Super Meat Boy is a clever throwback to 2D platformers of the past, bringing with it a insane sense of humor and an even more insane level of difficulty. As the title character, you set out to rescue your girlfriend Bandage Girl from Dr. Fetus, a fetus in a glass jar and tuxedo. No, I am not making this up. You pursue him throughout over 300 levels, along with hidden warp zones and alternate ‘Dark World’ versions of levels. The levels are chock full of hazards. You can expect to die and die often. At the end of the level, you are treated to a replay of your progress including all the death’s you’ve suffered trying to complete the level. You can unlock characters from other indie video games such as Braid’s Tim and Bit Trip’s Commander Video. Each of these characters has their own unique powers, and some are needed to access the game’s collectables. The game has a unique art style that smacks of retro 8 and 16 bit games, although it clearly won’t be for everyone due to it’s heavy difficulty. If you appreciate hardcore challenges and miss gaming’s classic era, then Super Meat Boy is for you.

To think it was over 5 years ago when I first put out a hands-on feature about this game. With Skryim right around the corner, now is the perfect time to do a follow up. For those of you who missed the hands on, Oblivion is the follow up to ES3: Morrowind, which was one of my favorite games on the original Xbox. As much as I liked Morrowind, it was far from perfect, so naturally when I heard about Oblivion, I was buzzed. Not only would it be a next generation installment of the franchise, the folks at Bethesda Softworks would fix all the issues in Morrowind. When the end product was released, it was a beautiful thing indeed. Not only did Bethesda live up to its promises, it (along with EA’s Fight Night Round 3 which was also released that week) helped to put a definitive end to the “Xbox 1.5” jokes and created one of the greatest games in any console generation.
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This Past week, Portal 2 hit stores everywhere. If you don’t have enough money for it, don’t worry, there is another first person shooter/puzzle hybrid you can check out in the meantime. The Ball, developed by Swedish developers Teotl Studios, was originally intended to be a mod to Unreal Tournament 3. Instead, the developers moved it over to the Unreal Development Kit in order to release the game as a standalone package. You play as an archeologist trapped in a cave. You encounter two artifacts: a large round ball and a strange gun which you use to control it. You use the ball to solve puzzles, defeat enemies, and explore the secrets of the underground cavern. The game’s physics makes the puzzles unique, and the Unreal Engine 3-powered graphics make the game look gorgeous. It was entered into Epic’s �Make Something Unreal� annual contest, and was also included in Valve’s �Potato Sack Pack�, a Steam promotion featuring several independently developed games that were discounted and bundled in anticipation of Portal 2’s release. So if you’re done with Portal 2, or just don’t have the money for it yet, pick this up in the meantime.

You know what the coolest thing is about Half Life 2 (and by extension other Source powered games)? It’s physics system. As fun as it is throwing glass bottles at combine soldiers, how cool would it be if we could just play around with it without having to worry about some goal or plot? That’s what Garry’s Mod is. It’s a standalone title that requires at least one Source game (Half-Life 2, Left 4 Dead, Team Fortress 2, etc) to play. You basically have two guns: The Physics Gun, which allows you to pick up and move objects, and the Tool gun, which is used for various tasks, such as combining objects. Players can import objects from other source games, and can even download community made props from the web. Multiplayer play is also possible, as players can team up to build contraptions. A recent update allows players to download community-created objects in game via the Toybox. Players can even modify game scripts using the LUA programming language. Garry’s mod is a cool way to show off the capabilities of the Source engine, and it’s a fun distraction for gamers. If you have HL2, Portal, Team Fortress 2, or Left 4 Dead, check it out.

Disclaimer: While I enjoy watching Mixed Martial Arts, I don’t keep up with it (or for that matter other sports) as frequently as I should. Thus, my knowledge of the sport extends little beyond this game.

MMA is the new Professional Wrestling. Of course unlike Pro-wrestling, MMA is very real and very brutal, and it has been increasing in popularity. So much in fact, that THQ teamed up with the UFC to bring UFC Unleashed to consoles, so it seems only natural that EA Sports wants to throw its hat into the ring (maybe that should be cage). While EA MMA isn’t perfect, it puts together a good package and manages to give THQ a run for its money.
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Created by Finland development studio Rovio Interactive, Angry Birds is undoubtedly last year’s Plants vs Zombies. That is, a game developed for casual audiences that gets over with mainstream gamers, finding intensive success, to the point of becoming a pop culture icon. Why are these birds so angry? Simple. Green-skinned pigs have stolen their eggs, so now the birds are ready to cause some serious damage to get their revenge. By controlling their slingshot, you launch the birds at huge wooden structures in an attempt to destroy the pigs within. When you complete a level, you gain extra points for eac unused bird and each part of the structure that’s destroyed. As you progress in the game, you get to use birds with different abilities. This is available on Iphone OS and Android (2.1 and up), but the company is seeking to bring it to PSP, Xbox Live Arcade, Wii, Windows Phone 7, and PC. There are also two stand alone spinoffs. Angry Birds Seasons, which contains holiday-themed levels, and Angry Birds Rio, a free entry based on the upcoming film of the same name which sees players trying to free birds who have been kidnapped by poachers. There are also plans for a TV show and movie based on this new franchise. Angry birds is proof that independent games are becoming bigger than ever, and can even give mainstream games a run for their money. It’s only a dollar, so check it out.

Galcon Fusion, created by developer Phil Hassey, is the latest in the Galcon series, a series of games that started as a 1987 PC shareware title and has been remade as a browser game, Iphone app, and a desktop game. Short for Galactic Conquest, Galcon Fusion can best be described as an arcade-style real time strategy game. The object of the game is to use your fleet of ships to colonize other planets in the galaxy while watching out for other players. By capturing planets, you enable them to create more ships, which you then direct at other planets in an attempt to conquer teh galaxy as fast as possible. It’s simple to get into, yet like most casual games, it gets addictive. There are several different modes, including online multiplayer, and you can post your high score to the game’s leaderboards. It’s available on steam, and it’s cheap, so check it out.

Yeah, everyone is excited about Duke Nukem Forever finally coming out this summer, but until then, we got Serious Sam. Created by Croatian developers Croteam, Serious Sam is a throwback to the early days of the FPS genre, before complex AI, upgradable armor, fancy graphical tricks, or Hollywood-style movie plots. While this high definition remake employs a new graphics engine, it retains the same chaotic shooting action that’s just as fun now as it was back in 2002. As the title character, you travel back in time to stop the armies of the evil Mental. The First Encounter sees you in Egypt while the second takes you to Central America and Medieval Europe. You’ll encounter zany enemies such as headless suicide bombers (who are somehow able to scream) and skeleton horse creatures. If it had a 2D equivalent, it would be Smash T.V, as much of the game involves Sam shooting waves of enemies. Both the First and Second encounter are available in HD form for $20 each, so if you didn’t check out this game the first time, now is a good time to do so.