Posted by Guest Reviewer
Wed, 13 Jun 2007 05:50:00 GMT
[Guest review by Haowan]
Chromatron is a free Windows puzzle game that implements the time-honoured laser-beam-and-mirrors game and then runs with it.
There are four games in the series, each containing 50 puzzles. The first game is free. Each puzzle consists of some fixed lasers and some fixed targets. The targets must be lit by the lasers. You have at your disposal an array of mirrors and later other tools to change the direction and behaviour of the laser beams in order to hit those targets. When you pass a level, you may unlock more than one extra level, allowing you to skip past levels you can’t figure out and move on to a fresh challenge.
The best thing about these games, apart from the simplicity of their interface and implementation, is how later on the levels become absolutely mind-boggling. I’m not simply talking about mirrors here – slowly introduced are splitters, prisms, doppler shifters (turning red to green, green to blue, blue to red), and the mother of all foul nightmares, the Quantum Tangler. Later games introduce even more pieces.
At times this game will make you cry, but don’t be tempted to look for hints and solutions. You’ll regret it later. Just leave that level and move on. You can save potential solutions by using Windows copy and paste (copy copies a string to the clipboard so you can paste it into a text file (or IM window heh) and you can reverse the process to restore a solution).
You can buy the whole bundle of Chromatron 2, 3 and 4 for a mere $20.
Posted in Macintosh, Highly Recommended, Puzzle, Windows, Freeware | 2 comments
Posted by Albert Lai
Sun, 10 Jun 2007 09:07:00 GMT
From the land of casual games, I introduce Red
White Yellow, a game that follows the best traditions of the "match
6 blocks that are adjacent to each other" genre. If this was some kind of magazine devoted to all things geek instead
of TIGSource we’d be running:
| Expired |
Tired |
Wired |
| Match-3 |
Tower Defense |
Match N adjacent blocks |
Remember, you heard it here first!
Anyway,
Red White Yellow is a fairly relaxing casual game that I could really see on
the cellphone and/or calculator—though it would have to be rebranded "Black
White Stippled" on the calculator—because of the quick, casual way it works.
The gameplay is fairly simple, but for those who don’t want to sit through
a tutorial—The game allows you to clear only one color at a time. Each time
you clear a color, there’s a short pause before the "clear color" switches. If you manage
to keep clearing colors, the combo counter begins to go up. Fun for those casual
fans, and has that clean art style that always reminds me of Chiclets.
Are Chiclets even around anymore? Oh, TIGSource reader base, when did we grow
up?
(Source: Tim’s Blog)
Posted in Browser Games, Puzzle, Casual, Freeware | 5 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Fri, 08 Jun 2007 13:31:00 GMT
Professor Fizzwizzle is back in an all new adventure that looks very similar to his old adventure. But fortunately, his old adventure was pretty good, so if you enjoyed it and wanted more of the same, then this should be right up your alley!
And just to get you up to speed if you haven’t played the first game, it’s a puzzle platformer, and an extremely well-made one, to boot.
(Source: GameSetWatch)
Posted in Platformers, Macintosh, Puzzle, Linux, Windows | Tags GrubbyGames | 1 comment
Posted by Tim
Sun, 27 May 2007 15:41:00 GMT
The ‘Ludologist’, who wrote the article “A History of Matching Tile Games’, recently released their well-researched “High Seas – The Family Fortune” game. No kidding!
I stand corrected if this game manages to sell more copies than other match-three puzzlers in the market.
(Source: GameSetWatch)
Posted in Puzzle, Casual, Windows | 21 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Mon, 14 May 2007 15:46:00 GMT
NIGORO (formerly GR3PROJECT), creators of La Mulana, continue their tradition of making really, really friggin’ hard games with Death Village, a decidedly smaller, more casual title that will nonetheless have you crying by the second level. At least, that’s where I started crying. But then again, I always cry when I play games. (And also when I touch myself!)
I’m not certain what the story is behind Death Village, but your goal in each level is to get a funny old man through a haunted house and to the exit door. You don’t have direct control over him, but by slamming doors and enabling a variety of traps and scary things, you can lead him over. The atmosphere is spot on, with creepy graphics and sound effects bringing the haunted houses to life and pushing you onward.
The learning curve is deadly high, however, so make sure you at least watch the Level 1 video to get a handle on how the traps work. I couldn’t beat level two, which, on the bottom floor, requires you to somehow jump a gap. So yeah, anyone have any ideas?
(Source: Tim W.)
Posted in Unique / Bizarre, Browser Games, Puzzle, Casual, Doujin | Tags NIGORO | 4 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Wed, 09 May 2007 20:21:00 GMT
LightForce is a collection of mostly classic puzzle games remade in Flash and Java by Nick Kouvaris. You’ll recognize games like Tetris, Minesweeper, and Sudoku, but there are a lot of obscure puzzles in there, also. I like the very minimal way in which these games are implemented, and even if you’ve played these games before, it’s nice to have them all collected in one place!
Posted in Remakes, Browser Games, Puzzle | no comments
Posted by ithamore
Tue, 24 Apr 2007 10:25:00 GMT
Mayoneez describes Kumoon
as “a hybrid of a third person shooter and a puzzle game.”
I prefer to call it the abandoned child that resulted from a one
night stand between a shooter and a game of billiards, but either
description is good enough.
I like how the game makes light of shooters. The guns fire bouncy
balls instead of bullets. There is nearly no violence, and it’s
devoid of enemies. The boxes that count as targets must be shot
indirectly to achieve a positive score, which is necessary to reach
the next level. And it pokes fun at all the chick-with-a-gun centric
shooters out there, since the main character is a fluffy, yellow
chick.
Kumoon won first place in the GameDev competition at Assembly
in 2005. Last year’s winner was the previously covered Frets
on Fire, which was updated once again and relocated
to SourceForge last week.
If you’re interested in trying other entries from Assembly’s
competitions, the games for 2002-2006 are available at Mbnet.
Since the site is in Finnish, the games will be listed under headers of
pelikehityskompo, pelikehitys, or pelinkehitys. For those who are
easily intimidated by non-English websites, the Scene
also hosts the games in the public directory of their ftp site.
Luckily, most of the games’ readme files are in English despite where
they’re downloaded from.
Those contemplating the possibility of submitting a game for
Assembly’s Summer ‘07 should check out the GameDev
rules. The deadline is July 15, and, yes, there are prizes. Also,
those who are simply curious about attending Assembly’s next computer
festival in Finland with thousands of like-minded people should head
over to here.
Posted in Macintosh, Puzzle, Windows, Competitions, Freeware | 9 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Wed, 04 Apr 2007 02:34:00 GMT
Sprout is a cute game about a little bean that dreams of someday becoming a big oak tree. While I can’t necessarily sing the kinds of praises that the Jay is Games guys are singing, I did find the game to be extremely endearing. This is definitely trial-and-error type gameplay, but because your options are so limited, it never gets frustrating.
Posted in Highly Recommended, Browser Games, Adventure, Puzzle, Casual | 3 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Mon, 02 Apr 2007 14:36:00 GMT
Joseph White’s games are always brimming with charm and atmosphere, and Chocolate Castle is no exception! Really, as soon as you see that wonderful Lexaloffle logo, you know you are in good hands. Little details, like the windows in the castle that light up as you complete stages, and the way the chocolate gets munched up and leaves crumbs, make me feel like I’ve been stuffed into the warm belly of a Taun Taun after spending hours on the cold, frozen surface of Hoth.
Like Zen Puzzle Garden, one of Joseph’s previous games, the gameplay is simple but the puzzles can be devious. I really love the mouse control… it makes playing a breeze. The object is to click and drag chocolate (and other obstacles) around so that your animals can eat them without leaving any chocolate left. Chocolate of the same type sticks together, making your task more difficult.
The full game costs $20 US. For real fans of the genre, I think you’re getting your money’s worth, since Chocolate Castle comes with a whopping 120 levels and an editor. For me, it’s a little steep, but I’m going to buy it anyway, because this is a developer I want to support!
Posted in Macintosh, Highly Recommended, Puzzle, Casual, Windows | Tags Lexaloffle | 8 comments
Posted by Derek Yu
Tue, 20 Mar 2007 11:47:00 GMT
Gesundheit! is a beautiful little game (or should I say 12-level demo), and it’s not surprising, considering the creator is professional illustrator Matt Hammill. With “handmade scratchboard graphics and a soundtrack filled with toy instruments,” Matt has created a world that seems like it could stretch far beyond the simplistic gameplay. Which isn’t to say the single-level puzzle-solving is bad by any stretch of the imagination. But with a game that looks and sounds this good I really want to play a full-scale adventure. Maybe next time?
(By the way, I had no idea you could make a game like this with Adventure Game Studio.)
Posted in Comics, Cartoons, and Illustration, Puzzle, Casual, Windows, Action / Arcade, Freeware | Tags MattHammill | 12 comments
