Namco Bandai Games Europe have announced that they’ll be distributing a trio of indie games scheduled for release in 2014.
The first is Nine Dots Studio’s GoD Factory: Wingmen, which we’ve written about before. This is a space combat game in which teams of four try to demolish an enemy Carrier before losing their own, with matches providing credits that can be put towards ship customisation and enhancement.
The second is Magiko Soft’s Platformines, described as a mix of “16-bit platform action with RPG and shooter elements.” This has you exploring a randomly-generated mine complex in search of treasure, while dodging traps and battling enemies. As I’ve been on a “randomly-generated” kick lately, I’m rather looking forward to this.
The third is Lightmare Studio’s Beware Planet Earth!, a tower defence title that tasks you with saving cows from Martians. You won’t just be building towers and traps, though, as you can also manually blast the aliens. While Beware Planet Earth! was initially released a few years ago, the forthcoming Steam release will feature a load of new levels and enemies based on Valve titles.
I’m actually pretty happy to see this, both because it’s nice to see Namco Bandai making an effort with the PC crowd, and because it’s nice to see large publishers taking significant note of indie studios. I could be cynical about this, but for now, I choose to be quietly pleased.