First-Person Shooter / Warsow Team

Available Now

Having played every free FPS I can find for Linux extensively, I’ve got something of a soft spot for Warsow. Classic game mechanics and movement (including bunny-hopping) closely inspired by the likes of Quake 3 Arena and the original Unreal Tournament combined with beautiful cel-shaded graphics to create something strikingly original and very fun to play. There are a good number of active servers at pretty much any time you’d care to play, with players at a wide range of skill levels. A hugely configurable modified idTech 2 engine also means it runs like a dream on most Linux machines, even my little brother’s netbook. This is one of the friendliest online FPS’ available today, in terms of dipping in and out without finding yourself a bottom feeder, although with a core group of godlike players, it has a great deal to offer hardcore players as well.

Overgrowth / Action Adventure / Wolfire Games

Coming Soon

Spiritual successor to the popular rabbit-filled Kung Fu simulator Lugaru, Overgrowth has been in open development for around two and a half years, with the developers frequently releasing video updates on new features and assets. Windows and Mac users can already try out an alpha build by pre-ordering the game, but developers have promised a Linux version in the very near future.

Tiny and Big / Puzzle Adventure / Black Pants Game Studio

Coming Soon

Featuring a brilliant soundtrack, wonderful hand-drawn art, and fantastically clever game mechanics, Tiny and Big is one of the most interesting new IPs to surface in 2011. Add to that episodic releases and some of the most dynamic real-time physics ever seen in an indie game, this is well worth keeping an eye on. You can even try out the demo right now.