Here are my picks for Greg Ford's budget games call-out:
When the Bomb Goes Off
Price: Free
Where to get it: Here
I can't say enough good things about WTBGO. The game consists of scenes lasting five seconds each, encompassing everything from stomping on turtles to getting a beer for your lady. It's like Wario Ware, except with a heart and a jaunty ragtime piano line. It's also one of the funniest games I've played this year. WTBGO gleefully subverts gaming conventions when you least expect it. Best of all, it only takes a few minutes to play.
'Splosion Man
Price: 800 Space Bucks ($10)
Where to get it: XBLA
Sometimes less is more. 'Splosion Man's controls couldn't be simpler: Press a button and 'Splosion Man 'splodes. Yet it provides one of the most sublime experiences available on XBLA. Part puzzler, part Sonic the Hedgehog, the game will bring back fond memories of days spent mastering the brutal but fun platformers released for the SNES and Genesis.
KarmaStar
Price: $0.99
Where to get it: iTunes App Store
This game was my gateway to the world of German-style board games that Shoe affectionately calls "nerd games." KarmaStar is by no means as nerdy or complicated as those, but it does allow for some interesting gameplay choices as you battle three other space babies from birth until death. Do you play nice with other players and hope that it'll benefit you in the end? Or do you wage war every turn and gamble for the big points?
