Alpha Beta Gamer

Of Guards And Thieves (spotted by burningyesterday) is an excellent multi-player top-down stealth/action game with fast paced arcade gameplay, where you can either play as stealthy Thieves or powerful Guards.

Guards have to guard 6 objects scattered across the map, with only one being the real target for the thieves. The guards don’t know which one the real target is though, so either have to guard all 6, or try and figure out which one the thieves are after. Guards win if they protect the object for the duration of the match and the thieves win if they escape with it.

Guards cannot see in the Dark, so must use their flashlight and other artificial light sources (which can be turned on and off) to see. On the other hand Thieves have night-vision goggles, so can use the darkness to their advantage, sneaking through the shadows, they can’t match the guards in a straight-up fight though, so must be careful not to get spotted. It’s like a big game of hide-and seek, but with knives and assault rifles.

Although Of Guards and Thieves is in Beta, it’s already a highly polished, balanced, fully functioning game, there are always plenty of games to choose from on the servers, and there’s even a perks and upgrades system, with unlocks gained through XP.

Of Guards and Thieves is a fantastic use of asymmetric multiplayer mechanics, both sides are great fun to play. Playing as a thief proves that stealth is much more satisfying when playing against real people instead of AI, while playing as a guard makes you feel some empathy for all those guards you killed in Metal Gear Solid, it’s a hard job!

Play the Beta, Free

Steel Waves is a fun new naval combat game that sees you commanding a selection of customisable battleships and fighting in 16 Vs 16 online battles.

At the moment it’s a basic, but enjoyable online multiplayer combat game, however the devs have an intention of evolving it into a fully featured MMO, with a choice of 3 factions and a larger selection of gameplay modes.

Obviously the the Alpha demo is lacking some features at the moment, but the combat is great fun, reminiscent of Assassins Creeds Naval battles but with fancy modern warships and less pirates.

Download the Alpha Demo, Free

Roche Fusion is a fast paced, fun arcade shoot-em-up with snazzy special effects, lots of over the top weaponry and big boss battles.

It plays wonderfully. Battles take place on a single screen, with enemies swooping in for wave based attacks, making the game feel like Space Invaders on steroids at times. The power-ups also deserve a special mention, they’re well designed and pretty spectacular, particularly the Black Hole Gun that shoots a big black hole that sucks enemies in to their demise.

Download the Beta, Free

Mini Metro is a simple, fun and addictive subway planning game, where you’re tasked with drawing routes between stations to minimise commuter congestion. Things start of easily with only 3 stations, but as time progresses more stations are added, increasing the burden on your network. You will unlock upgrades as time progresses, but eventually, due to congestion, your network will grind to a halt, all you can do it try and prevent this for as long as possible.

Mini Metro is a simple, easy to learn, addictive game, that actually manages to turn the art of subway planning into a highly enjoyable pastime!

Download or Play the Alpha free in a Unity Supported browser (Win, Linux, Mac)

Renegade X is a great looking, fan made multiplayer FPS set in the Command & Conquer universe, built on the Unreal Engine 3 and supporting up to 64 players. The game looks wonderful, with perfectly modelled C&C buildings, weapons and vehicles, it really does look and feel like an official C&C game (albeit in a first person viewpoint).

The FPS mechanics are excellent, allowing for fast paced, fluid gameplay, but there is also a large tactical element to the game. The main game mode (Command & Conquer) tasks you with destroying your enemy’s base while protecting your own. Players are able to manage their own economies, choose from over 30 weapons, 15 vehicles, and call in nuclear strikes, Ion Cannons, and airstrikes, and much more. Each team has a base of operations that composes of several key structures, each structure has its own purpose, so as they are destroyed, the team will lose a team bonus.

Renegade X is both a wonderful slice of nostalgia for those who love the C&C franchise and a refreshing new take on the FPS genre, making an excellent tactical FPS and the best C&C game for years.

Download the Beta, Free

Cadence is a great new audio/visual puzzle game where your goal is to join up musical nodes in such a way that they create an infinite loop, capable of perpetually continuing the melody into infinity. This may sound overly complicated, but in reality it’s remarkably easy to pick up and play, with multiple solutions to puzzles and lots of fun to be had from experimentation.

The audio/visual style of the game is also excellent, combined with the lack of a timer, it makes for a very relaxed, Zen-like atmosphere. You’re never to worried if you get things wrong as it’s great fun trying different solutions, it’s a highly enjoyable, chilled-out experimental puzzler.

Play the Alpha, Free

Black Gold Online is a very pretty new Steam-punk/Fantasy MMORPG with fast paced gameplay, massive enemies, huge battles and Mechs.

It seems like a lot of fun, but don’t just take our word for it, check out what Canadian punk-pop pixie Avril Lavigne has to say about it in this rather odd promo video for the Asian release. To be honest, we don’t have a clue what “Desired Black Gold, the double temptation” means, we’re guessing it means “We’ve paid you a s**t load of money and couldn’t afford a decent translator, just read the F***ing script Avril”.

Anyway, the game genuinely does looks like a lot of fun, with plenty of customisation options, Dwarfs, Giants, Vampires, large scale battles, Mechs and lots of vehicles, all wrapped up in a beautiful steam-punk/fantasy setting. As Avril says “That’s a new world we are waiting for!”

Sign up for the Beta

In 2014 SkyNet became self aware, decided not to wipe-out mankind, but to create video games instead. The OTON X is a unique new console that claims to be able to self-create games, without user input. Quite how it manages to do this, we’re not sure (it’s something to do custom algorithms, pre-set design parameters & magic dust), but it is a very interesting concept, and one that potentially will offer users an infinite amount of free games to play.

The console will cost $99 for early bird units and $139 for Dev units, so don’t expect PS4 style graphical power but it still has some pretty impressive specs. Specs include a Custom Ubuntu OS, a Quad Core ARM Cortex-A9 processor running at 1.2GHz and the Rear Projector, microphones and camera for voice and motion gameplay (not currently available in Dev or early bird units).

So if you like the idea of a truly unique console that will potentially give you free games for life, check out the OTON X, it really is a fantastic concept. Just make sure you unplug it when it starts making games about metalic endoskeletons hunting down and exterminating mankind.

The UI Beta will start a week from now, it’s free to sign-up, will be available worldwide and playable on any PC, taking place through the Devs server and accessed via a URL

Sign-Up for the Beta, Free

Heart & Slash is a fantastic looking fast paced 3d brawler/roguelike inspired by Bayonetta, Mega Man and ADOM. You control Heart, a malfunctioning robot who’s fighting for its identity against the minions of standardization, you want to be unique, you want to be LOVED.

Heart & Slash is a wonderful game, the levels are short, fast paced, procedurally generated, brutal affairs that really will test your skill. With over 75 different weapons and 60 different body parts allowing for thousands of unique combinations. The weapons are fun and varied, while body parts allow you to teleport, stop time, fly, wall-jump, discover enemy weaknesses and so on. Heart & Slash thrives on variety.

Heart & Slash manages to feel retro while also feeling fresh and unique at the same time, it’s a wonderful piece of robotic roguelike brutality. Johnny 5 is alive & kicking ass.

Download the Alpha, Free

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