Empyreal Nocturne

With a wink and a nod to Sega's Panzer Dragoon, IGF 2008 finalist Empyreal Nocturne expands the aerial action genre by giving you control of a flock of birds. Your enemies are living geometric configurations and your goal is to knock out orb-like segments glued to your enemies' appendages. As the "god" bird, you don't directly engage anything, but instead command dozens of bird-like subjects that can attack on order, rush to your defense, or sacrifice themselves to restore your health.

Getting around in the air can be a little tricky if you're wed to your keyboard, and a game controller is almost mandatory (the game supports the Xbox 360 gamepad). But once you've got the kinks worked out of your up-down and left-right vectors, you'll be able to charge these fabulist monstrosities weaving and winging their way through the clouds, isolate their weak points, then unleash your flock of aerial havoc.

Note: This download takes you to the developer's site.

--Matt Peckham