Weekend Download
Epic games that claim to be not-so-epic, a battle game about politics, and a pixellated Indiana Jones who runs around stealing priceless artifacts. Welcome to Weekend Download!
It Belongs in an Ancient Ruin (Windows, 3.74MB, free) - Another fine game from a group of DigiPen students, this tidy little title borrows elements from several retro games as well as a little character you might have heard of named Indiana Jones. Stealing artifacts is the name of the game, and to do that, you'll need to hotfoot it to avoid lights, hide in plants to sneak around guards, swing from hooks to cross gaps, and generally be a really awesome artifact thief. Grab the loot, head out through the basement, and you're good for the next level!
Prime Minister's Questions: The Game (Windows, 4.98MB, free) - If politics in the UK were more like a turn-based Pokemon battle, a surge of interest would suddenly spring from the gaming community! A non-adventure game starring you, the Prime Minister, as you field questions from the opposing party on a weekly basis. Choose your "attacks" from below, and see if your responses help or hurt your overall health. Make sure everyone keeps their faith in the PM!
Unepic (Windows, 59MB, beta demo) - Playing a good old real-life RPG with your pals is great, but when you go to the bathroom, everything goes dark. Lighting your lighter you realize you're in a dungeon. Wandering through the passageways, you realize you're in a Castlevania-like sidescrolling action game. It'd be awesome if you were scared for your life! Earn experience to improve your stats and find tons of items and weapons to stash in your inventory. Even though this is just a pre-release demo, there's a lot of stuff to be done. The final product will no doubt be a truly un-unepic game! (Warning: Contains some harsh language.)
Note: All games have been confirmed to run under Windows 7 and are virus-free. Mac users should try Boot Camp, Parallels, or CrossOver Games to play Windows titles, Linux users can use Wine. If you know of a great game we should feature, use the Submit link above to send it in!
Lol, the name of the first game is a reference of a quote used throughout LucasArt Games.
So, while PMQs might be accessible to people outside of the UK, it probably makes a lot more sense if you have a thorough understanding of the politics over there. I enjoyed it, but I have this sinking feeling that, if I were more aware of Britain's political hijinx, that this game would have laid me out flat.
The first one is actually an inversion of a quote from the beginning of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989), when the titular Indiana Jones insists "It (the golden cross) belongs in a museum."
The Lucasarts games are parodying that quote.
SirNiko, there's a reference in Monkey Island (made by LucasArts).
I can't recommend Unepic highly enough. They're going to have the full release some time in September, and I plan on buying a copy.
JIGuest: I believe SirNiko meant Lucas Arts were referencing (making a joke on) Indiana Jones TOO :P So it's not a reference to monkey island, they just made the same joke.
It belongs in an Ancient Ruin was nice. I was expecting more since I'm a stealth junkie, but it was interesting and funny anyway.
unepic is on my download list :)
Unfortunately, Unepic' and 'It Belongs in an Ancient Ruin', and many other pixel games like them, run at a crawl for me, and my computer was supposed to be high end. Any suggestions?
Er, do you mean "weren't"? As in "It'd be awesome if you wereN'T scared for your life!" ??
Gotta check it out now, looks good.
Wow. Unepic is incredible. I can't wait for the full version to come out. My only gripe is that the English translations aren't that smooth, and contain typos.
I definitely noticed that the English translations have a few problems ("recipees" stood out, as well as "role game" for "role playing game"), including a few potion descriptions that didn't get translated. I hope they can get a solid proofreader on board--I'd write to them myself, if only I spoke Spanish.
Though I will admit I had one other gripe about Unepic, which was the rather crude humor. Not only is there "harsh language", there's a full sidequest that involves, well, going behind curtains with female goblins, and the dialogue around that quest is incredibly juvenile.
Still, the game does an amazing number of things very well, and it's definitely worth keeping an eye out for the full version.
I agree with the commenter who didn't like the crude language and adult situations.
If that content wasn't in this game I'd be telling everyone I know about this game, because it tickles my run-and-jump, loot-grabbing, Metroidvania-addict funnybone in a way no other game has in a LONG LONG WHILE.
Otherwise, it's a very satisfying, fun game, but maybe they can make a PG-version for some of us out there?
I've been working on the English translation of Unepic; hopefully, I'll be able to get my part of it done in time for the release (which is very soon).
I have toned down a lot of the language, aiming for "sarcastic" rather than "foul-mouthed". The rating should be in the PG range, or just barely counting as "mature".
The 'curtain' quest stayed in, though the dialogue was cleaned up just a little. It's not something that has to be done to make progress -- skipping the task in question won't stall the rest of the game.
Update