Nick Gravelyn

Echoes+. If you don’t have it, buy it. Yes it’s $3, but that’s nothing for what this game is. Why is this game so good? I’m glad I asked. Let’s take a look through Echoes+ and see why I think more indie developers need to wise up to some of the little things that add up to a great game.

Simple

It seems that many Indie Game developers overlook the power of a simple game. Echoes+, at a first glance, brings to mind two iconic games: Geometry Wars and Asteroids. And for the beginning of the game, that’s almost exactly how it plays. They do add in more types of enemies along the way, in addition to various power ups and things, but it’s still a simple game in the grand scheme of things. Pick up little circles and shoot everything else.

Feedback

Echoes+ gives some of the best feedback. There are explosions when you kill something, as you would expect, but they really take it a step further. When you run into a wall you get a little rumble in the controller. Blow up a big asteroid and the screen shakes and the controller rumbles. All of this adds up to a fantastic experience that really draws a person in. Far too few Indie Games take advantage of the rumble in a useful way when it can really help the game experience.

Pointless Hidden Fun

Have you played with the right thumbstick on the main menu, yet? If not, do it. You’re in for a fun little extra.

Lots to Do

Echoes+ has so much in it. There are six game modes, four difficulties, and a set of twenty five trials to complete. For $3, this will keep you playing for a while.

Humor

This is certainly a plus for me. All the menu item descriptions are funny little things. Highlight the options button and it says “fiddle with things”. Highlight the credits button and it says “who cares?”. My favorite is the exit button that says “go and play something more interesting…”. I laughed in the trial reading those and honestly it probably contributed to me buying the game immediately when the trial expired.

As you can see there’s really nothing phenomenally mind blowing in here. This is just a solid game, so solid that I’d love to see an revamped version with some new features tossed up on XBLA. It’s that good. Hopefully more Xbox LIVE Indie Games developers will take notice of games like these and compare with their own before releasing. Game quality is on the rise and if you want to compete on the marketplace, you absolutely must start building games with a care for the little things that can really add up to make a gamer want to cough up some Microsoft Points.