While I was at PAX earlier this year I had the great opportunity to sit in on a panel about the Humble Indie Bundle, a promotion that went on back in May that gave consumers the opportunity to net World of Goo, Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru, Samorost 2, and Penumbra: Overture for as little as a penny. The promotion managed to raise over a $1 million within a week, of which nearly $325,000 went to charity.

If this is the first you’re hearing of “the Bundle” and you’re feeling a little bummed, don’t fret. A second pay-what-you-want bundle of five new games launched today. Hit the jump for more information on the Humble Indie Bundle 2 and how you can get your hands on a package including titles like Braid and Machinarium for as little as $0.01.

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The most exciting title hitting Nintendo’s downloadable services this week is Fluidity. I had an opportunity to play this title while at PAX. It’s a fun, physics-based puzzle platformer and it’s definitely worth a look. The game puts you in control of a flow of water, and rotating the Wii remote will rotate the scenery and will allow you to navigate the water through the mazes which make up the title’s levels.

A demo of the game is also available on Wii-Ware…so you have no excuse to try this title out.

The rest of this week’s titles await you after the break.

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Another week, another Nintendo update…this week’s exciting title is a little game called Cave Story. While it has been available on both PC and Wii for a while now, Daisuke Amaya’s indie classic is now available via Nintendo’s DSi-Ware service. Additionally, a demo for the Wii-Ware version is also now available.

This week’s downloadable titles await you after the break.

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This week demos are making their return to Wii-Ware. In addition to your usual weekly assortment of downloadable titles, four demos made their way to the Wii-Ware service today. They’re actually pretty decent titles as well. Unfortunately, these titles are only around for a limited time only…so download them while you still can.

The full list of this week’s titles and demos awaits you after the break. Read more… »

If I asked you what Spectrum Shock was, you may be mistaken in thinking it was an unheard of spiritual successor to System Shock, or maybe a bad TV show about a guy who can manipulate electromagnetism, or maybe even a movie with Alan Rickman. In fact, it is the debut game from Boxfrog Games featuring all the tilting and tapping you can fit into a device rife for tilting and tapping.

So how does it shape up to the other titles on the app store? Is it a Canabalt or a Can Of Ba… Okay, even I’m not crass enough to finish that pun. Hit the jump to find out why Spectrum Shock should be the next game you download to your iPhone.

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Indie games are coming in thick and fast on the 360, and with so many “Free MS Points” offers being peddled by various publishing firms, gamers are able to take advantage of titles they may never have noticed before.

Monsters (Probably) Stole My Princess may not be a shoe-in for GOTY, but at just 240 MS Points, this addictive little title is sure to entertain you for a couple of hours.

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Gaijin Games’ awesome Wii-Ware title, Bit.Trip Beat, recently made its way to the iPhone. The pong-inspired retro-rhythm title also made moves this morning. As of 9AM PST this morning, Bit.Trip Beat has also been available for PC and Mac via Steam.

Hit the jump for more information including Beat’s sale and the Steam version’s added features.

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We have experienced that sensation of regret after trying out a new game for the first time. Luckily, there are plenty of options to return or sell back these stinkers. However, as we move towards a future where physical media no longer exists, our options to combat buyer’s remorse are fading away. Demos attempt to solve these issues, giving gamers a taste of the action before they throw down their hard earned cash. It even gives developers and publishers an opportunity to draw in an audience that might not have been aware or interested in their title.

Yet, Nintendo’s Wii-Ware service has been largely devoid of demos – in a frustrating contrast to all of its competitors. For a brief time Wii owners could enjoy snippets of titles like World of Goo and Bit.Trip Beat, but the idea was scrapped before it even really found its legs. Luckily, Nintendo is bringing demos back to the console.

Hit the jump for the titles you’ll be able to try this Friday.

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It’s November everybody… Why not start the month off right with some downloadable Nintendo games? Hit the jump for this week’s releases.

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Last week I posted a little preview on The Ball, an indie first-person puzzle game that started out as an Unreal 3 mod but has since grown into a full on retail release published by the good folks over at Tripwire Interactive. Developed by Teotl Studios, The Ball has garnered so much critical acclaim and won so many awards (including second place in Epic Games’ Make Something Unreal contest) due to its unique setting, creative gameplay mechanics, and sheer quantity of head scratching puzzles.

Now that I’ve had a bit more time to clear through the single-player campaign and put in some work on  the survival mode, I’m fully prepared to give my opinion on The Ball. Will this game roll over the competition, or simply bounce down the hall of forgotten games? Read on to find out. Read more… »

Like most of you, I have an unhealthy fascination with Minecraft, the indie block based adventure/construction game. Today Minecraft creator Markus “Notch” Persson shed some light on the new features we can expect when the Halloween update goes live.

According to Notch, “There are six new block types (five of them have unique abilities), one new monster, a new dimension, and a couple of bug fixes. Once I get the portals working, I’ll have something very interesting going and I’ll spend the rest of the time leading up to the release adding new smaller features and polishing stuff.” Read more… »

What do you get when you mix up one part Portal, two parts Indiana Jones, and top it off with a little hint of Pinball? You get The Ball, a first-person puzzler developed by the good folks over at Teotl Studios and published by Tripwire Interactive, makers of Killing Floor and Red Orchestra. On top of all that The Ball also achieved second place in the Grand Finals of the Make Something Unreal contest, as well as winning Best Single-player Mod Of 2008 in ModDB’s MOTY awards. With all this acclaim, it kind of strange that The Ball hasn’t been getting a lot of press.

This past weekend, Tripwire was good enough to send me a preview copy of their upcoming game, which is currently slated to arrive October 26. After spending a good deal of time playing The Ball, I have to say it’s a truly unique experience that you have to play to really get the idea of how it works. Read more… »