Best Of Indie Games: Running Away From Debts and Taxes

[Every week, IndieGames.com: The Weblog co-editor Tim W. will be summing up some of the top free-to-download and commercial indie games from the last seven days on his sister 'state of indie' weblog.] This week on 'Best Of Indie Games', we take a look at some of the top independent PC Flash/downloadable titles released over this last week. The delights in this edition include a Canabalt-style runner for your Flash-enabled browser, a freeware adventure game made in the span of a month, a 2D platformer about possession and debts, and a real-time strategy game that features geometrical shapes for troops. Here's the highlights from the last seven days: Game Pick: 'Chance of the Dead' (Bjorn Ludwig, freeware) "Chance of the Dead is a short 2D adventure game made in under four weeks for a monthly AGS competition (themed 'a second chance'), featuring a SCUMM-like user interface that fans of early LucasArts games will appreciate. You play as Janet Burdie, a young girl who had been resurrected from the dead so that she may carry out some unfinished business from before her demise." Game Pick: 'Cat God vs Sun King' (Nerdook, browser) "Simple yet engaging, Cat God vs Sun King puts you into the fluffy paws of the Cat God. The Sun King is looking to challenge your dominance of the world and has enlisted his slaves and followers into the creation of a massive tower, a task you seek to stop." Game Pick: 'Kingdom Rush' (Ironhide Games, browser) "Developed by Ironhide Games, Kingdom Rush has all the bells and whistles expected of a tower-defense game. There are upgrades, towers to build, spells to cast, an expansive cast of teeny, tiny troops and a host of equally dimunitive enemies. On top of that, the game also boasts of a surprising amount of polish in terms of its presentation." Game Pick: 'Blipzkrieg' (GameClay and Noonat, browser) "GameClay and Noonat's latest offering is a beautifully organic and somewhat unusual take on real-time strategy. Instead of dimunitive troops, you have geometrical shapes that pinwheel through a Tron-inspired landscape. Battles are fast, frantic and silent except for the screech of lasers; it's a war of microbes rather than a clash of armies." Game Pick: 'Alight' (Twofold Secret, browser) "Alight (In Dreams) is a platformer that verges on art-game. You are in a dream, and can float around using wings on your back. By exploring the world and reading memories, you can uncover what has gone on it the protagonist's past." Game Pick: 'Mr Runner 2' (Bit Battalion, browser) "Mr Runner 2 is a homage to Canabalt and Super Meat Boy that starts off pretty slow, with short levels that don't leave much room for messing up. Yet as you push on, it starts to come into its own a fair bit, and trying to go for those platinum medals is just a little bit addictive." Game Pick: 'Soul Tax' (Jarod Long, Lauren Careccia and Brad Snyder, browser) "Created for the Something Awful Game Dev VI competition, Soul Tax sees you taking control of a ghost who has a debt to pay to the reaper. By entering the bodies of unsuspecting office workers, you can then beat other co-workers to death and finally jump out of the window, settling your debt... eventually."