Best Of Indie Games: Bear and Driving Don't Mix

[Every week, IndieGames.com: The Weblog editor Tim W. rounds up some of the top free-to-download and commercial indie games from the last seven days, including notable features 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 couple of entries from TIGSource's Cockpit compo, a student project from the Danish Institute for Digital Interactive Entertainment (DADIU), a Tanks-style browser combat game, plus a new release from the developer of Rara Racer and Opera Omnia. Game Pick: 'Puzzle Bloom' (DADIU, browser) "A 3D puzzle game created by a group of DADIU students. Players assist a kind tree spirit named Canotila, restoring life to a cluster of islands which have lost all of their greenery in the name of development and industrialization. This basically involves floating from the back of one creature to another, as she subtly persuades the inhabitants to carry out tasks that her frail body could not do." Game Pick: 'Fox Fyre' (Joey Betz and John Cooney, browser) "The latest collab from John and Joey over at Armor Games, Fox Fyre is a Tanks-style gameplay minus the turn-based play and with tons of different options to choose from. Set atop the Northern Lights, the key is to build up the cash by aiming well and firing lots, then buy more powerful cannons and shields to take out further, more difficult enemies." Game Pick: 'triptych' (increpare, freeware) "Created for the Dundee Game Jam, triptych is a simple text-based game in which you simply choose options with the space bar. Everything seems normal until a couple of options in, when the narrative begins to take a rather odd turn. The first few goes yield gibberish, but then now and again the crazy talk keeps back for just a little bit longer and you can actually try to work out what is going on.." Game Pick: 'Enviro-Bear 2000: Operation: Hibernation' (Justin Smith, freeware) "Suffering from a case of too many punctuations, Enviro-Bear 2000: Operation: Hibernation is a physics-based driving simulator where the objective is to assist a bear eat just enough food before going into a long hibernation sleep. Being drowsy and all, the bear's mobility is limited to just one paw, hence the wheel, gear shift and pedals can only be operated one at a time. Once you've eaten enough, then it's off to one of the caves to sleep for an entire year." Game Pick: 'okkuplektor' (0rel, freeware) "A new game by the developer of the Everyday Shooter remake, okkuplektor is a stylish 3D shooter in which the objective is to search for a yellow box hidden somewhere in each stage, usually placed inside castles which are to be destroyed before revealing their prizes. Weapons and ammunition have to be collected before you can attack any enemy ships, indicated by the buttons and counter at the bottom left of your head-up display."