Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 15 Apr 2008 04:57:00 GMT
Dear cactus has released another shoot ‘em up. Ad Nauseum 2 (direct download) features seizurific special effects, some slightly obscene artwork, and a soundtrack that I’m pretty sure is meant to induce bowel movements. It’s also very easy to die. You have been duly warned.
For those new to cactus, you may want to try out Cactus Arcade (direct download), a collection of 17 of his games, including a handy interface for playing them.
(Thanks a lot for the tip, Bas! And to the various peeps that brought Cactus Arcade to my attention.)
Posted in Shoot-em-ups, Windows, Freeware | Tags cactus | 28 comments
Posted by Terry
Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:43:00 GMT
Messhof has created a
PRO EDITION of
You Found The Grappling Hook exclusively for Business Week Arcade, which recently featured the game. In the comments on his blog, he describes the changes:
Much of the gameplay is different. It now involves espionage and national security.
More information
Posted in Platformers, Stealth, Business, Windows, Freeware | Tags messhof | 15 comments
Posted by Jordan Magnuson
Mon, 14 Apr 2008 02:54:00 GMT
World 2 update 1.5 is fast approaching.
www.bornegames.com
Posted in Platformers, Browser Games, Action / Arcade, Freeware | Tags BorneGames | 8 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Thu, 10 Apr 2008 17:59:00 GMT
The basic idea behind the original Karoshi was completely counter-intuitive to most games: in every level you must FIND A WAY TO KILL YOURSELF. It was harder than it seemed!
In Karoshi 2.0, creator Jesse Venbrux extends that metaphor across 42 more levels, creating some of the most LOL-worthy and mind-bending puzzles I have ever seen. This is a true battle between Man and Game, and Game is using every trick up its sleeve. Prepare to have your head messed with (sometimes literally). I love it!
Karoshi 2.0 also comes with a level editor and a timed version of the original game (minus the irritating blood splatters on the screen that obscured the playfield).
(Source: Auntie Pixelante, the awesome new games blog from dessgeega)
Posted in Platformers, Unique / Bizarre, Highly Recommended, Windows, Freeware | Tags JesseVenbrux | 42 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Thu, 03 Apr 2008 04:37:00 GMT
This came out a while ago, but it’d be a shame if anyone missed out on it… Phun is an incredible 2d physics sandbox developed by Emil Ernerfeldt for his Master’s of Science Degree at Umeå University, Sweden. The game lets you create objects of any size or shape and then hook them up to springs, chains, and other objects (all the while tweaking variables like density, bounciness, and friction). But what really makes Phun so “phun” is how intuitive the interface is – it’s super easy to use and even lets you undo and redo. No need to worry about making “mistakes.”
I remember spending a lot of time as a kid playing with stuff like Kid Pix on the computers at my school. Not to knock Kid Pix, because it was pretty awesome, but if Phun had been around back then, I probably never would have gone home.
(Note: To make water, just right-click any object and “liquify” it. This isn’t explained in the in-game help, so it took me a little while to figure it out.)
Posted in Highly Recommended, Linux, Windows, Physics, Freeware | 18 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Fri, 28 Mar 2008 06:13:00 GMT
I love the idea that there are these rogue game developers out there, working silently in their homes after dark, and using The Games Factory/MMF to make crude, bizarre, amazing B-Games just because they get a kick out of it. I also love that, thanks to the internet, I can find out about these games and then expose you to them (against your will)!
JinxTengu’s Revenge of the Sunfish (20 Mb, direct download) is a frightening, psychedelic experience that assaults your sense of good taste with its “terrible” graphics, grating sounds, jarring transitions, and lack of consistent game rules. Gross-out humor and ultraviolence abound, albeit in a cartoonish form. But the game is also strangely playable, which is, I believe, the hallmark of great B-Games (like Sexy Hiking, for example).
JinxTengu (real name: Jacob Buczynski) has a whole page of out-of-this-world games waiting for you to explore. The games are all quite varied. So if you find Revenge of the Sunfish too unintelligible, maybe try Seismic Death… a simple top-down shooter that lets you dig through walls.
Be sure to pick up cncs32.dll and put it in your “Windows/System32” folder if you’re having trouble running the games.
(Thanks a bunch, wourme!)
Posted in Unique / Bizarre, Windows, Freeware | Tags JinxTengu | 12 comments
Posted by Jordan Magnuson
Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:45:00 GMT
Gladiator is a brilliant Action/RPG hybrid playable by up to four players on one keyboard. Yeah, the graphics are “old” (whatever that means). Yeah you’re going to need an attention span longer than the average casual gamer to get your team set up. So what. Period.
In my opinion this game is one of the best and most classic multiplayer on one keyboard games you will ever play. The game was originally released by Forgotten Sages for DOS in 1992, but has since been ported to your twenty-first century operating system courtesy of Snowstorm Entertainment. Check out the game and see why it has an average rating of 9 out of 10 at HOTU.
Download and more info at Snowstorm. Man, you don’t even have to pay for this!
Posted in RPG, Highly Recommended, Linux, Windows, Action / Arcade, Freeware | Tags ForgottenSages | 19 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Sat, 22 Mar 2008 14:24:00 GMT
In a world… of gentlemen…
When filthy pigeons plague the city…
One owl will rise to the challenge…
To take back the night sky with fury and malevolence.
Will that owl be you?
PLAY OWL COUNTRY NOW. LEARN THE TRUE STORY.
Read more...
Posted in Nerd Love, Macintosh, Highly Recommended, Community, Windows, Action / Arcade, Freeware, IGF / GDC | 28 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Thu, 20 Mar 2008 20:13:00 GMT
I’m a fan of Passage and Gravitation, Jason Rohrer’s self-described “artgames,” but I know a lot of people find them irritating (to downright reprehensible!). Well, however you feel about the games, perhaps Jason’s new project, a monthly article for Escapist Magazine called “Game Design Sketchbook,” might convince you that the man at least has some interesting ideas!
In his inaugural design sketchbook, Jason brings up a concept that has spelled doom for many a promising game developer – perfectionism – and developed a game around it.
The game itself is fun and I think illustrates the concept pretty well – there were quite a few moments where I felt like I was obtaining some further insight into my own tendencies. However, it’s not a game that I would play too many times over. This is, perhaps, indicative of some sort of failure of Perfectionism as a game… I think if the production was not so sparse it would be more suited for repeated playthroughs.
As a design sketch I think it works pretty well, however.
(Thanks, Heather!)
Posted in Puzzle, Community, Windows, Developers, Freeware | Tags JasonRohrer | 38 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Thu, 20 Mar 2008 06:43:00 GMT
FLaiL, the latest masterpiece from An Untitled Story creator YMM (YoMamasMama), is another punishing platformer that has you leaping, flying, and dodging those terrible, ubiquitous spikes. The silky controls and inspired level design make this pretty much a must-have for anyone who gets a kick out of N, Ninjah, or messhof’s Flywrench. You will need some serious eggs to make it through all of this game’s 80 levels.
To top it off, the game includes lots of extras, like “meticulous statistics tracking”, a level editor, and other unlockables. The best part is this, though: two-player co-op, as well as the option for a third to jump in on the mouse at any time and drop bombs to fuck up the other players! Yay, YMM!
Posted in Platformers, Highly Recommended, Windows, Freeware | Tags YMM | 22 comments
