“It’s odd how a creepy first-person adventure game about children in comas can teach us a hell of a lot about dolphins. Created by a team of students from DePaul University for the 2010 Independent Games Festival, The Devil’s Tuning Fork is just the right mixture of smart and trippy. Though it has absolutely nothing to do with friendly, chirping marine mammals, the game’s entire concept hinges on their purported ability to “see” sound waves. In essence, it’s kind of like playing Doom in a pitch black room – except you’re armed with a tab of acid and a tuning fork instead of a rocket launcher.”
Check out the full column here at IGN.
“Welcome to hell. And hell, it turns out, is other people. Lots of them. This simple arena shooter is one of the strangest multiplayer games you’ll probably ever play. Confined to a small rectangular screen, you’ll pilot a tiny ship around and blast away at other players. The cool part is the human opponents you fight have already played the game and died long before you even booted it up. What you’re actually battling is their ghost data, and when you inevitably succumb to screens full of laser fire, someone else who plays after you will eventually fight against your ghost ship too. Surreal, right?”
“Keeping track of a small gaggle of dim-witted critters would be a lot easier if they managed to sit still for a minute or two. Unfortunately, the fidgety creatures in Scribble seem afflicted with a bad case of ADHD. These living, ink-laden “Blots” would rather march happily to their own doom than remain idle. As their steward in this MySpace doodling puzzle game, it’s your job to guide them through increasingly deadly stages and keep them alive. Well, at least most of them.”
“Think you’ve got a big sword? If it’s not the size of a small building or a Boeing 747, then you’re going to have to try harder to impress the burly, pixilated monsters in Ginormo Sword. This retro blade-swinging RPG doesn’t kick off with a quest to rescue a kidnapped princess, save the realm from evil, or get revenge for a fallen comrade. No, this adventure is all about forging the biggest, most ultimately badass sword humanly possible and using it to cleave your way through the beast-strewn countryside. “
Nathan Meunier - Freelance Writer / Author / Indie Game Developer 