Best Of Indie Games: Now You're Thinking with Portals

[IndieGames.com: The Weblog editor Tim W. rounds up the week's top free and commercial indie games, plus notable features and stories.] 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 3D exploration game chock-full of puzzles, a 2D remake of Valve's Portal using ASCII characters, and a browser game that features a naked man on a bicycle. Other highlights include a puzzle game about enlightenment through peaceful resolutions, a platform game where you play a the role of a treasure hunter, and a new release from the ever-prolific (and occasionally controversial) Edmund McMillen. Mod Pick: 'Hazard - The Journey of Life' (Alexander Bruce, freeware) "Hazard - The Journey of Life is a 3D exploration game that features a host of creative puzzles to solve, but contains no real danger or enemies in sight. The mod requires both Unreal Tournament 3 and the 2.0 patch installed before it can run properly, but it is definitely worth going through all the trouble just to play this one-of-a-kind experience. Alexander's creation was also recently selected as one of the ten finalists for the upcoming Sense of Wonder Night 2009 event." Game Pick: 'ASCIIpOrtal' (Joe Larson, freeware) "In ASCIIpOrtal (a 2D remake of Valve's Portal) you can fire up to two portals with your hand-held portal device, then enter through one before coming out of the other for some mind-bending teleportation effect. Some of the puzzles include manipulating switches using blocks, placing portals on the other side of chain links, dodging boulders before they crush you, and avoiding laser fields that will burn your flesh instantly on contact." Game Pick: 'Icycle' (Damp Gnat, browser) "The story of Icycle is set in a time when the entire world has been frozen solid, save for a man who was cryogenically preserved together with a bicycle and an unknown companion that flees the scene just before the game starts. The protagonist can only cycle forward and never move back, but he is still able to control his travel speed and time his jumps to avoid some of the dangers he will face during his adventure." Game Pick: 'A Mazing Monk' (DADIU, browser) "A Mazing Monk is a rotating puzzle game created by a team of students at DADIU. A monk is on the path to becoming a Buddha and it's your job to help him collect all the karma he needs while dodging the evil soldiers. It's a nice idea and really good fun, but is a little on the short side with only three levels to play." Game Pick: 'Journey to the Center of the Earth' (Pistachio Productions, freeware) "Journey to the Center of the Earth is an exploration platform game in which you play the role of a treasure hunter, out to retrieve forty pieces of relics from the ruins of an ancient civilization. There is no progress save feature, so you will have to spend about half an hour or more to complete the entire adventure in one go." Game Pick: 'Time Fcuk' (Edmund McMillen and William Good, browser) "Time Fcuk is a platformer that warns about the dangers of time travel, featuring puzzles centered around your character's ability to switch between layers in a level. The game comes with a comprehensive level editor that allows users to design and share their own obstacle courses with other players."