It\'s possible that the launch of
Manifesto Games slipped under the general radar, partially because indi-development isn\'t exactly the most popular topic in the mainstream game press. Yet Manifesto Games went live a week or two ago, hosting a wide variety of high quality independently developed titles, and it amounts to one of the coolest playgrounds in the world for the game enthusiast.
Manifesto Games gives independently developed titles a chance to meet the public eye; what you\'ll find there is a collection of some of the coolest games you\'ve probably never heard of. The games featured on the site range from the completely obscure to the simply less-well-known. Most of the games have some sort of downloadable trial, either via a direct link or via a torrent file. Regardless of your tastes, you\'re likely to find something you\'ve never played before, but really should have. One personal recommendation is a game called
Laser Squad Nemesis, a tactical combat game from the same people behind X-Com: UFO Defense. The free trial allows you to play through a level or two, and brings back memories of the days when shooting down aliens and looting their ship for technology was a popular thing to do.
The site is broken into categories that makes it easy for people to find their tastes when browsing through games that many people are unfamiliar with. For example, clicking on RTS nets you games like
I of the Enemy, which we
reviewed here on GamesFirst some time back. It also finds you games like
Mudcraft, a non-violent RTS.
The most fun, though, is clicking on the \"Cool Indi Games\" link at the top of the screen. What you\'ll find will keep you entertained for as long as you want to spend time downloading and trying out cool games. Certainly, not every game has the high production values that you\'ll find from the store shelves in Walmart, but most have a level of creativity you\'ll be pleasantly surprised to see.
What might amaze you more is realizing how many great games there are that you\'ve never heard of. Manifesto Games is a great tool for finding out just what sort of things you\'re missing.