Game Night: AudioSurf

Tonight I played AudioSurf. It's a music/rhythm game where you move your ship left and right on the track to collect blocks and avoid obstacles. The big twist here is that the tracks are procedurally generated from any music you want! You can select tracks from your own library and play them.

AudioSurf

There is an online leader board, so you can compete with friends and strangers to get high scores on any track. I really enjoy playing this game, it can be really relaxing!

Game Night: World of Goo

Tonight I played World of Goo. This is a puzzle game, in the vein of Lemmings. Your aim is to get your Goo Balls to the end of the level, using them to build structures to get there.

World of Goo

Each level has different challenges, with a variety of type of Goo Balls. It can get challenging, since your structures are flexible and tend to sway as they get taller. It's a pretty addicting game and there is a hidden challenge, called OCD, if you manage to rescue the maximum number of Goo Balls.
Definitely a game worth picking up.

Game Night: Eve Online

So normally I would say that I played this game tonight, but that wouldn't be exactly accurate as I've been playing this game for about a year now. Eve Online is a space simulator, and it focuses strongly towards strategy. It isn't a flight simulator - you direct your ship rather than fly it.

Eve Online

Although this game can be pretty rewarding, it is also very (very) complicated so it can be difficult to get into. PVP is a huge part of the game as well - any player can kill another player, and they often do.

it can get a bit overwhelming

It's been around for more than 10 years, so it's a very established MMO game.
I really enjoy it, but do keep in mind that after the initial trial you have to pay a monthly fee (unless you are good enough at the game to pay with in-game money).

Game Night: Torchlight

Tonight I played Torchlight. Torchlight is a top-down dungeon-crawler RPG, essentially a Diablo clone. The art style is significantly different from Diablo, as it is much more colourful and a bit blocky.

Torchlight

It's pretty fun, but if you are looking to scratch the Diablo itch I would go for Diablo II or Diablo III as it feels like it's missing some special ingredient. There is a sequel out, so one of these nights I'll have to take it for a spin.

Game Night: Borderlands 2

Tonight I played Borderlands 2. Borderlands is kind of Diablo 2 crossed with a first-person shooter. You play as a Vault Hunter, shooting your way across the world of Pandora. The gameplay is similar to most shooters - you run around and shoot anything that moves.

Borderlands 2

The twist that makes this game really interesting is the leveling and loot systems. It is very reminiscent of Diablo II as there are skill trees that you expand, and huge piles of randomized loot. Each character class has a special ability that they can periodically active, plus 3 skill trees that add lots of variety.
This is the first time in years that I've enjoyed a shooter, so I definitely recommend it.

Game Night: BIT.TRIP BEAT

Tonight I played BIT.TRIP BEAT. This game is like Pong on acid. You move a paddle with your mouse and bounce blocks back that come at you. As you hit the blocks you will transition into trippier dimensions with success, and if you miss a lot you will drop down into more boring ones. Miss enough, and it's game over.

BIT.TRIP Beat

This game is part of the BIT.TRIP series, so it is all about cool pixel art and chiptunes. As with other games in the series the music gets more complex the better you do. It can get pretty hard to keep track of all the blocks, but it feels pretty rewarding if you pull it off.

Game Night: Child of Light

Tonight I played Child of Light. It's sort of a hybrid platformer / turn-based RPG. The game is about a young girl who wakes up in the strange land of Lemuria and is looking for a way home. You move around with 2D side-scrolling, and jump into turn-based battles when you bump into an enemy.

Child of Light Exploration

Child of Light Battle

The art is really wonderful, sort of a hand-painted storybook style. The music is instrumental and excellent.
I highly recommend this game - I couldn't stop playing. The one downside is that UPlay is required, which is a bit superfluous as the game is sold on Steam.

Game Night: All Zombies Must Die!

Tonight I played All Zombies Must Die! It's a top-down adventure / brawler in which the main character finds himself in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and thinks it's pretty cool. The gameplay pretty much consists of slaughtering your way across an area, using shotguns, flaming torches, cricket bats, etc. to kill various kinds of zombies.

All Zombies Must Die!

As you progress you will proceed through the story, unlock additional characters and weapons, and level up those characters. The writing is funny as this is a parody of the zombie genre, and the main character occasionally breaks the fourth wall. The game controls fairly well and the key mappings are pretty logical.

Game Night: Alien Zombie Megadeath

Tonight I played Alien Zombie Megadeath. This game is a side-scrolling shooter with small levels. There are a few modes of play, depending on the level. The main style spawns waves of enemies (alien zombies) that you must destroy, touching an enemy costs you a life.

Alien Zombie Megadeath

Other levels involve carrying space babies to an escape pod, disposing bombs, and avoiding environmental obstacles (or a combination of any of these while avoiding enemy waves). It's not a bad game, although the default key bindings for keyboard are not particularly optimal, especially for those of us who prefer WASD for movement.

Game Night: Alien Breed 2: Assault

Tonight I played Alien Breed 2: Assault. It's a top-down shooting action game where you are trapped on a ship infested with aliens, trying to reactivate the engines. It's a sequel (thus the '2') to Alien Breed. I actually got this game for free, which is why I haven't played the first one.

Alien Breed 2: Assault

Alien Breed 2 is pretty fun, as long as you don't mind aliens popping out of the ground and walls. The only real issue I had was that the camera angles were sometimes a bit finicky.

Game Night: AI War: Fleet Command

Tonight I played AI War: Fleet Command. AI War is a space-based strategy game with procedurally generated campaigns. Difficulty can be manually set, or scaled based on the number of players. It's a fairly complex game, with a lot of different strategies, ships, and many other factors to consider.

AI War: Fleet Command

It's definitely a bit hard to get into this game in a short amount of time - it look me about 45 minutes just to complete the basic tutorials. From there I jumped into a campaign with beginner settings. This is definitely a game that moves much slower than some of the more popular strategy games, but I can definitely see the charm.

Game Night: AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome

Tonight I played AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome. This game is from the same team as 1.. 2.. 3.. Kick It, and has the same falling theme although AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! is more realistic in that you are base jumping and you can get injured by bumping the buildings or die if you land too fast. You have to deploy a parachute to land.

AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! for the Awesome

The scoring system is similar - you need to get close to buildings to gain points. In addition to this you can gain extra points by hitting birds, giving a thumbs up to your fans, tagging buildings, and making obscene gestures at your detractors. It's a pretty fun game, although it is significantly more difficult than 1.. 2.. 3.. Kick It.

Game Night: A.R.E.S.: Extinction Agenda

Tonight I played A.R.E.S.: Extinction Agenda. A.R.E.S. is a Megaman-esque side-scrolling shooter with robots. This game is pretty fun, and I ended up playing well past my allotted hour. As you play you acquire powerups such as extra abilities and different weapons. Enemies drop resources that can be 'recycled' to upgrade weapons and create repair kits or grenade ammo.

A.R.E.S.: Extinction Agenda

Levels are replayable, with secrets that become accessible with later abilities, and each level is scored based on time, damage taken, etc. so there is replay value for those completionists out there.This game is a pretty good deal because it's fairly inexpensive for a good amount of fun.

Game Night: 1000 Amps

Tonight I played 1000 Amps. This game is an interesting puzzle / platformer type game where you play as a little light-bulb guy trying to navigate a maze by lighting it up.

1000 Amps

It's a pretty neat puzzle to play through and some of the levels take a lot of thinking and planning to complete, not to mention good timing with jumps, and other abilities that are unlocked as you progress. It's a fairly inexpensive game, especially during Steam sales, so I'd recommend it at least to people who enjoy this sort of game.

Game Night: 1... 2... 3... KICK IT! (Drop That Beat Like an Ugly Baby)

Tonight I played 1... 2... 3... KICK IT! (Drop That Beat Like an Ugly Baby) for a bit over an hour. I have no idea how or why I purchased this game, but I suspect it came in a bundle at some point.
That being said, this game is much better than I had suspected based on the name. The gameplay consists of falling through a level, trying to stay as close to the 'buildings' (or blocks) as possible. The levels are randomly generated based on the music you select.

1... 2... 3... KICK IT! (Drop That Beat Like an Ugly Baby)

There are several built in tracks but the true draw is being able to play levels based on your own music. The idea is similar to AudioSurf, but levels based on slower music are still enjoyable. All in all it's a pretty fun game to just veg out and listen to music with. It's too bad about the name, because I think it would be much more popular if the name wasn't so... unusual.

ZREO Closing Down

After years of producing amazing Zelda re-orchestrations, including the wonderful Twilight Symphony, the ZREO team is shutting down.
Visit their site to see their closing words.
:(

Windmill Song

Here is the Ocarina tab that I wrote for the Windmill Song from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time:

(click image to enlarge)

Serenade of Water

Here is the Ocarina tab that I wrote for the Serenade of Water from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time:

(click image to enlarge)

The Northerner Kickstarter

Check out this Kickstarter from Jeremy Soule, composer of the soundtracks for Total Annihilation, Supreme Commander, Elder Scrolls: Skyrim, and more: http://kck.st/YstkLq

Minuet of Forest

Here is the Ocarina tab that I wrote for the Minuet of Forest from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time:

(click image to enlarge)