(Left to right) 'Splosion Man, Flower, Osmos, Trials HD
OK, so the Spike Video Game Awards, which air this Saturday at 8 p.m. on Spike, don't exactly constitute "appointment TV," but this year the ceremony might actually be worth watching. For one, they will be airing a bunch of world-premiere trailers, including one for the much-anticipated new Medal of Honor. Two, Snoop Dogg is performing, so that should at least be mildly entertaining. And finally, it's been a pretty great year for video games, as evidenced by the top-notch nominees for Game of the Year—Assassin's Creed 2, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Left 4 Dead 2, and UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves.
But if there's one thing you might notice from the titles above, it's that they're all sequels or licensed franchises. Not that they're not great games, but where's the originality? Where's the risk-taking? The answer lies in the Best Independent Games category, which features four off-the-beaten-path titles that you may not yet be familiar with. See below for a quick primer on the best indie video games (as chosen by Spike) as well as a link to vote on your favorite...
'Splosion Man
DEVELOPER/PUBLISHER/PLATFORMS: Twisted Pixel/Twisted Pixel/Xbox 360
GENRE: Side-scrolling action platformer
RELEASE DATE: July 22, 2009
WHAT IT IS: This is a good ol'-fashioned platform title (available on Xbox Live Arcade) in which you play a character that can literally "'splode" through 50 levels of puzzles and enemies. There are shades of the Sonic series here in terms of speed, intricate level design, sense of humor, and overall addictiveness. Word to Peter North, "'sploding" everywhere is pretty damn fun.
ODDS OF WINNING: 8-1
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