Last week Manifesto Games launched a brand new review site called Play This Thing, which offers the same kind of quality reviews offered on the Manifesto Games web site. Besides being another site where I can liberally lift fun games from, Play This Thing offers mostly positive reviews, which means that the selections being highlighted are very, very good. The site will also offer a weekly article dedicated to board gaming, which is cool if you are a regular reader of columns like our own Cracked LCD by the irrepressible Michael Barnes.

The reason I am already in love with this new site is that it highlights everything good about indie gaming. There probably won't be any negative reviews because.. well what's the point in that? The site isn't called Don't Play This Thing after all.. Anyway, if you like indie games and are looking for the best of the best, then Play This Thing deserves a bookmark. Find it at www.playthisthing.com .

Also mentioned last week in Dan Clarke's This Week In Downloads is word that GameTap is starting to carry indie games. This is great news for gamers and indie developers looking to get their games in the hands of a different audience. While the first few releases aren't all that thrilling or new, I think that this will pick up some steam in the future. It's certainly an exciting development and a space that deserves to be watched. You can check those games out by visiting GameTap.com . Now onto this week's picks!

Our first entry this week is Depths of Peril , an action roleplaying game with lots of strategy thrown in for good measure. You play as a faction leader protecting a barbarian city by defeating hordes of monsters and completing quests. At the same time, you compete with rival factions to see who will rule the city. As a faction leader, you must deal with rival factions through the use of diplomacy, trade and even war. Between battles and raids against other barbarian factions, you have to build a small army by creating a reputation for being ruthless, taking on tough challenges and quests. The full version of the game is for sale now, along with a playable demo.

Next up is Fireteam Reloaded , a brand new game from upstart developer Pixel Mine. If the name Fireteam sound familiar, that's because it's the same game released in the late 90's but reinvented for a whole new crowd. The new Fireteam game sees players forming teams to battle across four game-play modes using one of three character classes, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The game is being billed as a fast paced sports-like action title featuring furious combat in a futuristic battleground setting. Other promising features include full in-game voice chat support (talk to team mates and talk smack to your rivals) and a spectator mode which lets fans cheer or jeer from the sidelines. When launched this fall, Fireteam Reloaded will be available for download from the Pixel Mine and Fireteam Reloaded website. Pixel Mine will begin taking applications for the Fireteam Reloaded Closed Beta Test online soon, so if this game sound interesting to you, you'll want to check out its web site now.