FunEffect.com

Nicemetal is a tower defense game with an interesting gimmick, originally created by babarageo for distribution at Comiket 76. There are a number of unmanned defensive structures in each map, and you have to send out soldiers to operate them for a short amount of time before they'd return back to base.

Enemy robots will attempt to break through your defense, so it is just a question of managing your limited resources and destroying your adversaries before they reach the front gates. Your troops can only move in a straight line, and an enemy robot will have no hesitation when it comes to crushing them with their feet if the two ever meet.

You'll have to skip two cutscenes first before access to stage one is given at the main menu. There are six levels to play in total. Continue reading

After three games of hanging out in the background of the WiiWare series, CommanderVideo is finally the centerpiece of a Bit.Trip title, this time a rhythm-based action platformer. Gaijin Games released this first trailer for Bit.Trip Runner, and the game somehow looks even more amazing than its first screenshots.

The developer says Bit.Trip Runner will feature NES-style controls allowing CommanderVideo to jump over, slide under, and kick obstacles/enemies, all timed with the chiptune soundtrack (running is automatic). Along the way, he'll collect beats (represented as gold bars), fight robot bosses, and meet new friends -- if you watch closely, you'll see a meaty cameo.

Also, as mentioned previously, chip music group Anamanaguchi will provide a couple songs for the soundtrack. At the end of the trailer, you can hear the band's first track off Dawn Metropolis, which you can listen to for free here.

[Via @nintendaan]

Finally your dreams have come true - it's Canabalt... with robot unicorns!

OK, so technically Robot Unicorn Attack is a 2-button game, but the whole experience is just as beautifully polished as the Balt. The unicorn can double jump, and also rush then jump to allow for making big gaps. Score goes up as you run, and extra points are obtained for collecting fairies and smashing stars.

It looks lovely, it has an awesome name, and that music... Fantastic stuff. Give it a play over at Adult Swim. Continue reading

Press Tilda is a Unity-based puzzle platformer in which you can bring up a console to type in commands and change the layout of a level directly. By typing in certain keywords, players can swap the position of their character with another item in a stage, send an attack order to one of the robot guards, push objects or even set them on fire.

There is a version of the same game that can be downloaded and played offline as well. This Global Game Jam 2010 submission has about seven individual room challenges to beat. (Mac/Windows, 27.4MB)

Way neater than the actual Xbox 360 Decepticon that actually appeared in the Transformers movie (but still not as cool as rejected robot Chad the Controller), this case mod turns the system into an AllSpark, the glyph-adorned artifact capable of giving life to electronic devices.

Tom "Givintats" Keller constructed the cube out of a thin plywood box coated with self-hardening clay and a coat of chrome. You can see several shots of the AllSpark mod after the break, including the DVD tray and secret stash area, after the break and on Keller's Flickr set. It makes for a pretty mysterious looking artifact in the dark, too!

[Via Hawty McBloggy]

Though Thexder Neo ESRB's rating page indicates a release for both PSP and PlayStation 3, when Square Enix published the downloadable game for just the PSP last October, some presumed the home console mention was a misprint, especially when press materials made no mention of the PS3 edition.

Square Enix, however, revealed through its Downloadable Games page on Facebook that it's still working to release Thexder Neo for PS3 in 2010. "With PS3 graphic[s], Thexder Neo becomes more Thexder," says the company's Akira Kokushoh. "Can't wait to show you. Checking would be almost done!"

For those of you unfamiliar with Thexder, it was a well-received action game featuring a Macross-inspired robot that transforms into a jet. It was originally released in Japan in 1985 for the NEC PC-8801, but both Square and Sierra licensed the title from developer Game Arts (Lunar, Grandia series) and ported it to the NES and several PC platforms.

Thexder Neo is a remake of the original 8-bit side-scrolling version but with 3D graphics. I haven't played the PSP release yet, but from what I hear, it's just as unforgiving as the first one.

[Via GamerBytes]

! is a game about !, Robot, and his assignment to finding the missing town monument. Count Can't has stolen it for his own nefarious schemes, and the mayor wants you to get it back before his afternoon golf session is over.

Like Ben's other releases, this adventure game is short in length and can be completed in under twenty minutes. (Windows, 9.67MB)