Best Of Indie Games: Doing It By The Numbers

[IndieGames.com: The Weblog co-editor Tim W. rounds up the week's top indie games from 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 monochromatic 2D platformer, a short adventure game that features Another World-style vector graphics, a browser game that focuses on the subject of achievements, a puzzle game about two lovers, and a maze exploration game in which the objective is to seek out a legendary tie. Here's the highlights from the last seven days: Game Pick: 'Tower of Heaven' (Askiisoft, browser) "Tower of Heaven is a monochromatic 2D platformer that features eleven levels to play through, originally released by Askiisoft in 2009 as a Windows-only game. This Flash port contains new musical arrangements, achievements, and a level creation system that can be accessed after you've beaten the game once." Game Pick: 'By the Numbers' (Aki Ahonen, freeware) "By the Numbers is a short adventure game created using the AGS engine, featuring full voice acting and characters rendered using a combination of motion-capture script and simple vector graphics. You play as lieutenant Timothy Orman, a cop who has to question an eyewitness to a kidnapping for clues that'll lead you to the criminal." Game Pick: 'Achievement Unlocked 2' (John Cooney, browser) "Achievement Unlocked 2 is the second in the series which made that little blue elephant famous, and this time he's got even more achievements for you to unlock. While many of the achievements are very tedious and tiresome, there are some genuinely interesting ideas thrown in there. You can even play it co-op multiplayer this time around." Game Pick: '[Together]' (Michael Molinari, browser) "[Together] (pictured) is Bean's entry for the Casual Gameplay Design Competition, where players have to help a pair of lovers pluck out hearts from the ocean and the skies. You will also have to actively avoid being swallowed by a giant worm that is chasing the couple, but a quick spin of the mouse will fend it off and give you some breathing space." Game Pick: 'Dot Order Tie' (Dylan Van Cleave, browser) "Dot Order Tie is a 2D adventure game set inside a maze, where your objective is to seek out pieces of a legendary tie that was thought to have been lost forever with the passing of time. After collecting all 999 pieces of the tie, you'll have to head back to the starting point to end the search."