Best Of Indie Games: Rescuing the Princess from Armageddon

[Every week, IndieGames.com: The Weblog editor Tim W. rounds up the week's 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 delights in this edition include a physics-based puzzle game about lobbing grenades, a platform game in the style of the old Metroid series, a freeware 2D fighter, a biographical art game, an office-based strategy game, and a puzzle platformer that features slow-moving bullets. Game Pick: 'Aubergine Sky' (Jonathan Whiting, browser) "Aubergine Sky is a short puzzle game which is controlled entirely using the mouse, with no keyboard input required from the player. The story follows a man who is taking a quiet stroll on the outskirts of his town, lost in his thoughts and deeply troubled by some personal worries. Your task is to figure out a solution to the puzzle in each location, and to execute the action correctly in order to progress." Game Pick: 'Fragger' (Harold Brenes, browser) "Fragger is like a simple, more mindless version of Crush the Castle but just as much fun. Players choose the power and trajectory of a grenade and aim to blow up all the gormless-looking fellows dotted around each level. The number of grenades at your disposal is limited, however, so working efficiently is essential." Game Pick: 'Vanguard Princess' (Sugeno Tomoaki, freeware) "Vanguard Princess is a freeware versus fighting game created with Enterbrain's 2D Fighter Maker engine, featuring the sort of quality normally reserved for full-price commercial releases. There are ten playable characters to choose from, an assortment of special moves distinct to each combatant, excellent sprite work, creative costume designs, and a multiplayer mode for you to duke it out with a friend." Game Pick: 'HRmageddon' (THUP Games, browser) "Funded by Adult Swim, HRmageddon is a great office-based strategy game. Two players take turns to spread around the office, claiming cubicles as their own and destroying the opposition with wacky methods like stapling their eyes or crashing the office servers. There are four different classes to choose from and each has his or her own special abilities, plus you can choose to play against either the computer or anyone over the internet." Game Pick: 'Holdover' (Fox Eye, freeware) "Holdover is a platform game in the style of the old Metroid series, where you are in control of a girl named Marie who had just woken up from a deep slumber inside an abandoned research complex. Nearly half of the facility is flooded with water, and there will be tense moments where you would have to take a deep breath, dive in, and hopefully make it to the other side of a pool before the air in your lungs run out." Game Pick: 'Bulletsss' (Arvi Teikari, freeware) "Bulletsss is a puzzle platformer that requires a fair amount of quick reflexes and serious thought from the player in equal parts, as the challenges and obstacles found here can be rather difficult to complete even at the normal difficulty setting. Bullets move at a slow speed in this game, and you can use them as platforms to reach areas which are normally inaccessible with your basic jump skill."