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Armadillo Run, RoboBlitz, Bang! Howdy(and other great games from the IGF)

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Armadillo Run, RoboBlitz, Bang! Howdy(and other great games from the IGF)

Old 12-11-06, 08:27 AM
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Armadillo Run, RoboBlitz, Bang! Howdy(and other great games from the IGF)

Ok, before you read, hit this link and download the Armadillo Run demo for Windows. Then, read on while the 1MB file downloads. Go, on.. click it.

So, the finalists for the Independent Games Festival were recently announced:

Armadillo Run a very, very fun physics-based puzzler.

The free(!) Wild West MMO Bang! Howdy.

PC/XBLA action-puzzler RoboBlitz.

Some other games we know, like Castle Crashers, were also finalists for other categories.

<hr>

OK, this is sort of an excuse to talk about Armadillo Run. I downloaded it yesterday and it was so much fun I bought it ($20) as soon as the demo ended. You basically have to build structurally sound Rube Goldberg-type devices to get your armadillo to roll over to the goal. It's tasty. Very, very tasty.

Please try it and let us know if you bought the full game so we can exchange levels.

Last edited by The Bus; 12-11-06 at 11:20 AM.
Old 12-11-06, 10:05 AM
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I just downloaded and played through the Armadillo Run demo. I really enjoyed it and I'll be buying the full version once I get home. As for RoboBlitz, I bought the full version on XBL yesterday. I've only played through two levels so far but it definitely is promising.

Also, although it's not on the IGF list, I'd highly recommend Bookworm Adventures to anyone who likes indie games and Scrabble/Boggle-style word games. They took the gameplay of Bookworm and dropped it into an RPG-style setting. The writing in the game is really clever and entertaining, and the gameplay is really fun for language nerds like myself. There's a free demo that lets you play the game for an hour, and I think it's worth checking out.

(BTW, your second Armadillo Run link is pointing to RoboBlitz's site.)
Old 12-11-06, 11:20 AM
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Fixed the link. The full game is neat and definitely challenging.
Old 12-11-06, 12:35 PM
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Originally Posted by The Bus
Ok, before you read, hit this link and download the Armadillo Run demo for Windows. Then, read on while the 1MB file downloads. Go, on.. click it.
tsk. tsk. Don't you mean before you read again?

Armadillo Run Discussion

Granted only a few people posted, but it's still there.
Old 12-13-06, 09:43 AM
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Got the full version of Armadillo Run and it's great. I'm about 15 levels in, and some of those levels were very tricky. The physics in the game are so realistic and so sensitive that moving a node a pixel or two can mean the difference between success and failure. I'm enjoying this tweaking element of the gameplay, but for some people it might be too frustrating.
Old 12-13-06, 09:52 AM
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I'll have to try Armadillo Run. Remember "The Incredible Machine" series of games? I loved those.

The "Bang! Howdy" games looks quite nice too.
Old 12-13-06, 10:07 AM
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Originally Posted by Groucho
I'll have to try Armadillo Run. Remember "The Incredible Machine" series of games? I loved those.

The "Bang! Howdy" games looks quite nice too.
The Incredible Machine games were fantastic. Armadillo Run reminds me more of the Bridge Builder games though, since your structures have to support themselves. There are less gadgets than something like The Incredible Machine, and it's a little more realistic. It's more focused on the creative use of just a few building materials, although they throw in rockets to spice things up. The demo gives you a good idea of what the game is like, and if you enjoy physics-based games, it is definitely worth trying out the demo.
Old 12-13-06, 10:42 AM
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Armadillo Run. I liked it but definitely hit a wall on the later levels. I wish they would let you advance if you beat a level regardless of the duget. There's an exploratory, sandbox element that is part of the genius of this game and it is hampered if you're stuck on a level.

Of course, the site offers downloadable solutions, which is a bit like cheating but I'll take that over endless frustration.
Old 12-14-06, 07:16 PM
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Liked Armadillo Run quite a bit. May buy the full version.

Not as thrilled with Bang! Howdy. It won't let you play rounds just against the AI (apart from some tiny tutorial levels), and it's hard to learn the game when you're getting creamed by some 12-year-old.

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