RoboBlitz

IGF 2007 prizewinner RoboBlitz comes powered by the Unreal Engine 3.0 and looking like it. It's a visually striking third person physics-driven puzzle game about a technician robot, Blitz, who has to save the world by powering up a Space Cannon to blow an evil invader out of the sky. He'll accomplish this by visiting six space stations in any order and getting all the obligatory equipment primed and powered up.

Blitz rolls around and somehow balances on a uni-ball, has little jets that let him jump short distances, and can grab barrels, boxes, and pretty much anything that isn't nailed down with his pincer-like arms. You'll need to use all of his basic abilities and others added by finding "Upgradium" to solve the game's crafty puzzles.

Of course it wouldn't be complete without physics-derivative combat, which RoboBlitz dishes up in spades. Bash enemies with objects at hand, or swing those objects in 360 degree arcs to bash them backwards. And that's just for starters. Eventually Blitz gets a hovergun that causes whatever it's blasting to float in the air, and a point-to-point gun that crams two distinct objects together, forming a bond. Recommended for fans of puzzle games that reward freeform experimentation.

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

--Matt Peckham