Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 20 May 2008 07:16:00 GMT
I suppose while we’re on the topic of shooting people, let’s talk about Tactical Assassin 2! It’s a sniper game that spans nine missions (including the initial training mission). Before each mission you are given a briefing, which usually includes useful intel about your target.
The main difference between TA2 and its prequel (aside from the difference in which side you’re fighting for) is that TA2 has a store where you can buy ammunition and equipment: rifles, scopes, accessories, and diazepam (to steady your aim). It’s neat, but ultimately it’s fairly useless, since very few of the missions require really great aim or reflexes. For the most part, this is a puzzle game that involves shooting.
Don’t get me wrong, though, I think the puzzle aspect is really interesting. I just wish there was more skill involved in the actual sniping. The training feels like a bit of a farce.
(Source: Tim, via the IndieGames.com blog)
Posted in Browser Games, Puzzle, Casual | Tags SimonHason | 17 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Mon, 12 May 2008 21:55:00 GMT
Erik Hermansen at Caravel Games wrote to let me know that they’ve released a trailer for Deadly Rooms of Death: The City Beneath. True, this game is about a year old, but it’s never too late to try out this rather brilliant, and overlooked, series of turn-based puzzle games. And DROD fans consider The City Beneath to be the best of the lot (and suitable for beginners).
I love the game’s really odd visual design and sense of humor. Definitely very unique!
Posted in Unique / Bizarre, Macintosh, Puzzle, Videos, Linux, Windows | Tags CaravelGames | 27 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Thu, 01 May 2008 17:33:00 GMT
Meet In is a brand new Eyezmaze puzzle game! The goal is to reunite the family. Activate a family member by clicking on their screen and move them with the arrow keys.
As On explains, the game is “suitable for beginners.”
(Source: Alec Meer, via Rock, Paper, Shotgun)
Posted in Browser Games, Puzzle | Tags Eyezmaze | 10 comments
Posted by Terry
Wed, 30 Apr 2008 15:05:00 GMT
Scorching Earth is all about planning ahead – you start with one burning patch of land, and you have to spread the fire outwards to consume the whole level. I could spend a while explaining how it all works, but honestly, it’s best discovered yourself by diving right in. This is the sorta puzzle game I love – the kind where you have to sit back and think things through, as opposed to making twitch reactions to random blocks.
I’m only six levels in, but first impressions are very positive! There’s no tedious tutorial levels or handholding – it’s hard enough to cut your teeth on right from level one (in fact, it actually gets easier for a while after the first level). All puzzle games should be like this!
(Source: JayIsGames)
Posted in Browser Games, Puzzle | Tags RowlandRose | 9 comments
Posted by Guest Reviewer
Mon, 31 Mar 2008 19:10:00 GMT
[Guest review by gnawingonfoot. Thanks!]
Jim DuBois, the guy behind Arcane Journeys, has released two upgraded Windows ports of his Palm games. While he’s just now getting around to releasing Windows versions, I’ve been a huge fan of his Palm stuff for several years now, and I’d love to see him get some more exposure. His are among the few games for Palm that don’t play like casual shlock. They’re very original and interesting, though I think some better pixel art wouldn’t hurt them.
Angelus the Necromancer feels and plays like a slimmed down roguelike, but I’ve never actually seen it discussed within the roguelike community, so I don’t know whether or not that term actually fits. The game certainly shares the difficulty of most major roguelike games, but this is a lot shorter.
Adventure Solitaire sounds bland, but it is easily the best game I’ve ever played on my Palm. It’s a mish-mash of strategy and puzzle in the sense that it has the depth and diversity of a typical strategy game and the presentation and gameplay of a puzzle game. I bought the Windows version as soon as it was released because it is just that amazing!
Demos are available for both games, but unfortunately they feel really limited, especially the Adventure Solitaire one. I’m tempted to write the guy and tell him that he needs to open the games up a bit more if he wants people to like them enough to buy them. But that aside, both are worth checking out, especially Adventure Solitaire.
Posted in Mobile / Handheld, Roguelikes, Puzzle, Windows | Tags ArcaneJourneys | 4 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
Wed, 19 Mar 2008 21:54:00 GMT
Amanita Design, the creators of Samorost and Samorost 2, have released a new project, made for the BBC. Questionaut is a beautiful quiz game with some adventure and puzzle elements to it. The questions, which cover topics ranging from writing to math to science, are aimed at 11 year-olds, so they’re a bit on the easy side… but the entire production is so lovely that it doesn’t really matter.
And they’re still working on Machinarium, which is due at the end of 2008 but really couldn’t come fast enough!
(Source: Tim, via IndieGames.com)
Posted in Highly Recommended, Browser Games, Adventure, Puzzle | Tags AmanitaDesign | 9 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 04 Mar 2008 06:21:00 GMT
Karoshi, which means “death from overwork” in Japanese, poses an interesting challenge to the player: kill yourself! It’s a gimmick that’s actually carried quite well across the 25 levels of this unique puzzle platformer. The game often messes with your expectations to genuinely hilarious effect – I love that you can pick up a gun, but can’t use it to off yourself directly. I don’t know why, but I love that.
Despite the lack of polish in the game’s overall presentation, Karoshi is, in my opinion, much more entertaining and clever than Adult Swim’s Kill Yourself in 5 Minutes.
(Source: dessgeega, via The Gamer’s Quarter forums)
Posted in Platformers, Unique / Bizarre, Highly Recommended, Puzzle, Freeware | Tags JesseVenbrux | 25 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Wed, 27 Feb 2008 13:51:00 GMT
Sean Barrett, creator of Lost in the Static, has made parts 2, 3, and 4 of his Chromatron series of games free to play! Each of the games features 50 levels of ever-more-difficult laser beam deflectin’ puzzletry (did I just say that?). Read haowan’s guest review of the game here.
(Thanks, haowan!)
Posted in Macintosh, Puzzle, Windows, Freeware | Tags SeanBarrett | 3 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Thu, 21 Feb 2008 03:38:00 GMT
Grow Nano Vol. 3 is a new mini Grow game from Flash developer Eyezmaze. The mechanics should be familiar to Grow fans – pick the items in the right combination to win! The goal of this game is to heal the developer, who is suffering from illness in the game, and also in real life. Get better soon, Eyezmaze!
(Source: Alec Meer, via Rock, Paper, Shotgun)
Posted in Highly Recommended, Browser Games, Puzzle, Casual | Tags Eyezmaze | 7 comments
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