Top 20 rated Xbox Live indie games closing '09

I rarely EVER check the Indie section. Thanks for this Alexander, it'll give me some things to look for (aside from I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1 which everyone should own by now)

Live has an Indie game section? Where?

There are a lot of great games in this list, that rating system has been an amazing addition to XBL

I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1 was a real surprise for me. I had a ton of fun with it. While it was a simple over the top shooter game where you get swamped it was fun with my friends. The fond memories of Smash T.V and and Total Carnage were in that game.

The Indie games for xbox are a real treat imo. Sure there are some hits and misses but you can always find something that you can dig.

I actually dig the Indie Games thing quite a bit. I make it an effort to check a few out every week or two.

I just tried, and purchased, this shmup called Leave Home. It's one of those types of games that's always the same length (5 minutes), where you try and get the highest score possible. What's cool about this one, however, is that the level changes dynamically depending on how well you're playing. It's got a cool graphical style and the music's awesome too. Definitely worth a demo download, and the three dollar asking price.

IMAGWZII is of course awesome. Joystiq is not leading you guys astray with this one.

Amniotic is a dual stick shooter that is pretty good as well. I'd also recommend checking out Run Away, simply because the premise is kind of funny.

IMAGWZII is the best $1 i spent on my 360 since that bang camaro song in rock band

It's awesome to see College Lacrosse 2010 at #2 on that list. What a great, great game.

quit your bitching

Carneyvale Showtime is the best game on that list, and needs to make the jump to Arcade or Steam or something.

What did happen with Kodu, did MS just decide to drop all support or marketing of it?

I liked I MAED A GAM3 W1TH Z0MB1ES!!!1, and recommended it to friends, but I am absolutely terrible at twin stick shooters.

I am surprised that the Slingstar, Avatar Golf & the original Johnny Platform Biscuit Romp did not make the list.

But it is cool that you are giving the indie games some nice attention here.

Kudos Joystiq!

I really don't consider this bitching.

I bought Geometry Wars back in 2006 and when my ISP went down one day in 2008, I couldn't play the damn game. Is that bitching?

Well, considering I paid $5 for said game, I have no control over my ISP and I couldn't play the game, I think it's fair to say that I should be able to play that game with or WITHOUT an internet connection.

Indie games are awesome, lots of really good games on there. My top 5 would be currently: CityRain (tetris meets simcity), hexement (another cool puzzle/tetris clone), Lacrosse 2010 (fast action sports game), Little Racers (i have a soft spot for top down racers) & Miner Dig Deep (it's addictive, yet so simple).

The fact that he won't play Indie games anymore and has to tell us about it is indeed bitching.

I've got Zombies, yeah. I need to try more of these-only other Indie title I have is Office Politics. I've been pretty resistant to downloadable titles this gen, it seems. Only two full Arcade games and one PSN title (excluding PSOne Classics).

No, autobot, you're wayyyy off. This sounds like a legitimate complaint. He pays money for a game and can't play it when it is offline, that sounds like a load of sh't to me, and plenty of reason to not buy any more indie games.

Has there ever been an expla ation for this online only thing?

It amazes me that bitching about a piece of DLC that is totally unnecessary is OK, but bitching about not being able to play a whole game you bought when not online sounds like a legitimate point.

Unless we're talking about games that require the internet to function... But as far as I know, you shouldn't need an online connection for Geometry Wars, right? (I only just got a 360.)

I've demoed a lot of the Indy games, but ZOMBIES is the only one I've ever bought. The audacity / brilliance of having a song about the game during the game deserved support. (Game is OK too)

Note: I always try and support the little guy / indy people, but it must be said that 99% of the indy game "box art" is terrible.

Granted it can be hard getting others to do stuff gratis, but if you've got a "Photoshop friend", by all means hit them up for that part.

Yeah, I don't think you need to be connected to Live for Arcade titles anymore. I've been playing Marathon: Durandal offline for a while.

He is talking about indie games, not Xbox live arcade games.

But DDogg wasn't.

But BigFat was.

I wasn't addressing Big Fat.

My God. Xbox LIVE is just a masterful service which provides endless Independent gaming joyfulness from Indie Games only from on the Xbox 360. Amazing list.

The artstyle of Platypus is awesome.

I highly HIGHLY recommend Miner Dig Deep and The Impossible Game, especially since they are just $1 each.

Miner Dig Deep is just a really solid, mining "sim" game that is for people who just love to see how far they can go. And despite the cutesy graphics you WILL get TERRIFIED when you're down to your last drop of lantern oil, you're 400 feet below ground, and your controller starts rumbling, signaling a potential cave-in.

The Impossible Game is, simply put, ridiculously hard given it only has one button, but with an awesome soundtrack and addictive gameplay it kept me, my wife, and a friend trying to beat it 100 times in a row, passing the controller around.

Try the demos for both games and you'll see what I mean!

I didn't know Kodu came out. I thought that was some huge far-fetched system that was a couple of years away.

Must have done really well.

I forget whether or not it came out in 2008 or 2009, but "Blow" was a fantastic Indie game and, if it did come out in 2009, should be high on that list. I consider it and Carneyvale Showtime to be equally good.

Kodu was easily one of my favorites of the Indie section. It's definitely a great starting point for experimentation, but would have been way better if users were able to create and import their own game assets.

In some ways, Kodu reminded me a lot of "Mind Rover: The Europa Project".

Be warned that Xbox Live Indie Games will not play if you are not connected to XBox Live when you try to start the game. This is by design and is just another example of how Microsoft is actively trying to cripple the arcade experience on the 360 and sell as many PS3's as possible. Microsoft says no refunds, but this is fraud and I better get my points refunded.

My understanding is the online connection requirement for XNA games is (somehow) related to the games being unrated (ie, no ESRB, pegi rating, etc).

For arcade games, an online connection is only required if your console doesn't have a license for the game. Ie, if you try and play on a different console without transferring the license then you need to be logged in to get the account's license.

How could you forget about Sol Survivor? It's only an amazing TD game with a Multiplayer Vs mode!!!

If Microsoft wants to sell indie games that only play in the store (marketplace) but not once you get the game home (your profile on your console) then they should warn you prior to the sale. However my complaints against the disease known as XBox Live go beyond the Indie game fraud. Microsoft's desire to force Xbox Live down your throat has led to decisions that are so wrong I don't see why people let them get away with them. Am I the only one that thinks an arcade game that keeps a score should save a local high score table. If I play Geometry Wars offline no high score table is viewable, retrieved or saved, and even if I am online Geometry Wars always shows the high score when I start as 10,000 points. Even when online, leaderboards are a miserable excuse for a high score table. All of the XBLA games I have played follow these Microsoft rules, which violate standards that have existed since the 80's. I was so pleased when I saw that 'I made a game with zombies!!!' saved a high score table, it's a shame I can't play it. A more minor intentional design flaw in the 360 is the fact that no time stamp is saved for achievements or last played date unless you are logged into XBox Live, which is really lame. Now I am going to spend my remaining points very carefully, and afterwards never buy any more. Owning a 360 is a love/hate relationship, but hating Microsoft is now quite understandable.

I just stumbled upon this blog.

IMAGWZ!!! is fun while it last, but after you get a score of about 800,000 if I recall correctly, the game just stops. There is no you win or anything. So in that regard, the game is broken, unfortunately. If you want, i can make a vid showing this.

Who here has tried the Indie game Biology Battle? I can't believe so few people know about this one. It plays just as well as Geometry Wars and looks beautiful. It is a dual-stick shooter.

I am presently working on a dual-stick shooter heavenly influenced by Robotron, Smash TV, and Geometry Wars.