Subdog - cute underwater collect-em-up for Android & PC

Dogs love bones, that's a well known fact.But what lengths will they go to to retrieve one of their prized treats? Well venturing into the hazard filled depths of the sea is something they will gladly risk if this new indie game from Dark Pixel & Oskey Studios is anything to go by. After a tentacled ocean beastie nabs the titular hero's bone from right under his nose, he dons his underwater apparatus and dives in without a moments hesitation. What follows is a straightforward 2D sidescroller, which plays a lot like the swimming sections in classic platformers such as Super Mario Bros, Donkey Kong Country, or... well, every other 80's and 90's platformer that featured a underwater stage. 

Review - Final Freeway 2R (Android)

Magical Sound Shower

Sega's Outrun is an arcade classic, and a major player in the evolution of the arcade racer. Yu Suzuki's  high speed coin-op featured sprite scaling, to give a real sense of speed, and coupled it with the iconic convertible red Ferrari and the glorious seaside roads to drive on. It also featured branching paths, which allowed the player to choose which route to take at the end of each stage simply by heading left or right, with each stage providing a different and colourful environment to race through.

REVIEW - Game Dev Story (Android / iOS)

Games Development 101

Now, let's be honest. All of us gamers have, at some point or another, wished we were making games. Maybe you are a developer – in which case, well done, you lucky bastard – or maybe you just love games and wish you had the ability to make all those wonderful ideas you have swimming around in your head a reality. Well, now you can, and without all that inconvenient hassle, such as having to study and work really hard. Now, even a knuckle-head like you can run his or her own games company and produce wonderful games. All thanks to this excellent mobile game by Kairosoft.

8-bit Quiz - Retro Game App for Android

Put your 8-bit knowledge to the ultimate test!

Here's something a little different from my usual coverage of retro and indie games. A quiz App for your Android mobile phone!

I recently re-acquired an HTC Desire via Ebay, after losing mine on holiday (on the first day no less). As I had spent hard earned money on it - as opposed to getting it free with a phone contract - I felt I would look on the Google Market and see if there was anything worth playing. During my search I found multiple quiz 'games' relating to retro gaming, so hastily downloaded them in order to put my knowledge to the test. While the majority of these quiz Apps are multiple choice questions - making them pretty easy for anyone with a basic knowledge of retro games - one of them goes hardcore and requires you to type in the exact name of the game shown. It is called, simply, 8-bit Quiz and is developed by SuperDuperQuizzeses.

REVIEW - Organ Trail : Director's Cut (PC Indie)

With both zombie games eternally beloved by gamers, and parody games finding popularity recently, Organ Trail, here in Director's Cut form, is a fine example of how to blend humour and blood letting. It's a zombie spoof of a classic educational title (yes, really) that was developed way back in the 1970's called The Oregon Trail. In this (supposed) learning aid players were tasked with guiding a group of pioneers across the real life Oregon Trail, a 2000 mile expanse across the United States that settlers navigated in the first half of the 19^th century. The game hit widespread popularity in the mid 1980's when it was ported to the Apple 2, the computer found in most schools in North America at the time. Kids must have been thrilled. Here was a legitimate way to play video games in school. It was hardly the blast-a-thon they probably craved, but given the lack of other options they made do, and began to enjoy the deep gameplay on offer. The game went on to be a cult classic, and received many updates, including a recent version on the 3DS. Now, I am assuming that a large amount of the appeal of Organ Trail lies with the nostalgia and amusement factor of playing a zombie spoof of a game you experienced at school. As I have never played the game before I feel like I may not be the target audience for this re-imagining. But on the plus side, I can review the game with no rose tinted spectacles clouding my judgement!