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Dog Ear Records has launched a Japanese site for 10 Stories, Nobuo Uematsu's new album filled with original songs written during the Final Fantasy composer's high school years. I've featured several of the CD's songs here before -- "The Chef Who Used His Noodle", "Coconut Castaway", and "Conga Stories" -- but this site features art and samples for 10 tracks.

Surprisingly, the site also reveals that despite the album's title, the CD will actually feature 14 tracks, two of which are bonus and "alternate version" songs. I wonder what the other two songs are? Anyway, if you listen to only one tune from the CD, make sure it's #8, "The Incredible Flying Natsuhiko"!

Dog Ear plans to release 10 Stories on March 10th, and it will likely appear on online import shops shortly afterward. You can preorder it through the U.S. iTunes store now, too!

[Via Original Sound Version]

I have been designing the new battle system and I finally decided on how it is going to be, let me tell you about it. The characters are going to remain the same like in the other battle system idea but adapted to the gameplay of this new one, they are going to be procedurally generated except yours, which are going to be customized to your own desires, choosing any weapon you like,  any armor you like, and you'll be able to see them fighting with other fighters in this mini game. You won't need to teach your characters lots of different… Continue reading

Online Games' Basketball is a shoot the hoops game in which players have to get the ball through the basket as many times as they can in under two minutes. The further the ball is from the basket, the more points you score when you successfully make the shot. A multiplier bonus is also awarded if you manage to put the ball through the basket without it touching the metal hoop.

Players can create profiles, join groups, and compete for a place at the top of the high score table with colleagues or friends. (source: ortoslon) Continue reading

Pumpkin Patch is an arena shooter in which you have to protect fellow pumpkins in your patch from being stolen by ghosts or eaten by creatures. You earn an extra pumpkin for every twenty thousand points scored, and a special bonus is awarded for having a dozen pumpkins in your patch at the end of a round.

The game features only four different types of enemies and protecting the patch for thirty days can wear you out after a while, but Pumpkin Patch will fit the bill nicely if you're looking for a slightly mindless arcade game that doesn't require much of a strategy to play. (source: PixelProspector) Continue reading

Escapist Games (AtomHex) announced the release of Claymation shoot'em-up Platypus to Xbox Live Indie Games. Some of you might recognize this from its original edition for PC by Cletus Clay developer Anthony Flack (later ported to iPhone and PSP, with GameSetWatch's impressions on the latter here).

The XLIG release retains the horizontal-scrolling shooter's plasticine graphics but also adds "enhanced high-definition widescreen graphics, improved audio", and full localizations for French, Italian, German, and Spanish. Like Platypus PSP, this release has multiplayer support and was actually "built from the ground up as a co-op game".

I remember that Flack had serious complaints with the PSP version (e.g. janky bonus scoring, his name missing from the credits), primarily due to that porting team, MumboJumbo LA, having only six weeks to complete the adaptation with four people. It sounds like Escapist Games took those issues into consideration and had more time to work on this release.

[Incidentally, this post is a GameSetWatch crosspost, but we'd love IndieGames.com to run more Xbox Live Indie Games coverage. If anyone plays a lot of XBLIG titles and could do round-ups regularly, contact us.]

Escapist Games (AtomeHex) announced the release of claymation shoot'em-up Platypus to Xbox Live Indie Games. Some of you might recognize this from its original edition for PC by Cletus Clay developer Anthony Flack (later ported to iPhone and PSP, with our impressions on the latter here).

The XLIG release retains the horizontal-scrolling shooter's plasticine graphics but also adds "enhanced high-definition widescreen graphics, improved audio", and full localizations for French, Italian, German, and Spanish. Like Platypus PSP, this release has multiplayer support and was actually "built from the ground up as a co-op game".

I remember that Flack had serious complaints with the PSP version (e.g. janky bonus scoring, his name missing from the credits), primarily due to that porting team, MumboJumbo LA, having only six weeks to complete the adaptation with four people. It sounds like Escapist Games took those issues into consideration and had more time to work on this release.

[This is a guest review by Guert.]

What if you could jump off a skyscraper, plummet down toward the ground at incredible speed, caress the buildings, and live to tell the tale? What if, while diving, you could give thumbs up to fans and flip off protestors? AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, the latest title from Dejobaan, is a skydiving stunt game staged in a futuristic universe. You step off the ledge of a skyscraper and, as you plunge through the floating buildings, you try to earn points by falling close to the structures, earning “kiss” and “hugs” bonuses. For extra points, you can crash through bonus plates, give thumbs up to your fans watching you jump and flip off those who don’t like the show.

The experience is fun and it’s quite satisfying to avoid the buildings and occasionally crash head first into them for a nice excruciating death. The game controls are difficult to get into but once you do, you can start performing some high-paying stunts. The game has a good dose of humor and doesn’t take itself too seriously. For example, the “grab” screen, where you can purchase the full version, has a funny narration that explains the role of pixies in the development of the game. However, some jokes seem funnier on paper. For instance, the game features a meditation video that allows you to meditate in front of your screen. It sounds funny when it’s said out loud but when you experience it in game, it just feels out of place. The visuals are good but sometimes feel amateurish, mostly because it features generic fonts and a few simple “photoshopped” pictures. The audio is also good and fits the game very well. The ergonomics, most notably the menu flow, could have been a bit more polished, but it’s not troublesome.

Aaaaa!!! is a fun game that would benefit of an extra layer of polish. The concept is fun and the experience is entertaining. You can grab the demo, as well as the full game, on Dejobaan’s official website. The demo features 9 levels, the meditation video, and a bunch of hint boxes that tell you fun facts about the game and skydiving. And for those wondering where they may have seen this game before, it’s one of this year’s IGF contestants.

TIGdb: Entry for Aaaaa!!!