Best Of Indie Games: Under the Sea, Where Everything is Free

[IndieGames.com: The Weblog co-editor Tim W. rounds up some of the week's top indie games from the last seven days 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 a new entry in the Hoshi Saga series, a two-player hotseat game, a Virtual On-style 3D combat game with an underwater theme, a pair of Mario-inspired platformers, and a puzzle game that deals with the consequences of time paradoxes. Here's the highlights from the last seven days: Game Pick: 'Neo Aquarium' (Nusso, freeware) "Neo Aquarium (King of Crustacean) is a Virtual On-style versus combat game that features sea creatures fighting each other inside a closed underwater arena of death. The list of weapons at your disposal includes homing projectiles, melee attacks, grabs, short-range explosions, and even remote-controlled detachable limbs that can be commanded to fire at your enemies." Game Pick: 'Sumouse' (Terry Cavanagh, freeware) "Sumouse is a two-player fight-a-thon which may result in your computer being mouse-less. Both players control a small box on the screen via a single mouse. Each player holds down a mouse button, then frantically attempts to move the box into one of the outer boxes of their respective colour. Simple, destructive fun - you might want to plug in an old mouse, though." Game Pick: 'Enough Plumbers' (Glen Forrester and Arthur Lee, browser) "Enough Plumbers is an expansion on Glen Forrester's original Enough Marios. The plumber's goal is to grab the flag on each of the 25 levels, but there's a twist - grabbing coins will create a Mario clone who then becomes user-controlled. Initially the concept acts as a distraction, turning what is essentially simple platforming into a bit of a nightmare, with plumbers spawning and jumping all over the place." Game Pick: 'Time Paradox' (free-jap, browser) "Time Paradox is a clever puzzle game in which you have to use time machines to travel back in time and unlock the exit door that blocks your way out of each level. Your current self has only thirty seconds to act before time runs out, and once a time machine has been used it cannot be activated again until you lose a life." Game Pick: 'Aftermath' (Yrr, freeware) "Aftermath is a 2D platformer created by newcomer Yrr, in which you're stranded on a crater with a broken missile that needs repair for it to fly again. Thus begins your adventure into the caverns, in search of coins and rocket parts to complete your escape plan." Game Pick: 'Hoshi Saga Ringoame' (Nekogames, browser) "Already the fifth game in the series (and the second one to feature full colour), Hoshi Saga Ringoame is a collection of twenty-five puzzles from Yoshio Ishii in which the player has to find a star hidden somewhere in every stage. Perhaps the easiest game out of the five, the only challenge that players might have a problem with is when trying to line up objects properly while the in-game physics engine is at work."