This past weekend saw the news that the Neo Geo X would cease production. With that note, it brings to mind another handheld which had an all-too-brief existence, Gamepark Holdings’ GP2X Caanoo. What’s that you say? Never heard of it? Well, that’s part of the reason it didn’t last long. Normally, Maximum Letdown takes potshots at bad games or/hardware. However, this Maximum Letdown is a letdown of a different variety, because the product had some potential, it just succumbed to poor timing and poor marketing.
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Developed by Toronto based Cellar Door Games who describe it as a Rogue-Lite, Rogue Legacy is a perfect example of why the indie movement remains fresh with new concepts and ideas. A combination of Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Dark Souls, and The Binding of Issac, Rogue Legacy is a challenging game that pushes players forward by challenging them. You make your way through four areas as you battle monsters, gather items, and fight bosses. You will die, and die often. However, when you die, you take control of one of three possible descendants, each with their own abilities and traits, and your stats and equipment carry over to them. The real fun of the game comes when choosing the descendant. There are several traits a character can have. While some are cosmetic, others affect gameplay. For instance, characters with ADHD move faster, characters with vertigo play the game upside down, and characters with the nostalgic trait see everything with a golden hue. In between attempts, you can upgrade your family’s manor to upgrade your abilities, hire personnel such as blacksmiths and architects, and unlock new items and equipment. Oh yeah, the game’s layout resets each time you play, unless you pay the architect to lock down it’s design. Thankfully if you defeat a boss one time, it remains defeated. While Rogue Legacy will be very difficult at first, it gets easier with every attempt. Players who stick with it will be rewarded. When you complete the game, you’ll unlock a new game+ where you can play with your upgraded stats in a much harder quest. Players who love old-school exploration style games will love Rogue Legacy, as long as they are prepared to accept the challenge.

Before Halo, Call of Duty, Doom, and even Wolfenstein 3-D, there was Catacomb 3-D, a prototype of the first person shooter. Catacomb 3-D is the third of a series, although it is the first using a 3-D engine. Playing as a nameless wizard, you descend into a catacomb to battle orcs, goblins, and other creatures with a variety of spells that you find throughout each level. The game was later followed up the Catacomb Fantasy Trilogy, which wasn’t developed by ID, although they use a similar engine and gameplay. These three games introduce new levels, and the third part even introduces sci-fi elements. You can get the entire series for only $6 at GOG.com. You’ll want to check it out and witness the birth of one of gaming’s most popular genres.

Normally I don’t feature free-to-play games in this column, but with this game I’m making an exception since you don’t need to spend any real world money to experience everything it has to offer. Pixel People is an 8-bit version of what the 2005 film The Island would look like if instead of being murdered and having their organs harvested, the clones actually were being sent to an island, and this island was in space. You are in control of a colony of clones on an island in space. After they come to an arrival center, you assign them jobs by splicing two genes which represent professions. There are over 200 to unlock, and there are small animals and other items to find and unlock as well. Your island is constantly expanding, so you’ll need to purchase more land for buildings and houses. There are two main resources: gold and utopium. Gold is harvested on a regular basis, while utopium is a bit more scarce. You can buy utopium at a premium price, but if you’re patient, you can wait until you save up for whatever you need. A recent update added the ability to add facebook friends so you can trade commodities with them, leave gifts, and visit their towns. If you got an iPad, and a few minutes a day to kill, grab this from the app shop. It’s free-to-play, but thankfully it’s not pay-to-win.

As I noted in my review of Datura a few weeks back, indie games often use vagueness and minimalism as a means of attracting players. However, there is a difference between using minimalism to benefit the game and being vague for the sake of being vague. Sadly, Vigil (or Victi as it’s known in Europe) does the latter. While it drags players in with its Sin-City-style graphics and interesting storyline, it’s vagueness and frustrating gameplay will turn off players with the quickness.
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The sequel to the $1 one-person developed indie hit, Action Arcade Wrestling 2 combines retro-style wrestling action with deep customization. There is a huge variety of match types, and players can use the customization tools to design their own wrestlers and ring. Players can go to the creator’s website to download a tool to use on their computer to further refine their created characters, and there is already a community centered around the game that has recreated several old school wrestlers. The game is not polished, although the creator is providing patches and support. Sadly there is no online multiplayer, but if you have a few friends over, you’ll have fun with the game’s many match types. Action Arcade Wrestling 2 may not be the second coming of Fire Pro Wrestling returns, it’s still a hit for wrestling fans with $3 to spare. At the least it will help pass the time before WWE 2k14 hits.

Created by 3D Realms, Shadow Warrior is another entry from the glory days of the first person shooter. Although it’s caught serious flack for its stereotypical potrayal of Asian culture, it was fun to play and it had some features that were ahead of its time such as secondary fire for the weapons and vehicles players could drive. As ex bodyguard Lo Wang, you are out to assassinate your former boss after he summons demonic creatures in a bid to conquer Japan. Wielding several weapons including a Katana, sticky bombs, a rail gun, and Uzis, you blast your way through his minions in order to stop him. There isn’t much more to it than that, and that’s what made games like SHadow Warrior, Doom, Wolfenstein, and Rise of the Triad fun. The game will be receiving a remake which aims to correct some of the un-pc aspects of the original. Speaking of the original, you can grab it, along with its expansion packs from Steam or Gog.com.

You can be forgiven for thinking that Oniken is a lost NES title. Brazilian developer Joymasher’s indie title is a tribute to classic hack ‘n’ slash platformers like Strider and Ninja Gaiden. If this title came out 25 years earlier, it would be one of the best selling titles on the NES. As Zaku, you are on a one-man mission to bring down a corrupt regime in a post-apocalyptic world. You’ll encounter several enemies and bosses, and you’ll obtain several power-ups. The difficulty can be brutal, but classic NES gamers wouldn’t want it any other way. You can purchase it from Desura, and it’s on Steam Greenlight. Check out the group’s next entry, Odallus, a game that has Castlevania and Metroid influences. Joymasher is a group that fans of classic action games will want to keep an eye on.