Can anyone recommend a recent freeware/shareware game?

[GarageGothic]

I have to find a game to review in this months indepedent games section of our magazine. I'm already reviewing the remake of Another World, but I need to find a second game to review as well. Preferably something good/unique and quite recent. Any suggestions?

Edit: I should not that I try to stay away from adventure games and AGS games in particular, because otherwise it would be the only thing I write about.

[BOYD1981]

if you want to review another 'remake' then you could try out this Castlevania remake done with the Quake engine.
http://home.earthlink.net/~rottenturd/

also, MegaGames have a freeware section which is regularly updated.

[GarageGothic]

Thanks a bunch for the suggestions, BOYD1981. I'm aware that the Quake engine is freely available for developers, but the Castlevania remake does seem to belong more among mods (which are covered elsewhere in the magazine) than among the independent games. Is there any of the MegaGames titles in particular you would recommend? I tried a few, but they were rather simplistic.

I should probably note that the emphasis isn't on "free" but rather on "independent", so the most important thing is that it should be a game that really does deserve attention despite not being out there on the store shelves.

[BOYD1981]

well really it's not up to the people of this forum to do your research for you.
i haven't played any of the recent freeware games on that site or any independent games lately, i just know they have them.
also, i think that the castlevania holds it own as a game rather than a mod as it's built using the engine rather than as an extension to the original game. i mean after all, people don't consider Deus Ex to be an Unreal mod just because it uses the same engine, but i see your point.
if you want more on independent games you should check out http://www.igf.com/

[GarageGothic]

But why, my next post would be asking somebody to write the review for me

Of course research is part of my job, but I also consider it research to seek out advice on a forum for gamers with an interest in amateur game development. The main problem with these kind of games is that they tend to get exposure mostly by word of mouth rather than in print and online media, which is why we started a section exclusively for these games in our magazine.

Among the games we've previously covered are Mexican Motor Mafia, Samorost 2, Wik and the Fable of Lost Souls, Darwinia and Gish. Small games of high quality that can be purchased and downloaded for less than half the price of a commercial game.

Thank you again for your suggestions and links. I will take another look at the IGF nominees, but I think we wrote about most of the 2006 batch already.

[Helm]

GarageGothic, google for Helix - Jumper 2 and Hold off Red

[LimpingFish]

Seeing as you're reviewing Another World, you could also review onEscapee.

I like it. 

[Gregjazz]

Do it on FlyFF... it's such an addictive free game!!

[Vince Twelve]

How about cloud?

[Mordalles]

what magazine are you writing for?