By Simon Carless
 Canabalt composer Danny Baranowsky has posted soundtracks for two recent indie releases he contributed to, including Steambirds, the excellent aerial-dogfighting turn-based-strategy game from Andy Moore and Dan Cook. You can stream the five-track album for free at Bandcamp or download the full release for $0/99 (two of the songs are under 30 seconds in length).
Danny B also uploaded seven songs from Gravity Hook HD, Adam "Atomic" Saltsman's addictive one-button action Flash game (coming to iPhone/iPod Touch soon). The release is also available to stream for free and to download in its entirety for $0.99, and it also includes songs from the original Gravity Hook's soundtrack.
And if you haven't heard it yet, don't forget that Danny B's Canabalt soundtrack is also up at Bandcamp with full and ringtone versions of the game's two themes, as well as a bonus megamix from Fathom.
[Via Nobuooo]     
By Simon Carless
Toronto indie studio Capybara Games announced an HD port of its acclaimed Nintendo DS puzzle/SRPG hybrid Might and Magic: Clash of Heroes for Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network, releasing later this year.
This downloadable edition will feature a number of changes and additions, such as replacing the game's super-deformed 16-bit style sprites and scenes with hand-drawn artwork, throwing in new idle animations for heroes and combat units, and other visual improvements.
Also, seeing as the dual screened version only supports two-player local multiplayer, Capy is taking advantage of the ports online battles by adding four-player versus and co-operative modes, as well as new multiplayer-specific artifacts.
The single-player experience will see enjoy new tweaks, too; you can now revisit previous chapters to complete outstanding side-quests or find secrets they might have missed. You can see several more screenshots from the Clash Of Heroes HD port, courtesy of IGN, after the break: 
 
By IndieGames.com - The Weblog
Adam Atomic's original Gravity Hook game has now been updated to HD, featuring artwork designed for higher screen resolutions, gameplay rebalancing, new elements, Twitter support, and remixes of the original soundtrack plus new songs by his collaboration partner Danny B.
Reaching the 500m goal to unlock the first Gravity Hook build is easily attainable, but the game does get pretty hard past that point as just about every mine is placed even more sporadically than in the lower levels. Time to get hooked right away, and if you have an iPhone there are even greater news as Adam has promised to release a mobile version for your choice of Apple device very soon.
Play Gravity Hook HD here. Continue reading 
By Simon Carless
Nearly a year before they put out 2009's surprise Flash/iPhone hit Canabalt, Adam "Saltsman" Atomic and composer Danny Baranowsky worked together on another one-button game, Gravity Hook. Created in just five days, the simple but addictive Flash game had players ascending a mine by throwing a grappling hook onto floating orbs, then pulling themselves toward the orb and using their momentum to reach the next orb.
Adam and Danny have returned to the project -- their first collaboration -- to add new graphics, sound, controls, and gameplay to the game while still keeping its one-button simplicity, and released it as Gravity Hook HD. They're planning to release a paid version for iPhone and iPod Touch, but as with Canabalt, you can play the full title for free online.
I've already lost an hour to it, and it's just as habit-forming as the original. To make it even worse for fans of the original version, the two promise a special treat if you can reach the 500m mark; so, don't plan to eat dinner any time soon if that's the goal you're shooting for. Even with the changes to make the game more approachable, like cutting back on the exploding orbs, dying is still ridiculously easy in Gravity Hook HD. 
By Simon Carless
Three months after the studio abandoned its 8-week development cycle and announced a follow-up to Raptor Safari, Flashbang has released a playable performance test preview for Off-Road Velociraptor Safari HD to anyone who has reserved the game. If you haven't put down money for a copy yet but still want to try the game out, you can still put in a $14.99 preorder.
This first official development build with a re-tuned vehicle physics model to adjust how the driving feels, Xbox 360 controller support on Windows/Mac, new art designed to "push the game into the next-gen category", new effects/graphics, post-processing techniques used in Flashbang's previous titles like Jetpack Brontosaurus and Blush, and more.
As a teaser for Off-Road Velociraptor Safari HD's full release later this year, the developer released the above epic image from concept artist Justin Messner (click for the full version). Poor Jetpack Brontosaurus. 
By Simon Carless
While you wait for Q Entertainment (Lumines, Rez HD) to release Rock Band: Japan and Ninety-Nine Nights II, you can play another recent release from the studio: Q?pid. Billed as a "flirty fun puzzle game", the game is meant to serve as "a social ice-breaker, if not a romantic fire starter" for iPhone/iPod Touch owners.
The game has two players (or more) moving around markers along different paths with their fingertips. Q?pid takes advantage of the platform's multi-touch screen to force players to work cooperatively and sit close to each other so they can unlock a mystery photo. There's also an Edit Mode that allows you to add personalized messages, photos, or music from your iTunes library.
If you're still unsure how the $1.99 game makes for a "romantic fire starter", refer to these three videos Q Entertainment uploaded to demonstrate how Q?pid would work in a drinking party, a "puppy love dating situation", and a "more adult situation". As embarrassing as the last lecherous clip is to watch, it's worth viewing just for the narration: "You can go wild even from the first contact." "Puppy Love Dating Situation":
Drinking Party:
"More Adult Situation":
By IndieGames.com - The Weblog
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