A Google Android-powered gaming console named Ouya (pronounced oo-yah) hit the market for consumers for $99 on Tuesday. The tiny cube-like gaming system, which began as a Kickstarter campaign, is marketed as an alternative to the high price tags from consoles from Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo. It offers users the chance to try out all of their games for free before finally purchasing them. Upon its release, the Ouya offers 174 games, according to its website.
Although the console sold out on Amazon almost immediately, it has received poor critical review for its lack of decent games and spotty technical performance. However, out of the rubble, a few indie standout games have come to light. Ouya makes it easy for developers to make games for free and put them up on the marketplace, which means there's room for a lot of talented game developers to hide little diamonds in the rough. Below is a list, in no particular order, of some of the top X games currently available for Ouya.
Polarity: With so many games for Ouya being a little unrefined than most gamers are used to, titles that look passable by modern gaming standards really stick out on the system. "Polarity" is one such title. In the same vein as Valve's hugely successful "Portal" games, "Polarity" puts your character in a visual vault with blocks and two modes of polarity, depicted in red and blue. The game, developed by Craig Littler, who has worked on dozens of other games according to ReadWrite.com, is essentially a puzzle solving game. The first level is free to play, but the rest will cost gamers $4.99.
A Bit of a Fist of Awesome: At the moment, this game is only a two-level demo, but that means it's free. It is a parody of the classic side-scrolling beat-em-ups from arcades across the country. The game stars a time-traveling lumberjack who goes from left-to-right and place-to-place beating up bears, deers and other wilderness creatures armed only with his comically oversized fist.
BombSquad: Although this game began as a mobile game, Wired says it was meant for the Ouya. The game is a free-for-all style explosive-based game, very similar to "Bomberman" but with 3-D graphics. The arenas have different levels and the physics of the game allow for a lot of very fun chain reactions when bombs do start going off. It runs at a comfortable 60 frames per second making it one of the Ouya's most well developed looking title. It can be played as an arcade cooperative or, if you can scrounge up the controllers, a four-player competitive challenge. A video demo of the game from the developer, Eric Froemling, is posted below.
No Brakes Valet: Wired describes the first play through of "No Brakes Valet" to be an incredibly frustrating experience as it forces players to watch as cars pour into a poorly rendered parking lot. With no tutorial or explanation, they're expected to arrange the cars. However, players are assured once they figure out how to properly maneuver the cars, they'll enjoy the challenge that comes with trying put them all in the right place in real time knowing the slightest wrong move can undue a lot of hard work. So the key to this game seems to be simply to stick with it until you enjoy yourself.
TowerFall: Although this game is played best as a multiplayer with yourself and three friends, once you have your group together it is said to be as competitive and strategic as "Super Smash Bros." The game puts all four players against each other as dueling archers in a 2-D arena. If an arrow is coming at your avatar, simply hitting the trigger button on the Ouya's controller will send you flying toward the arrow, catching it in mid-aid and adding it to your quiver in a move that is perhaps the best way to upset your opponents.
