Plug an Obscure Game and its Developer

[Strain42]

Simple enough. What's a game that you really like that most people probably haven't heard of and/or played, who developed it, and what it's on. If you wanna go into extra detail about why you like it, be my guest.

For me, I'd like to plug Squids by The Game Bakers for the iOS (also available on Android) I know most people look down on iOS games as just useless casual games, but Squids manages to combine fun touch screen gameplay with a pretty good RPG system and a story that I find rivals most AAA games on the market today.

Also, the sequel which involves heading west comes out sometime this summer.

 

[Racecarlock]

Iron Brigade. It's a steampunk world war 1 style mechwarrior game about fighting evil televisions made by double fine studios. You should have had this game yesterday.

Vega Strike. It's a 3d space trading sim with a dynamic and randomly generated universe, guaranteeing that everyone will have a different universe and a different experience, despite the species and races staying the same.

 

[Sp3ratus]

Sounds interesting. Oh and I see it's free as well(at least for Android). I'll definitely be sure to check it out, in fact, I'm downloading it right now. Only problem is that I have more than enough games I'm playing on my phone as it is, but nevertheless, I'll be sure to check it out.

As for my own plug, I'll say Eufloria by Alex May and Rudolf Kremers. It's a RTS light, so to speak, in the sense that it's an RTS, but very simplified. There are only 2 types of "buildings" and 1 type of units, but with lots of varations(so far, more will be added, once the game is updated). It's pretty simple and is more on the casual side of gaming, but I've actually managed to rack up around 30 hours in the game, both because of the main story, but also because the game has a small, but pretty talented modding community. Also, it features very soothing music and simple, yet elegant aesthetics.

Oh and it's for PC, Mac, PSN and iPad, though the latter differs from the PC version, as they're newer version of the game and have more features in them. The PC version is getting an update though as Alex and Rudolf are working hard to "backport" it to the PC(it originated there). There's also a demo of it on Steam, if anyone is interested.

I have a bunch of more recommendations, but for now, I'll stick to the above suggestion, as it's the game I've spent the most time on lately.

 

[Wayneguard]

Iron Brigade. It's a steampunk world war 1 style mechwarrior game about fighting evil televisions made by double fine studios. You should have had this game yesterday.

This... sounds... fucking........... AMAZING!!

And for mine, I feel compelled to mention Disciples 1 and 2 by Strategy First. They're dark fantasy turn based strategy games (similar to HOMM, but darker and with more style). You pick a hero and build a party out of base units which level up with your character into better, more badass versions. The atmosphere of this game, created by both the masterfully done artwork and the haunting (if repetitive) soundtrack, really put these games above and beyond its peers (HOMM, Age of Wonders, etc). GOG has them both for like 5 dollars each so you all have no excuse whatsoever to not get them.

BTW, if you just want to dip your toes in one to see if you like it, get Disciples 2. It is the best in the series and has MASSIVE amounts of content.

 

[Tanis]

Developer(s): Micro Cabin
'
Obscure Game: Naval Ops: Warship Gunner 2

What would happen if you combined the odd universe of the 'traditional' Ace Combat series with the massive customization, building, and designing aspects in the best Armored Core series?
Okay...
Now what if you did this via a water based ship or submarine?

That's pretty much NO:WG2 in a nutshell.

It's got the odd ball 'alt history' of Ace Combat,
The 'omg I can customized the FRELL out of this thing' of Armored Core,

All with freaking SHIPS.

It's a glorious game that sold shamefully poorly.

 

[evilneko]

The Space Empires series by Aaron Hall [http://www.malfador.com/].

Get 4, skip 5. 5 has an unbearable UI. However, if 4's no longer being sold, 5 comes with a free copy of it. At least, mine did.

 

[Racecarlock]

Iron Brigade. It's a steampunk world war 1 style mechwarrior game about fighting evil televisions made by double fine studios. You should have had this game yesterday.

This... sounds... fucking........... AMAZING!!

20 Dollars on XBLA and presumably PSN. Friend me on Xbox live if you're on there though. I need someone to play co-op with me. Oh yeah, the game has four player online/split screen co-op.

 

[The Madman]

Age of Wonders: Shadow Magic

Seriously, if you like games such as Civilization or Heroes of Might & Magic you must try this game. It's just this delicious combination of fantasy and strategy that works oh so well together! Game did alright when it was released but I'd swear I sometimes think I'm the only bloody person left who remembers this series anymore, which is a shame as it's really good.

It's by the same guys who made the Overlord games, Triumph Studios. Great little studio who I sincerely hope are working on a new Age of Wonders game. Been years since we've heard a thing from the studio so they've got to be up to something.

 

[DoPo]

And for mine, I feel compelled to mention Disciples 1 and 2 by Strategy First. They're dark fantasy turn based strategy games (similar to HOMM, but darker and with more style). You pick a hero and build a party out of base units which level up with your character into better, more badass versions. The atmosphere of this game, created by both the masterfully done artwork and the haunting (if repetitive) soundtrack, really put these games above and beyond its peers (HOMM, Age of Wonders, etc). GOG has them both for like 5 dollars each so you all have no excuse whatsoever to not get them.

BTW, if you just want to dip your toes in one to see if you like it, get Disciples 2. It is the best in the series and has MASSIVE amounts of content.

I didn't know Disciples was that obscure of a series. But I agree - amazing game. I remember Disciples 2 came out while I was waiting for Heroes 4 and I though it'd be cool to kill some time with it until then. It was better than that. It is actually a better game than H4, I think.

I haven't played the first game of the series but the second is $10 at GOG. It's only for great justice as it includes the three expansions which are kickass (I still haven't played Rise of the Elves).

And now for my obscure game (maybe obscure) - Crimsonland. It's a top down shooter where you fight zombies, giant spiders, aliens and other nasty stuff, developed by 10tins Entertainment. I found the game really addictive, although it's nothing special. It has several modes - Quest (kills stuff to meet objectives. No real story mode), Rush (try to endure as many aliens as possible, while killing them), Typ'o'Shooter (mostly a fun mode - kill stuff by typing) and Survival (just let loose and kill stuff). Survival is the real beauty - you get unlimited enemies, powerups, levels and weapons. And you basically kill stuff until stuff kills you - the game just throws more and more enemies which are stronger and stronger until you die - that's it. Oh, and the weapons are fun. You start off with a pistol and there are normal things like machine guns, shotguns, that sort of thin,but you also have plasma weapons (plasma minigun, plasma shotgun), ion weapons (they deal splash damage), gauss weapons (high damage, projectiles just go straight through enemies) and so on. Also, I mentioned that you can level up - what that does is, it allows you to choose a perk, say faster reloading, faster shooting, burning things with your eyes, killing everything on the map (for exchange of 2/3 of your health) and so on. The flavour text is just great.

Spoiler: sample perks

Long Distance Runner
You move like a train that has feet and runs. You just need a little time to warm up. In other words you'll move faster the longer you run without stopping.

Radioactive
You are the Radioactive-man; you have that healthy green glow around you! Others don't like it though, it makes them sick and nauseous whenever near you. It does affect your social life a bit.

Sharpshooter
Miraculously your aiming improves drastically, but you take a little bit more time on actually firing the gun. If you order now, you also get a fancy LASER SIGHT without ANY charge!

Spoiler: sample screenshots

Just chillin' shooting at some monsters

And now you know why it's called Crimsonland - just look at the ground

Unfortunately, I can't plug the developer. This is the only game I know from them. They have a website, though [http://www.10tons.com/] - that's the best thing I can say about them.

 

[purf]

Not really "obscure", but:

Trials 2 Second Edition by Redlynx*

What I find fantastic about it is how it takes the old premise of giving the player only 4 control keys to offer an incredible range of 'easy (ha) to learn, difficult to master'.

Spoiler: video

*who I'm rather mad at, seeing how they initially only had a Flash game for the system "Browser", then turned the mechanics into the above PC-title and in the next step immediately abandoned any PC development. Trials HD and Evolution might be the only reason I could be getting an Xbox. (Track editor - mmmmh)

edit for typos and: you can get their "Legends" pack for a click on their Facebook page. this way