Best Of Indie Games: Physics Lessons 101

[Every week, IndieGames.com: The Weblog editor Tim W. will be summing up some of the top free-to-download and commercial indie games from the last seven days, as well as any 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 two IGF finalists from 2008 (with one eventual Seumas McNally Grand Prize winner), a 2D puzzle platformer with mind manipulation as its central theme, a physics-crazed stacking game, and an arena shooter guaranteed to induce mania at its highest settings. Here's the top indie titles of the week: Game Pick: 'Crayon Physics Deluxe' (Kloonigames, commercial indie - demo available) "The award-winning physics puzzle game is now available for purchase, and comes with no DRM attached. A 25 MB demo can be acquired from the official web site as well, should you need some convincing on how addictively charming Petri Purho's debut commercial release can be. Windows only, with Linux and Mac versions to follow shortly thereafter." Game Pick: 'People Stacking' (Takaaki Ogiwara, browser) "A physics-based puzzle game where players would have to stack people in different poses as high as they can without having the entire structure tumble over." Game Pick: 'The Manipulator' (Virtanen Games, freeware) "A 2D puzzle platformer created by the developer of Seven Minutes and Virtual Silence. In it, you play a psychic who has the ability to control the minds of others and influence them to carry out your orders. There are multiple endings to discover in this game." Game Pick: 'Squid Yes! Not So Octopus!' (Robert Fearon, freeware) "A new arena shooter from the author of War Bus and the Tempest-inspired G-Force. Alien robots from the planet Thwip are invading the home of a mutated radioactive squid, so you must assume control over this deadly creature and drive back the invasion with your patented beams of electro death." Game Pick: 'Noitu Love 2' (Joakim Sandberg, commercial indie - demo available) "The price for Konjak's gorgeous 2D platformer was recently reduced from $19.95 to $10. If you haven't played the full game, then here's the perfect chance to get a taste of what you've been missing out on."