Best Of Indie Games: Flip That Switch

[IndieGames.com: The Weblog co-editor Tim W. rounds up the week's top free-to-download and commercial indie games from 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 2D vertical shooter with gorgeous graphics, a remake of Terry Cavanagh's VVVVVV that is 4,096 bytes in size, and a charming little RPG with two dozen mini side quests. Other highlights include a quirky sheep herding game, a Unity-based 3D shooting gallery, and a procedurally-generated 2D platformer that plays similarly to Spelunky. Here's the highlights from the last seven days: Game Pick: 'Crimzon Clover' (Yotsubane, commercial indie - demo available) "Crimzon Clover is truly a wet dream for shoot 'em up fans. Though labeled as a trial version, this vertical 2D shooter sports a generous three full levels to play, jaw-dropping graphics, a limited shop section for unlockables, and the obligatory yet awe-inspiring boss fights." Game Pick: 'VVVV' (Markus Persson, browser) "VVVV is Markus' remake of Terry Cavanagh's recent indie hit VVVVVV, created for the Java4K 2010 Competition. Your crew has been scattered, and it's your job to flip gravity, dodge spikes and rescue them all. While each room doesn't have a name, this remake does have its own version of 'Doing Things The Hard Way'." Game Pick: 'Synopsis Quest' (Skipmore, browser) "Synopsis Quest is a collection of puzzle and arcade-based side quests, where the hero can be trying to save a princess in one minute and attempting to loot treasure from the enemy's lair in the next. You are free to play the missions in any order, although the sequence that they are in sort of tells the story of our hero's noble quest to save the kingdom." Game Pick: 'Sheep' (Ben Pettengill, freeware) "Sheep is an animal herding game that has been done many times before, but Ben's version is slightly better than most because it introduces just enough variety to keep the player going. You play as a sheep dog who has to help his master with getting all of the sheeps to stay inside the green pen. As the game progresses, rams, wolves and rivers are introduced to further complicate the situation you are in." Game Pick: 'Bullseye' (Zero Point Software, browser) "Bullseye is a Unity-based 3D shooting gallery created by Zero Point Software as a showcase piece for their upcoming FPS release, Interstellar Marines. You play as a rookie marine who has to undergo a series of training modules, all designed to test his steady aim and gun handling skills." Game Pick: 'Coptra' (Jan Willem Nijman, freeware) "Coptra is an arena shooter in which you have to destroy enemy vehicles and survive for as long as possible. The power-ups that you collect can stack up, hence if you collect two or more power-up items their attributes will combine into a super-weapon until the ammo count is exhausted. Tips on increasing your survival chances are given at the end of each game, and support for standard dual analog and Xbox controllers are included as well." Game Pick: 'TowerClimb' (Davioware, freeware) "TowerClimb is a procedurally-generated 2D platformer created for Game Jolt's Rogue Contest, in which you play as a random explorer trying to reach the highest point of an endless tower. There is only one action button to use in addition to standard character movement controls, but when holding the jump key down you can leap off platforms, scale walls and even climb ceilings."