Square Off is a well designed and addictive indie game, which you don’t see very often. Getting ahead of the pack and being one of the first Indie games on 2010 Gnomic Studios has set the bar very high. With four player local co-op though the story and local multi-player this is a game you will want to pick up.
Earth is being attacked by aliens and for centuries human kind has fended them off. Getting ever closer to the humans surrender and earths destruction, the world leaders are willing to try anything. A Professor confined to a mental institution, has a brilliant idea to take a sample of a captured alien’s DNA and implant it into the Nucleus of a cell extracted from his own brain. This spawns a squadron of four square hybrid mutant avengers.
The story similar to the plot of the movie 9, is a masterpiece of team work and comedy. With an art style that seems to be inspired by Castle Crashers and hilarious sound effects, Square off is a fun filled adventure. Each level consists of four waves of hording aliens, then followed by a boss in the fifth wave. You start off with a pistol that has unlimited ammo but through out your fighting you will have chances to pick up crates that spawn special weapons for you. You can take on the Spread shot pistol, shotgun, rocket launcher, or even a timed explosive similar to pipe bomb in Left 4 Dead or the c4 teddy in Zombie Apocalypse. You can also have a chance at getting a health pack, a jet-pack to make you move faster, and a helmet to let you take more damage. With all these different power ups and six levels of alien bashing the story is one to keep you addicted for hours.
Next we have the multi-player, consisting of three different maps and three different game types. Battling your friends has never been so exciting and funny. We have the To the Death game type, Frag Race, and Time Limit. To the Death is basically a last man standing match, so play strategically to stay alive. Then you have Frag Race, this game-type is won by being the first person to a set number of kills. Time Limit is one of the most fun in my opinion because you play until time runs out and it is just an all out brawl to try and get in the lead before that happens.
In conclusion, Gnomic has hit gold with this new take on the Twin Stick Shooter genre. Their Beautiful artwork, hysterical sound effects, and adventure of a story makes Square Off a sure contender for one of the top Indie games of 2010. With hints that Square Off 2 could come eventually with online Multi-player and other games already in progress, they are definitely a Indie Studio that I expect great things from. Check out square off in the market place here and save the world from those evil, scheming aliens.
