Best Of Indie Games: Confined To Your Desk

[Every week, IndieGames.com: The Weblog co-editor Tim W. will be summing up some of the top free-to-download and commercial indie games from the last seven days on his sister 'state of indie' weblog.] This week on 'Best Of Indie Games', we take a look at some of the top independent PC Flash/downloadable titles released over this last week. The goodies in this edition include a clever Half-Life 2 mod with a compelling narrative, a hockey-themed RPG, a browser-based arena shooter that features multiple goals and objectives, plus an App Store pick that's free to play on your iOS device. Here's the highlights from the last seven days: Game Pick: 'The Bureau' (Steve Wilcox, browser) "Termed a 'live murder-mystery' game, The Bureau appears to take place almost entirely within the confines of the protagonist's desk. As FBI Agent Michael Kim, your task is to investigate the murder of Theresa Edwards, an unfortunate woman found dead with your business card clutched in her hands." Game Pick: 'The Stanley Parable' (Davey Wredon, freeware) "The Stanley Parable (pictured) is a Half-Life 2 mod of a different persuasion. In the words of its creator, The Stanley Parable is 'sort of a cross between Dear Esther, Radiator, Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy and Inception'." Game Pick: 'Extreme Road Trip' (Roofdog Games, freeware) "Extreme Road Trip, originally released as a browser game a couple of months ago, is now available to download for free for iPhone. It's a pretty simple game about balancing score against risk, yet it's also incredibly addictive." Game Pick: 'Rogue Hockey' (block0man, freeware) "Though it sounds like a random genre mashup idea, Rogue Hockey is an ice hockey-themed RPG that just seems to work. It features procedural-generated level layouts, equipment, enemy placement, and even a storyline to set you on your quest for victory." Game Pick: 'Murder Dog IV' (thecatamites, freeware) "Murder Dog IV: Trial Of The Murder Dog is the latest release from the developer behind Space Funeral. It follows the trial of Murder Dog, who has killed a whole load of people, and is incredibly blase about it all." Game Pick: 'Cuboy Hot Pants' (PrettyMuchBryce and Edible Castle, browser) "Cuboy Hot Pants is a simple and very silly game about charging down the side of an erupting volcano. As you pelt down the mountain, the path will be covered in dangerous lava, power-ups, combo-enhancers and more." Game Pick: 'Experimental Shooter' (Vitalii Zlotskii, browser) "Experimental Shooter is a typical arena shooter which introduces a different gameplay rule for every new level that you arrive at - e.g. one stage will have you bouncing balls into a pool pocket, while another will require the player to hit them in a sequential order."