Indie Gaming Goodness: The Spirit Engine 2

Indie games can be truly hit or miss with quality, especially when it comes to their soundtrack. However, the Sprit Engine 2, from Mark Pay, a former Natomic studio member, offers something outside of the box in terms of especially unique gameplay and in its killer soundtrack.

The Spirit Engine 2 is an indie role playing game (RPG) in which players control a team of characters, initially united by a common quest. The game is set on a 2d, sidescrolling view, something of a rarity in most RPGs. Battles take the form of "encounters" (thought not random, from what I could tell). Battles are controlled in a curious fashion, with a special twist to the traditional "Final Fantasy" style RPG battles that are so common in the genre. The storyline evolves into a fantastic mix of adventure, intrigue and mystery, with evil cults, a collapsing empire, and brave warriors (typical RPG fare, but still well done). The art is truly fantastic, 2d pixel art, and again something of a rarity in this 3D gaming era.The creator of the Spirit Engine 2 really appreciates the attributes of fine pixel art and has some amazing artwork in the game as evidence of this. It is obvious that a ton of work was done on this game and the gameplay, storline and artwork show it.

However, one of my favorite aspects of the Spirit Engine 2 is the thrilling soundtrack. Composed by indie artist Josh Whelcel, with over 100 songs, the music is truly amazing and unique. Beats seem to be a mix between Lord of the Rings and rock opera (more tilted towards the epic Lord of the Rings style). Too often some indie games have less than stellar soundtracks, but the Spirit Engine 2's soundtrack just blew me off of my seat.

The entire soundtrack is available for purchase, using the "pay as much/ as little as you want" system, at Josh Whelcel's personal website, http://jwmusic.org. While some people may be tempted to give as little as $0 (quite possible, even mentioned on the webpage), I would urge fans of the music to at least pay a reasonable price for it. 101 songs of such high quality as Whelcel's work is a treat for the ears and should be paid for as thus. The Spirit Engine 2 is a fantastic indie game and the added game soundtrack is even greater touch. Oh, and did I mention that the Spirit Engine 2 is now freeware? Check it out and play today at http://www.thespiritengine.com.