This isn't exactly news, but GameTunnel's Top 100 is certainly interesting enough to warrant some unsolicited comments from this corner. There has been some contention about the choices made for this list of 100 of the best indie games, mainly because of the order. While I agree to disagree on that, I don't take away from the monumental effort it is to pick and choose the best indie games out there. The biggest problem is that not all those out there that cover or sell indie games agree that casual titles are true Indies. Maybe because some of them make lots of money on portals like Reflexive and Real Arcade. But I have to agree with GameTunnel - an indie is an indie no matter where its sold. If you go all the way back to the first issue of this column you'll note my own definition of what an indie is and casual games fall under that moniker.

But the order of the Top 100 is another point of contention that I believe is valid. While Mr. Robot is a great game is it really better than Sam & Max, Shivah and PeaceMaker? I don't think so. Again I agree to disagree on the order of the list, but there are nonetheless some great games in the top ten like Land of Legends and Weird Worlds: Return To Infinite Space that make me feel warm and fuzzy inside. It also would have been nice to see some open-sourced games in that list as well because not all indies require you to pay for them. Finally there are plenty of indies that didn't get represented in this list like Mat Dickie and Stardock Entertainment.. But at the end of the day this list is about GameTunnel's preferences and not necessarily the definitive written-in-stone greatest games of 2007.

And now it's time for this week's highlight reel!

Harvest: Massive Encounter is billed as a sci-fi themed real-time survival strategy game that has just entered into open-beta. What that means is that you can try the game out for free but the experience might be less than perfect. The game attempts to master the fragile balance between resource management, production and planning all while the player fends off an endless supply of alien attackers. If you like games like Starcraft, then Harvest is probably worth taking a look at.

Our second game this week, Scallywag: In the Lair of the Medusa , isn't out yet but a playable demo has been released for it. Developed by Chronic Logic and published by Shrapnel Games, Scallywag is a classic style dungeon hack for the PC promising 40 hours of gameplay consisting of eighty levels of dungeon exploration in real-time, eight different worlds (Dirt Caves, Insect Nest, Tagloth Dungeons, Ice World, Fungus Gardens, Magma Caverns, Necropolis, Lost City), environmental challenges and puzzles, randomly created dungeons at the start of each game, over 80 items to collect, four difficulty levels, dozens of unique enemies, the ability to craft your own items by combining compounds, mod tools to create your own adventures and a whole lot more. Hit the link above for details on the demo and how to pre-order the game from Shrapnel.

Tactics 100 is a simple web-based game over at Gamebrew.com that isn't perfect but is certainly interesting. With a little elbow grease this game could prove to be a break-out but in its current form it's just mildly entertaining. In this game you create a "100 point army" and take on other 100 point armies using tactics and terrain. Hit the link above to give it a try or read the comments section of the page to get an idea of what players think of the game.

Game Portal Gamer'sGate has added a lot of new and old games to its catalogs, and one that caught my eye this week was Irrational Games' Freedom Force Vs. The Third Reich . For those not familiar with this wonderful title, FFVtTR is a real-time RPG strategy title for the PC that lets you play a team of super heroes. The game is retailing for $15 on Gamer's Gate and it is worth every penny if you haven't played it. GamersGate has a ton of new games covering multiple genres so head on over and sift through their extensive catalog.