Inertia
Inertia is a platform game that won first prize in the non-professional category at DICE's 2011 Indie Game Challenge.
It's main premise involves escaping a space station that is being destroyed by asteroids.
Your task is to guide a spaceman to safety by navigating your way around the levels.
The spaceman has the ability to run and jump, as well as being able to switch off gravity at any point, thereby making himself subject to inertia.
This means that whenever you turn gravity off you will continue to travel in the direction you were heading until you hit an obstacle and then bounce off in a different direction (or until you turn gravity back on).
This unique twist to the platforming genre allows for some very interesting gameplay.
There are hazards to avoid and paths to explore by jumping and ricocheting around, which, once you get used to the mechanics of the game, is a real joy to do.
The visuals to the game are fairly simple, but keep things nice and clear and fit the overall theme quite well.
The music is more atmospheric sound than anything else, yet manages to invoke a sense of the vast, lonely emptiness of space.
My main complaint with the game is about it's length.
There are only 9 levels, making Inertia! a very short game.
Just as you start to feel that the game's unique mechanic is being properly explored it ends, leaving you wanting more.
There is some replayability to be had in the form of a Speed Run mode and the option to play the levels in reverse.
There are also 3 power chips to be found in each level, but it doesn't take much exploring to do so.
All this extends the lifespan of the game a little, yet it still feels very short.
However, Inertia is still a good game and a lot of fun to play. Being priced so cheaply makes the short length less of a problem, and I'd still recommend checking it out.