Telepath Psy Arena 2 Now Available At Rampant Games
I got to spend a lot of time this weekend playing some new indie games that have just been released. Yeah, it's a dirty job, but somebody's gotta do it.

The third of the trio of games that acted like vampires with a thirst for my spare time was Telepath Psy Arena 2. This is a turn-based tactics game dipped in some heavy RPG-style elements. Still, I'm calling it a strategy game rather than an RPG for the purpose of categorization. But if you are a turn-based RPG fan, you should give this one a look.

Telepath Psy Arena 1 is a free flash game available at the Sinister Design website. The sequel is a premium title, and really expands on the basic gameplay of the original. In particular, it's added a persistent team and campaign and some RPG elements to the core tactical-arena game.

You now manage a team that can level up between battles. You can trade them out or replace fallen members at the "meat market." The early battles are almost trivial (if you have a full team), but ramp up in difficulty such that you will need a team of complimentary, leveled-up veterans and some skilled play to win. There are eighty hand-created battles to participate in, so it will keep you busy for a wile.

There is no randomness in the mechanics or hidden surprises in this game (so far as I've seen) - like a game of Chess or Go (or Slay, for that matter). Combatants always hit their targets, always doing the same amount of damage. It's a game of pure tactical choices, not risk management.

Craig Stern, the guy who is Sinister Design, was also the author of the bizzarro side-scrolling RPG-in-a-weekend project "Ham Sandwich RPG."

Since Telepath Psy Arena 2 may appeal to strategy-RPG fans, I've made it available at Rampant Games. You can check it out here. The free demo includes a very liberal helping of levels for your enjoyment:

Try Telepath Psy Arena 2

Whew.

You guys gave fun!

Labels: Game Announcements, strategy games

- posted by The Rampant Coyote @ 6:31 AM (Permalink)