Best Of Indie Games: Maniac Mountain, Marooned Island

[IndieGames.com: The Weblog co-editor Tim W. rounds up the week's top free-to-download and commercial indie games, news and reviews 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 new release from the creators of Gamma Bros, an arena shooter set in a scientific laboratory, an exploration game about one's journey to the moon, and a difficult platform game that will have you tearing out your hair. Other highlights include a puzzle game where solving levels require shifting bits of a level around, a Halloween-themed shooter with pumpkins, witches and ghosts, an adventure game about a boy in St. Petersburg, Russia, and a 2D platformer that is clearly inspired by early Megaman games. Here's the highlights from the last seven days: Game Pick: 'Mountain Maniac' (Pixeljam Games, browser) "In Mountain Maniac you control a man with a hammer whose single aim is to destroy the town at the foot of a mountain for points. He does this by smashing boulders with his instrument of doom, sending them down the mountain Pachinko-style while crushing everything that stands in its way. Occasionally the police force or a yeti might try and stop him, but you can use the mallet to protect yourself by swinging it at them as well." Game Pick: 'The Experimental Chick' (Slowfoot, freeware) "The Experimental Chick is a mission-based arena shooter in which you have to destroy surrounding red blocks and break out of the laboratory that you've been held captive in. Men in biohazard suits will appear out of these walls and try to prevent your escape, but you have a gun that can be used knock them unconscious and destroy any of the robotic contraptions that they've deployed to stop you." Game Pick: 'Dreamside Maroon' (Terraced, freeware) "Dreamside Maroon is an exploration game that puts you in control of the scarf-wearing Aster who is on a journey to reach the moon. He does this by guiding the growing tendril of a vine with his lantern, occasionally lighting up lanterns to attract fireflies and eventually collecting them for a temporary increase in speed." Game Pick: 'Saut' (Mabi Games, freeware) "Saut is a dark platformer in which you need to tactically time your jumps so as not to end up down one of the many pits - using only one button, of course. Oh, and it's amazing fun. Graphically it reminded me a lot of Boss Baddie's Lunnye Devitsy - there's a lovely atmosphere about it all, especially helped along by the great soundtrack." Game Pick: 'NeonPlat' (Jayenkai, freeware) "NeonPlat is an arcade platformer where points are scored by using balls to bowl enemies off the screen. Platdude can double or triple jump in the air (with the right power-ups), climb ladders, paint over floors for points and slip below platforms, but he can never carry more than one ball at a time." Game Pick: 'Continuity' (Ragtime Games, browser) "Continuity is a puzzle platformer in which you have to arrange pieces of a level while playing to reach the key that will unlock the exit door. You can switch between sliding tiles and moving your character around at any time, although players won't be allowed to pass from one card to another if the corridors going out of each don't match." Game Pick: 'Ulitsa Dimitrova' (Lea Schonfelder and Gerard Delmas, freeware) "Ulitsa Dimitrova tells the story of a seven-year old boy named Pjotre who lives in St. Petersburg, running around the streets and doing things that young children of his age are taught not to do. There is no inventory to manage nor an objective to achieve, but the game does end if you let it idle for a couple of seconds." Game Pick: 'Pumpkin Patch' (Pixel Licker, freeware) "Pumpkin Patch is an arena shooter in which you have to protect fellow pumpkins in your patch from being stolen by ghosts or eaten by creatures. The game features only four different types of enemies and protecting the patch for thirty days can wear you out after a while, but Pumpkin Patch will fit the bill nicely if you're looking for a slightly mindless arcade game that doesn't require much of a strategy to play." Game Pick: 'Nezumiman' (Fishman, freeware) "Nezumiman is a 2D platformer created in the same style as early Megaman games, where you are in control of a rodent who has to defeat the evil Dr. Gyoniku and his henchmen. Ratman can jump, shoot, slide, and earn special abilities by beating the boss characters in each of the eight levels included. The save feature will come in handy if you need a short break or two between sessions as well."