*=Video
^=Music
All Caps=Recommended
Hover mouse over screenshots for commentary.
October 2013
 Looks like I've found both a jetpack AND a shotgun! What could go wrong! |  This cuddly little ghost appears after you spend 2 minutes and 30 seconds on any screen. One touch and you're dead. Hurry up! |  Looks like the shopkeeper met his demise on some spikes. |
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 There are some unique environments that randomly appear, like this beehive. |  |  Enemies can be killed by other enemies and even the environment, as is the case with this caveman looking guy. |
 This is at least 9 levels deep, where you enter the ice caves. |  |  If you harm a shopkeeper or try to steal from him, he will blast you with his shotgun. Oh, you managed to survive his onslaught and take him out? Good luck dodging an angry shopkeeper on every level of the rest of the game! |
 You can use bombs to blow up parts of the level, or ropes to climb up to places. You can find a variety of other items, though. Here I have sacrificed the "damsel" 2 times and have received a gift of glue. The glue makes your bombs stick to whatever they touch. |  13 levels down and you enter the "temple" stages, filled with lava, mummies, and lots of other unpleasantness. |  I don't think he's gonna make it . . . |
 Olmec! The boss! |  |  So close . . . |
 A typical death screen summary. |  This situation does not bode well . . . |  Take that, Olmec! But wait, is that another door on the bottom right . . . ? |
 There are some weird environments . . . |  |  |
 That's a good way to die . . . |  You can find an old castle with some hidden rewards . . . |  Things do not look good for our hero . . . |
 An alien!? |  |  Typical end-of-level screen. |
 Getting to the city of gold is complicated. Let's just say it involves buying an object that brings you back to life, and then purposely dying in a specific place. That's what is going on here. |  Sometimes the damsel is best used as a human shield. It's just a video game, all right? |  Proof that I did something hard. |
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 Some levels are just dark. No explanation. |  In multiplayer, you become a ghost if you get killed. |  The staff of Anubis?! |
 |  Steal an idol and a giant bolder might crush the level, Indiana Jones style. |  |
 |  |  Enter the City of Gold! |
 After you complete a complex set of difficult tasks, you can enter . . . hell itself. It's below Olmec's lair. I've only gotten there once. |  Who'd a thought hell would be so creepy? |  The real final boss. He's too difficult for me! |
 My best run. |  |  Some insane multiplayer action. |
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Spelunky
Spelunky is on a variety of platforms, but I played it on the PlayStation Vita. It's a Rogue-like game, meaning it has some specific features. The most prominent feature, however, is perma-death. In other words - once you die, you're dead for good.
You play as a spelunker trying to reach the treasure at the bottom of a series of caves. Though the game can technically be beaten from start to finish in less than 10 minutes, most people will die dozens of times before reaching even 5 levels deep. You start out with 4 hit points which do not regenerate (except under certain circumstances). The caves are a total of 16 levels deep - that is, unless you want to try for the "real" ending.
The primary way to combat enemies is to hit them with a short whip or to jump on them. You can also pick up objects, like rocks, and throw them at monsters.
This game reminded me a lot of a game I played a lot as a kid called Nethack. Even though the concept of the game is simple there are vast possibilities with what you can do, such as angering a god by destroying part of his altar. All in all, Spelunky is well designed and almost taunts you into beating it!