Best Of Indie Games: See You on The Under Side

[IndieGames.com: The Weblog editor Tim W. round's up the week's top indie games and related news, this time examining a Metroidvania platformer, a dragon-breeding sim, and many more.] 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 Metroidvania platformer, a base jumping simulation game set in the near future, a difficult horizontal shooter, a browser-based puzzle game with sprite editing functions, a dragon breeding simulator, and a puzzler that placed in a 'shocking' competition. Game Pick: 'The Underside' (Arthur Lee, freeware) "An exploration platformer which tells the story of Ip, a peculiar little fellow who is attempting to escape from The Underside and prevent the world from being destroyed while he's at it. The plot can be a little complicated to follow at times, but when it comes to gameplay there's not much out there that is quite like it - a classic platform game with gorgeous pixel art." Game Pick: 'Trigger' (Stephen Lavelle, freeware) "Trigger is a tough horizontal shooter created by the developer of intriguing experimental projects such as Opera Omnia and Rara Racer. The ship that you pilot is armed with only one weapon, but when used effectively it can destroy just about any enemy ship you might encounter on this dangerous mission. Available for both Windows and Mac OS X." Game Pick: 'Aaaaa! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity' (Dejobaan Games, commercial indie - demo available) "In Aaaaa! - A Reckless Disregard for Gravity, your task is to launch yourself from a ridiculous height, skim some buildings, smash through targets, wave to your loving fans, flip off the whiners and land safely at the bottom with all bones intact. While the experience can be completely casual and open enough for anyone to enjoy it, so too is Aaaaa! fitted for the hardcore gamers. Finding perfect routes to maximise score and achieve the highest rating possible will no doubt help the time fly for many freefallers." Game Pick: 'CutCopyPasteGnome' (Luke Brown, browser) "CutCopyPasteGnome is a puzzle game designed by Luke Brown, where the player's objective is to assist a gnome in reaching the exit without any direct control over his movements. This will require manipulating objects with a couple of editor functions, accessible by right-clicking on the game screen and selecting the tool you would like to use." Game Pick: 'How to Raise a Dragon' (Gregory Weir, browser) "How to Raise a Dragon follows the rise and potential fall of a mythical beast from hatching to distilling fear in the hearts of pitiful humans. As you'd expect from a Gregory Weir game, there are multiple endings depending on the direction you decide to take. Will you be a fiery tyrant raining down destruction or be a kind soul? How you decide to handle yourself makes all the difference." Game Pick: 'Shocker: The Electrifying Super Hero' (Alexitron, freeware) "Shocker is a puzzle game created by Alexitron for Game Jolt's Shocking contest, where you are in control of a hero entrusted with the job of saving the planet from a major technology-related disaster. Each area has several blue nodes and a yellow exit point, with your objective being to reach the escape portal without accidentally sliding out of the screen."