Iji

Iji is a freeware videogame featuring platform and shooting elements. The game was developed by Daniel Remar using Game Maker over a period of four years.

Gameplay

Iji is described by Remar as System Shock 2 in 2D. Players control Iji Kataiser, an ordinary human female who has been enhanced with nanotechnology following the invasion of Earth by an alien species known as the Tasen. Iji must navigate a research station while being guided by her brother Dan, who communicates via the station's loudspeaker system, in order to convince the aliens' leader to retreat from the planet. Though the game's plot is linear, interactions with non-player characters change according to the player's actions, leading to one of multiple endings. The player's primary choice is between pursuing Iji's goal either as a pacifist or by engaging in violence against the Tasen.

Iji's nanotech energy field functions as a shield, and players begin the game armed with a shotgun. Seven further weapons can be collected throughout the game; including a machine gun, rocket launcher and alien technology like the Shocksplinter weapon. Eight additional weapons can be unlocked by combining the standard firearms using a combining station, depending on her Crack ability. Blue nanofields that function as experience can be collected during play, when enough are collected Iji gains a level. Each level she gains allows the player to use an upgrade station to increase one of Iji's seven skills by one level. These skills include physical traits such as strength and health, as well as abilities such as close-quarters combat and computer hacking. Iji's jumping ability and armor can both be improved twice each during play if players can find their power-ups.

Reception

Iji has received a positive response from commentators, particularly for its replay value. Greg Costikyan of website Play This Thing described it as "..a nice, nostalgia-inducing game of a type you don't often see any more..", and was impressed that the game was created by a single developer using Game Maker. PopMatters' L.B. Jeffries stated that the player's choice in guiding Iji to the end of the game as either a pacifist or an agressor, along with the outcomes of those paths, sets Iji apart from other games. Anthony Burch of gaming website Destructoid was not as positive, highlighting the game's limitations in terms of abilities. Investing points in hand-to-hand combat, for instance, does not increase damage inflicted by a successful attack but instead dictates which enemy types can be physically attacked. He stated this system "makes levelling the player's individual stats feel less like you're actually improving your character and more like you're simply collecting keys to unlock doors." It was voted number one in the Free Indie of the Year 2008 contest by Bytejacker.

External links

• Official homepage