Humble Weekly: Liebesgrüße aus Deutschland

Okay, pardon my potentially horrible German (and a James Bond reference for good measure!), but it was worth a shot. The latest Humble Weekly Bundle includes up to twelve games, all from German developers. The core bundle has a "pay what you want" price ($1 or more for Steam codes; DRM-free version of five of the seven core games are available for any donation), with three more games if you beat the current average price ($3.81 right now), and finally two additional games if you donate $9 or more. I'm used to seeing Child's Play Charity and the American Red Cross as the standard donation options, but this week the two charities are Doctors Without Borders and Make-A-Wish, so if you'd like to help those causes it's another reason to pick up some of these games. Here's the short list, ordered alphabetically within the pricing tiers:

• Beatbuddy: Tale of Guardians (75%, 08/2013 – $1+): puzzle-platformer with a world that responds to the soundtrack, with rhythm/adventure elements thrown it for good measure.
• Crazy Machines 2 (72%, 06/2008 – $1+): solve increasingly challenging/complex puzzles by building Rube-Goldberg-inspired machines.
• Galaxy on Fire 2 (63%, 08/2012 – $1+): open-ended space shooter/simulation with an optional story you can follow; updated graphics relative to the original iOS release.
• The Great Jitters: Pudding Panic (~60%, 05/2014 – $1+): a port of a popular iOS game, you guide a scared blob of pudding down the rails of a ghost train – try not to faint! (Reviews of the original iOS version are very positive, but the PC port is so new that I haven't seen any reviews yet. Personally...I rate it about a 60%; it's a weak port, with no resolution support above 1024x768 and the gameplay with a mouse is undoubtedly not as compelling as with a touchscreen.)
• The Guild II Collection (~61%, 10/2006 – $1+): this collection includes the original medieval strategy/RPG "life simulation", along with the two follow up games Pirates of the High Seas (63%, 2007) and Renaissance (56%, 2010). You can choose from a number of professions and then life out your life in the game world.
• Spirits (~60%, 02/2012 – $1+): a puzzle/action game with concepts similar to Lemmings, if you go that far back. Guide the autumn leaves home by altering the way the wind blows and changing the ground.
• Tiny & Big: Grandpa's Leftovers (75%, 06/2012 – $1+): a 3D cell-shaded puzzle-platformer where you manipulate the environment with various tools to try to recover a lost relic (Grandpa's Underpants); this was part of another recent bundle, but if you missed it you can pick it up here.
• ArcaniA – Gothic 4 (63%, 10/2010 – BTA): an open-world RPG in the vein of the Elder Scrolls series, this fourth installment moves to more tropical island environment.
• The Book of Unwritten Tales Digital Deluxe Edition (82%, 10/2011 – BTA): this is a classic-style point-and-click adventure game from the Unwritten Tales series, originally funded/launched via Kickstarter. This includes a "making of" booklet and original soundtrack as part of the "Digital Deluxe" package; not to be confused with the later installment in the series, the Critter Chronicles.
• Risen (77%, 10/2009 – BTA): if you've finished reading all of the Elder Scrolls and beaten Gothic and you're still looking for more open-world RPG adventuring, you might want to check out the world of Risen – it's good for another 50+ hours of gameplay.
• Giana Sisters: Twisted Bundle (~80%, 2012-2013 – $9+): this is a two-for-one bundle that gives you the original Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams (77%) and the Rise of the Owlverlord (84%), with the latter providing seven new levels. Giana Sisters is a platformer (and another game that started at Kickstarter), with the key mechanic being that switching between the two "sisters" alters the entire game world.
• The Night of the Rabbit: Premium Edition (75%, 05/2013 – $9+): last but not least, this is another point-and-click adventure that involves you following a white rabbit to the world of…no, not Wonderland, Mousewood! Help young Jerry fulfill his dream of becoming a magician, and in the process save Mousewood.

I think the "beat the average" portion of this bundle is a pretty easy sell, as you get ten games and at least a few of them should be worthy of your time. The $9 tier isn't too bad either, provided you don't already own one or both games. I grew up playing quite a few point-and-click adventure games but the genre lost me as I grew older; with young children of my own now, however, getting some family friendly fare that might stretch their brains a bit is always welcome. I'm not sure I'd rate the bundle as "wunderbar", but "gut genug" in this case was sufficient to help me part with some of my money.

Bundle Stars Delirium

So many bundles, so little time to play all of the games…which is why I'm here to at least sort through the deluge and hopefully pick out some of the better offerings. Bundle Stars has just launched their Delirium Bundle, which gives you 12 games (Steam codes) for a current price of $3.49 for the next two days, at which point the price will probably go up a dollar or so. That's a lot of games, but I'll be honest: Bundle Stars has a habit of picking decidedly mediocre games so many are likely to be marginal at best. Here's the usual list, in alphabetical order:

• Blue Toad Murder Files (N/A, 12/2010): an episodic murder-mystery with a humorous story and the ability to play as one of four detectives. Co-op up to four players is also supported, though I don't quite know how that works. The puzzles can be a bit much at times, unfortunately.
• Cube & Star: an Arbitrary Love (~60%, 02/2014): an exploration/experience more than a game as such, you basically control a cube that spreads color through a geometric world…or not. It can be painfully slow, but some people love the "game as art" idea and others think it sucks.
• Garshasp: The Monster Slayer (49%, 05/2011): a total knock-off of God of War, built around Persian mythology. It's a budget game to begin with ($5 normal price) with around six hours of gameplay, depending on your skills.
• Huntsman: The Orphanage (~45%, 09/2013): apparently a horror game rushed out for last Halloween, with an emphasis on story rather than blood and guts. You explore an abandoned orphanage in search of twelve missing orphans while avoiding the creatures stalking you. It's a dark (as in, the screen is dark and it's hard to see) game, it can be slow, and it's basically an exploration game where it's quite difficult to die but also not very scary (for most people anyway).
• Jack Lumber (~70%, 04/2013): a port of a tablet game to PC, which misses some opportunities for refinement along the way. This is basically Fruit Ninja with log chopping in place of fruit and a few additional gameplay mechanics; good for wasting time in short bouts.
• Little Racers Street (~65%, 02/2014): a top-down arcade racer with 3D environments, with up to 12-player multiplayer support.
• Miner Wars Arena Special Edition (~45%, 08/2012): a spin-off of Miner Wars 2081 with an overhead view. You dig trenches looking for power ups and try to kill your opponents; has split-screen and multiplayer support.
• Not the Robots (~60%, 12/2013): a Rogue-like game where your goal is to eat furniture, while using the same furniture as cover in a stealth-style mechanic. It can be fun once you unlock some of the additional challenges (after playing for a few hours), but as with many Rogue-likes it can also be very frustrating.
• Party of Sin (~50%, 12/2012): a puzzle-platformer putting you in control of the seven deadly sins as you escape hell on a quest to…annoy humanity or something. Reviews rate the game mediocre to poor, so probably not much worthwhile here.
• Sacraboar (~50%, 11/2009): an RTS of sorts where the goal is to capture the opponent's boar trophy (so CTS, basically). Supports LAN multiplayer, but good luck finding an opponent, and most of the user reviews are negative as well.
• Scourge: Outbreak – Amborsia Bundle (~70%, 04/2014): a third person "cover shooter" in the vein of Gears of War, with co-op and multiplayer support as well as perks you earn as you gain experience points. There's nothing really revolutionary here, but if you like cover shooters it's worth a shot. This bundle also includes the Blindside DLC Pack, Digital Art Book, and Digital Soundtrack.
• Survivor Squad (~70%, 11/2013): top-down strategy/action game puts you in control of a squad of four survivors as you try to survive a zombie outbreak. It's like Left 4 Dead from a different perspective; multiplayer is supported.

Okay, there you have it: twelve games for $3.49 works out to just $0.29 per game on average. The problem of course is that if you average the scores – and many of the games don't have enough reviews to even result in a Metacritic score – you end up with most of the games right around the 50% mark (give or take 10%). I've played plenty of games that scored 50-60% that I still enjoyed, but there's very little here that hasn't been done before – and often done better. Little Racers Street, Survivor Squad, and Scourge: Outbreak are probably the best candidates here, and I'm always good for a Rogue-like so Not the Robots gets an honorable mention. The rest, I'm not sure I'll ever get around to playing them.

Indie Gala Tiny Mix Bundle (May 19)

Last up for now is the current Tiny Mix Bundle, which has less than two days remaining. I believe they reuse the “Tiny Mix” name, so this is the bundle that launched around May 19. $1 will get you the first three games while you need to beat the average for the remaining eight games.

Tiny Mix Bundle ($3.99 to unlock all games)

In short: eleven games, so there’s almost bound to be one or two worthy of your time. That’s assuming you have free time, of course, which you probably won’t if you purchased any of the other bundles!

• Slyvia – Act I (N/A, 03/2014): An RPG built with RPG Maker XP, so basically old-school JRPG gameplay.
• Hexcells Plus (N/A, 02/2014): A logic puzzle game that has 36 levels; standalone expansion to the original Hexcells that’s “more challenging”.
• Postal (56%, 09/1997): An old game where the main selling point was the shock value of playing somebody that “goes postal”, in reference to USPS employees that shot and killed coworkers and other people. It wasn’t really good then, and it’s no better 17 years later.
• Poof vs. the Cursed Kitty (~70%, 11/2013): A cartoony tower defense meets platformer game, you control a dog (Poof) and try to protect a kitty from typical creeps. The size of the play area expands as you play, with the ultimate goal being to get as high a score as possible.
• Angvik (N/A, 02/2014): A platform action game, similar to games like Cave Story, Ghosts and Goblins, etc.
• Aveyond – Lord of Twilight (N/A, 06/2009): Another JRPG built with RPG Maker.
• Ethan – Meteor Hunter (59%, 02/2014): Puzzle-platformer where you control a rat, Ethan, that gains super powers after being struck by a meteor. Combines elements of Braid and Super Meat Boy, though it’s generally not considered as good as either of those games.
• Gravi (N/A, 10/2013): Puzzle-platformer involving a blue ball of energy. Beware Anti-Gravi, a red ball who tries to stop you!
• Truck Racer (N/A, 10/2013): The name says it all – you race trucks, semi trucks specifically, and they show nice damage during the course of the race. There are several gaming modes as well as multiplayer support, and this is very much an arcade racer and not a simulation.
• Grimind (N/A, 12/2012): An adventure platforming game with physics aspects, with a horror setting. The Steam user reviews are generally positive, but the two critics reviews found the controls and gameplay extremely frustrating.
• Helicopter Simulator 2014 – Search and Rescue (N/A, 02/2014): Fly in eight different helicopters as an emergency pilot, in over 40 challenges. So far the “most helpful” Steam user reviews have all disliked the game, though some people do like the game. Most state that this is not a simulation, despite the name.

Indie Gala Blood Knights

Indie Gala's Blood Knights Bundle is a bit of an odd name, as it focuses the attention on one of the (currently) seven games, and it's not even a good game by most accounts. Anyway, this bundle launched last week and is running for nine more days. $1 will get you four of the games, while beating the average ($4.23 right now) will unlock five more games, with at least one more yet-to-be-named title coming. Here's the overview.

Blood Knights Bundle (currently $4.23 to unlock all games)

Summary: Some new, some old; there are several solid offerings in the list, along with some potential turkeys.

• Little Trus Man (N/A, 11/2013): A puzzle/platformer that combines Tetris-style gameplay with side-scrolling adventure; currently listed on Steam Greenlight.
• Oniken (~75%, 02/2014): A retro action platforming game with gameplay and graphics right out of the late 80s.
• Syberia II (80%, 03/2004): A well regarded adventure game; not quite as good as the original, but still worth playing.
• Zeno Clash 2 – Special Edition (61%, 04/2013): First-person punching game with minor RPG elements; not as good as the original perhaps, but plenty of people still enjoyed it.
• Jets ‘n’ Guns Gold (N/A, 02/2014): An HD remake of Jets ‘n’ Guns, this is a side-scrolling bullet-storm game.
• Blood Knights (~50%, 11/2013): A 3D action-adventure game where you play as a vampire hunter of sorts (think, Blade movies); the game is not as good as that sounds, unfortunately.
• A New Reckoning (N/A, 05/2014): Stop me if you’ve heard this: a virus destroys most of the world and turns people into mindless zombie killers. This is an action-horror FPS powered by Unreal Engine 4, but it’s also a work in progress so it’s not really finished yet. (It’s supposed to be available on Steam Early Access; that hasn’t happened yet, but we’ll see.)
• Rock of Ages (74%, 09/2011): A strategy game mixed with rock-rolling humor; the key mechanic has you trying to crush your enemy’s castle with a giant boulder while preventing him from doing the same to you.
• M.U.D. TV (53%, 04/2010): Produce your own TV show, “Mad Ugly Dirty Television”. A simulation of sorts, it reputedly has a lot of crash bugs so probably not recommended unless you’re patient.

Indie Gala Encore Bundle

Continuing the Indie Gala theme, next up is the Encore Bundle, which looks to be the best value right now. There are seven games, and several have received decent reviews. Some of the games are worth the price of entry all on their own. And if you hated Duke Nukem Forever and didn’t play the Manhattan Project, it might be a good way to rid yourself of the bad taste in your mouth.

Encore Bundle (Currenly $1.49)

Summary: Not a bad collection, all things told. I'd say most of the games are at least worth a look. The bundle only has a bit less than two days remaining, so if you want it you need to act now!

• The Cat Lady (81%, 12/2013): A survival horror game of sorts, more in the psychological horror vein. It can be a rather poignant and sad, but most have felt the story was worth the time.
• Tobe’s Vertical Adventure (75%, 07/2011): A platformer game that can be fun though short.
• Duke Nukem – Manhattan Project (78%, 05/2002): Don’t let the age of the game or the name fool you; this is probably the last Duke game you should have played. It’s a side-scrolling platformer built on a 3D engine, and it features the sort of Duke Nukem commentary that was actually somewhat fun/funny (unlike the tragic Duke Nukem Forever).
• Lume (69%, 05/2011): A puzzle/adventure game with graphics built from paper and cardboard. Short but generally worth at least one play through.
• Abyss – The Wraiths of Eden (N/A, 04/2014): A point-and-click adventure game set underwater, with a decent story and hand-drawn graphics.
• Strategic War in Europe (~70%, 03/2014): A WWII setting wargame, which means it’s not really my style of game, but if you like hex grids and strategic military battles it appears decent – somewhat inept AI notwithstanding.
• C-Rush (N/A, 02/2014): An old-school “bullet storm” side-scrolling shooter; fight off the invading “plasma insects from space”!