Our "Indie Nation" series highlights worthwhile, independently-produced games.

Oh hello I did not see you come in! You have played with the Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden game and enjoyed, yes? Good news! GZ Storm, a group that was having been worked on the first game, now has another game that they did call 78641 - A Targ Adventure (translated from the original Esperanto with all permissions and rectitude). 

78641 is a game for people who enjoy! Is it to be an adventure game? Yes. Is it with an humor dosage? Absolutely. Is it unlike to be like any game you have ever had to play? Without a question. How unlike to be any game you have ever had to play is this game, should you choose to ask? Consider this: you are playing a character who is a frying pan who goes back through into the past time to pay off his car insuranced. 

This is the game for you!

Alternately, you could always have hit the small button below and inform yourself by read many of my further thoughts of mine on this game.

Our Indie Nation series highlights cool independent games.

What is this? An interactive poem? A fast-paced Choose Your Own Adventure? A smarmy existentialist critique of videogames and the status quo? A silly bit of conceptual game art a la Tale of Tales?

Ergon/Logos is all of these things. Or maybe, it's none of them. Or it's some of them.  I'm not a hundred percent sure. I am sure of several things, however: it is free, it is very well paced, and it is interesting. Once the basic premise behind Ergon/Logos becomes apparent (I won't spoil it here), you will either laugh, pontificate, or close the browser window. It's that sort of a game.

If it's even a game, that is.

Hit the jump for more ramblings about whatever the hell Ergon/Logos is.

Destructoid's "Indie Nation" series (semi)regularly highlights interesting, independently-developed games.

Immortal Defense is a tower defense game for people who abhor tower defense games. Or people who like them.

Or people who think they're okay.

I'm basically trying to say that Immortal Defense is really good, and that you might enjoy playing it. You can get a demo here, or purchase the full game here.

Our Indie Nation series highlights interesting, independently-made games.

I will be the first to admit that Where's an Egg? has some of the least interesting base gameplay you'll ever see highlighted on Indie Nation (and that's saying something). It doesn't have a cool story to tell, or anything terribly perceptive to say about humanity. It is, however, one of the most interesting detective games I've ever played.

It's not just a detective game in the sense that you play some sort of private eye (if the five or so brown pixels arranged on his head are meant to represent a fedora, anyway) presumably tasked with finding a missing egg. That's just the surface mystery, which can be solved completely on accident and with absolutely no forethought. The real mystery is: how do you play the game?

The prologue and instructions are either altogether absent, or conveyed indecipherable faux-Russian. The only direction you are given comes in the form of the game's poorly-localized title. Will you be able to decipher the game's image-based interface and figure out what the hell to do before a generous 999-second timer expires?

You can play it here, or hit the jump as I go on about it some more (spoiler-free).

Our Indie Nation series highlights interesting videogames from -- wait for it -- independent developers.

Amusement, and shame. These are the two emotions that every single classic LucasArts adventure game inspires in me. I laugh endlessly at Sam and Max Hit the Road, while I shake my fist in the air at the game's more ridiculously obscure puzzles. I consider insult-swordfighting one of the most comedic puzzle mechanics ever invented, but I'd still argue that no normal human being could ever be expected to complete LeChuck's Revenge without consulting a walkthrough. For better or worse, this is the relationship I am doomed to have with classic adventure games: I love them dearly, but they do not love me back.

In this respect, Time Gentlemen, Please is a triumph. Cultural references and charmingly ugly art notwithstanding, LucasArts could have released Zombie Cow Studios' latest opus fifteen years ago and we'd look back on it with the same nostalgic fondness we reserve for the Full Throttles and Day of the Tentacles of the world. It's hard enough to make me feel incredibly stupid, but it's about as consistently laugh-inducing an adventure game as I've ever played.

If you found the latest Tales of Monkey Island episode as painfully unfunny as I did, Time Gentlemen, Please! is for you. If you think adventure games have gotten too easy over the years, Time Gentlemen, Please! is for you. If you're a fan of time-travel puzzles and highly referential British humor, then the-thing-I-just-ended-the-last-two-sentences-with. You can try the demo or buy the game (five measly bucks) here.

I'd recommend first playing its prequel, Ben There, Dan That!: it's a free primer for the basic experience you'll have in TGP, which references it pretty heavily. You have effectively no excuse not to try it.

You do, however, have an excuse not to hit the jump as I go on about why I like both games. I'm still gonna do it, though.

Our "Indie Nation" series highlights kickass independent games.

Here is everything you need to know about Research and Development:

- You can download it here 

- Despite being a mod, it is better than the entirety of Half-Life: Episode One and most of Half-Life 2.

A puzzle-based mod where your character is never allowed to wield a gun, Research and Development has better level design and more imaginative situations than most first-person games I've ever played. You know those moments in really well-designed puzzle games like Braid or Portal where a solution reveals itself and you think, "wow -- how clever"? Research and Development has about a dozen of those. It also combines action and puzzle-solving with remarkable dexterity, and is seldom frustrating throughout its 2-3 hour running time.

I know we're only halfway through 2009, but I would be extremely surprised if another mod came out this year that trumped Research and Development in terms of imaginative puzzles and exhilarating level design. I mean, don't get me wrong -- the Radiator series is truly fantastic if you're in the mood for introspective examinations of the human condition, but Research and Development provides clever fun in a way very few games -- nevermind how many modifications -- are capable of. 

Even if you don't like the kind of games I normally suggest, I find it hard to believe you won't enjoy Research and Development. Get it here, or hit the jump for more theories on why this mod is so goddamned good.

Our "Indie Nation" series highlights interesting games from the world of independents.

Handle With Care, the sequel to Polaris and second game in Robert Yang's Radiator series, came out yesterday. 

It's interesting.

Where Polaris revolved around a relatively unusual core mechanic (stargazing) placed inside a wholly believable and unspectacular world, Handle With Care is the exact opposite. I don't want to say too much in that direction, as much of Handle With Care's charm comes from the sheer audacity of its premise (and not the fact that two of the main characters are gay, which I fear will become a focal point for those who are easily amused or offended).

You can get it here, though you'll need Half-Life 2: Episode Two on order to run it. Alternatively, you can hit the jump as I try to sort out my thoughts regarding this most unconventional installment in an already unconventional series.

Indie Nation is an irregularly-scheduled series that highlights good independent games.

Mr. Mullet by This Is Pop is probably one of the least funny games on the entire Adult Swim Web site, but it is also undoubtedly one of the best.

The basic premise is simple: your family has been killed and your mullet shaved off. You need to regrow your mullet.

To accomplish this goal, you will need to use a magical electric hair clipper to shave the citizens of the world, adding their excess hair to your ever-growing mane. Using your mouse to roll over a citizen once shaves them. Should you roll Mr. Mullet over them a second time, he'll accidentally decapitate them. Decapitate too many innocents or allow too much hair to go uncut, and Mr. Mullet will die, or give up, or something.

The interesting thing about Mr. Mullet is that it's effectively just a typical shmup, completely inversed: you've got to run into everything, and with some degree of grace and restraint -- if you just whip the mouse around willy-nilly, you'll kill dozens of people and  end your game. The game is really intense, but since it's controlled with mouse movements only (no clicking), it feels oddly graceful and clever once you get the hang of it.

Play it here, or hit the jump as I go on about it some more.

Indie Nation is about independent games. You could have probably guessed that.

To the best of my recollection, I've never played a game quite like Drug Wars. After a remarkably turbulent, accidental release on Steam a couple of months ago, the game formerly known as Merchants of Brooklyn has finally been uploaded under a new title.

And it's awful.

And it's awesome.

It has one of the most epic multiplayer modes I've ever seen from an indie title. It has an abysmal singleplayer mode. The graphics are wonderfully weird. The hand-to-hand combat is like the bastard stepchild of Zeno Clash. The guns are ridiculously satisfying. You can grab a human foot, charge it with energy, and throw it like a grenade. 

You can grab a human foot, charge it with energy, and throw it like a grenade.  

For all Drug Wars' many, many faults, it's been quite a while since I've seen a game with such a weirdly alluring style. It's over-the-top in nearly every way possible, so fully dedicated to the art of being alternately ridiculous and brutal that it becomes surprisingly easy to ignore design faults that would easily ruin less imaginative games.

Get the game off Steam if you're so inclined, or keep reading for my further thoughts on this weird indie specimen.

At irregular intervals, "Indie Nation" highlights interesting games from the independent scene.

I'm tempted to call Matt Thorson the king of indie platfomers, which may sound weird considering I've never highlighted any of his games before. Jumper and FLail may well be two of my favorite minimalist platformers of all time; though all of Matt's games eventually get ridiculously hard, they remain enjoyable thanks to the sheer imaginativeness of the level design and the purity of the platforming.

I've been meaning to write about Thorson's games for a while, but thankfully his new work, MoneySeize, pretty much allows me to compliment his entire career all at once. Like many of his other games, MoneySeize is a remarkably focused, imaginative, and goddamn punishing platformer that's so goddamn addictive I'm having a hard time taking a break from the game just to do this writeup.

Literally fifteen minutes have passed since I finished that last paragraph, because I alt-tabbed back to the game, got stuck on level 35, and refused to come back to this post until I'd beaten it. 

You can get the game here, in various formats, or hit the jump as I attempt to go on about MoneySeize while unsuccessfully fighting the urge to continue playing it.

Indie Nation highlights interesting, independently-made games. Which you probably could have guessed.

I have a confession to make: I'm not really a fan of the indie adventure game scene. Apart from the odd deconstructionist works like Snow, most indie adventures belong to the charming, but oft-frustrating school of Sierra and LucasArts design: their interfaces needlessly separate the simple act of interaction into a dozen different verbs, and their puzzles often require the player to read the  designer's mind.

It was with some skepticism, then, that I played Rosemary at Nick Chester's suggestion. I entered the game fully prepared to exit and delete it at the slightest sign of an unnecessarily complicated inventory puzzle. 

I found something much cleverer, and much more unusual than what I expected. Yes, you use inventory items on other inventory items, and talk to characters who speak through dialogue trees. That is where the similarities between Rosemary and other adventure games end. As much as I love a good round of insult swordfighting, Rosemary is something far more clever, meaningful and subversive than most of the adventure games I've played, indie or not. 

For now, I probably shouldn't say anything more than that: download it here, or hit the jump for my spoilery impressions of the game. 

"Indie Nation" highlights interesting games from the independent scene. Series installments are written pretty much whenever we feel like it.

I've tried to start this post about a dozen times, forever attempting to write an opening sentence that begins with, "imagine a game where..." before descending into confusion and unhelpful metaphors. Maybe this game is like the exact opposite of Jumping Flash, I thought. Perhaps it's a skydiving game mixed with retro, high score-hungry sensibilities. Maybe it's the Battletoads wind tunnel level turned into an entire game, only it's in 3D.

In reality, though,  AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!: A Reckless Disregard for Gravity is none of those things. Or, maybe, all of them. All I can say for sure is that it's a game about jumping off the tops of buildings, falling as close to other buildings as is perilously possible, and flipping off spectators as you plummet to the earth. Oh, and it's quite fun. That, I can say for sure.

It's also got one of the coolest release formats I've seen outside of Mount & Blade. The full game is technically scheduled for a Q3 2009 release, but is available for preorder now. Doing so will not only get you a discount of ten bucks off the eventual $25 launch price, but will also net you a download link for what the developers have humbly dubbed a "pre-release demo."

This "demo" comprises nearly half the full game; thirty of the eventual eighty levels. You can preorder the game here, or hit the jump for my impressions of the demo.

Every week, Destructoid highlights interesting, innovative, or just plain odd independent games for its "Indie Nation" series.

After three weeks of heady, combat-free first-person shooter modifications, what say we detox with a Half-Life 2 mod primarily about smacking mummies in the skull with a mace?

Curse -- or at least, the first episode of Curse -- is a free mod that alternates between intense, mouse gesture-based action and environmental puzzle solving. It's surprisingly polished, and has enough new mechanics so that, apart from the physics and enemy animations, I wouldn't have realized it was a Half-Life 2 mod if no one had told me.

You can get it here, or hit the jump for my general impressions of it.

Half-Life 2's Source engine may well be one of the most reliably satisfying pieces of technology in the modern gaming world. It gave us gravity guns, zombie hordes, portal physics -- and now, of all things, a stargazing simulator.

Polaris, the first episode of what will ostensibly be a series of Source-based artgames, is unlike anything I've ever seen done with Valve's little engine that could. In it, you play an unnamed man or woman on what the liner notes describe as "what could totally be both the lamest and the cheapest date ever." To wit, stargazing.

The thing about Polaris is that after initially finishing it, I knew -- knew -- that I wouldn't highlight it for an Indie Nation. The whole concept was interesting, yes, but it somehow felt weirdly unsatisfying. Something about how the too-loud musical chime that plays whenever you successfully spot a constellation clashes with the otherwise contemplative mood of the game, or how the gameplay really just boils down to clicking a bunch of hidden hotspots.

And yet, it began to gnaw at me. Despite initially passing it off as a tonally confused experiment, I found myself continuing to think about it days after I'd completed it.

Get the game here, or hit the jump as I try to verbalize how I feel about the game. Or, do both.