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Osmos Osmos seems like a simple game, good for an hour or two of solid enjoyment. But then (after you THINK you're about halfway through the game) you look at the clock, and realize you haven't looked away from your screen for four hours, at least. It's surprisingly gripping (or addicting, I can't tell at this point). In Osmos, you play as an orb of�something. Maybe it's a single-celled organism, or maybe it's just a random ball of glow-y blue stuff. Doesn't really matter. Anyway, this little ball of stuff can't really do anything except zoom around and absorb stuff. The player-controlled sphere moves around by shooting bits and pieces of itself out behind it, causing it to get smaller, and making it harder to absorb other glowing blobs (it can only absorb others that are smaller than it is). On top of that, it can be absorbed by other balls of stuff that are bigger than it is, which means it's very easy to propel yourself to your death if you're not careful. And once you've got the hang of floating around and absorbing, new types of organisms start to show up: giant spheres that cause everything to orbit around them, speedy little blobs that avoid you at all costs, and even anti-matter spheres. There's lots of variety in the objectives, and there are no set paths in the levels. Osmos' presentation is brilliant, with graphics that focus on functionality but don't sacrifice some artistic flair. Overall, Osmos delivers. It refuses to be a one-trick pony, and it explores every possibility it can
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Aztaka
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| 8.3 |
| Rating |
Aztaka
The first release from developer Citeremis is an ambitious title: with awesome visuals and some clever gameplay ideas, it's hard to see where it can go wrong.
The most striking aspect of Aztaka is the mood and/or atmosphere of the game. Authentic structures, costumes, and artwork are everywhere and have great detail. The trees, statues, waterfalls, and roads are all masterfully rendered in all their hand-drawn beauty.
The game plays like a mix between a side-scrolling platformer and an action-RPG. Huitzillo levels up after gaining enough experience (from killing monsters), and then the player can spend their new skill and attribute point as they see fit. The customization capabilities are pretty deep, and the player can easily create a character that fits their playing style. The combat is mostly clicking to attack and jumping to dodge, so it's pretty much typical in that respect
While the RPG elements are solid, the platforming is a little less polished. Sure, there are lots of puzzles (environment manipulating spells and whatnot), but the answers are usually very obvious. Also, strangely, Aztaka has no manual save feature, so you have to rely on the game's autosave. This is a problem, since the game doesn't always autosave when you'd like.
Aztaka has top notch production: great visuals and music, decent RPG elements and a very immersive atmosphere. There's not much to complain about here, especially if you're a fan of this genre.
Creeper World
by Knuckle Cracker
| 8.1 |
| Rating |
Creeper World
Creeper World is a clever and infectious strategy game that is a blast to play. It also manages to give the player a real sense of danger and fear, which is quite an accomplishment, seeing as the graphics are made up of simple polygons and amorphous pixels.
Here's the (very bleak) story: in the far-off future, humanity has conquered the universe. Then, a nameless�thing appeared, and it started to wipe out the human colonies. Now, there are only about 50,000 humans left, and they're clinging to the hope that salvation can be found somewhere, under your guidance.
To complete missions, you have to activate the necessary totems/structures to allow the human colony to teleport. Problem is, these structures are usually in the thick of a giant, ever-expanding, unstoppable blob (called Creeper). So, you have to manage sending power out to any weapons you have to keep the Creeper at bay AND you have to get your power to the necessary structures so you can teleport. It may sound a little convoluted, but it's actually very fun and very easy to get the hang of.
Creeper World is an unexpectedly fun game. It's a great strategy game, and it's addicting. It's not the most sophisticated-looking title out there, but the strong points heavily outnumber the weak ones, so it's certainly worth a look for strategy fans.
Widget TD
by Graybox Games
| 7.0 |
| Rating |
Widget TD
Turret defense games are a genre that doesn't lend itself well to innovation. The idea of each game is SUPPOSED to be the same, and it's okay if they feel nearly identical in terms of gameplay.
Widget TD doesn't try to bring anything new to the formula, for the most part. The basics/pretty much the whole game are identical to every other game of the genre: buy turrets to defend your base. Bad guys crawl along a path that leads to your base. Turrets shoot bad guys as they come in range. Bad guys either die, or reach your base and cause bad things to happen. Of course, there's lots of strategy involved with what you buy, and where you put your turrets.
Widget TD manages to involve the player a bit more than is typical of this genre. Rather than having to sit and watch hopelessly as a floating cube of death wafts out of range of all your shooting things, you can actually take control of any turret and fire at things that the AI wouldn't.
The main draw, however, of the game is probably the very flashy graphics. While they may seem excessive, the visuals are all in 3D and have lots of shiny sprites and lights and lasers. Overall, Widget TD is an amusing diversion. It has plenty of replay value (level editor, share custom levels with others via the interwebs, etc), and it's reasonably challenging.
Lode Runner Episode 3: Die Hard Levels
by ZX Games
| 6.3 |
| Rating |
Lode Runner Episode 3: Die Hard Levels
You want old-school? Lode Runner is old school. I remember Lode Runner: The Legend Returns (a remake by Sierra), but that's as far back as I go with this particular franchise.
The developers at ZX games are all Lode Runner veterans and/or masterminds, however. So, with their collective fan-based minds, they concocted Lode Runner Episode 3: Diehard Levels. And when they say Diehard, they mean it. The levels are advertised as "almost impossible", and they're not kidding. These fan-made levels are not for the weak of heart (or fingers, or whatever).
The old school look and the new-school difficulty will be a nice treat for fans of the original Lode Runner games. However, for the same reason, newer audiences will be lost. But, then again, this is a celebration of the classics, so the audience is already set in stone anyway.
Mad Skills Motocross
by Turborilla
| 6.1 |
| Rating |
Mad Skills Motocross
If you REALLY need to kill some time, Mad Skills MotoCross will probably do fine. Because that's all it really is. A time suck.
MSMC is a not free version of a freeware game. Sure, the graphics are slightly better, and there's some amusing ragdoll physics in here. But at it's core, it's a free flash game in fancy packaging. Don't get me wrong, it's still addicting and great mindless fun.
The game works like this (if you've never played this kind of game before), you use the arrow keys to accelerate, lean forward/back, and brake on your motorbike. With this control scheme, you race another biker and try to keep as many chunks of skin on your rider as possible. Because of the way the physics work, balancing and landing (and not faceplanting as soon as you start up) is a challenge.
Like I said, there's not a ton to discuss here. It isn't particularly deep, and it's amusing.
Koth
by Chaotic Studios
| 4.1 |
| Rating |
Koth
There are a lot of things that can go wrong with third-person shooters. Unfortunately for Koth, this was the case, and many things DID go wrong.
Koth, for the most part, just fails to be interesting. The fighting doesn't have a lot of variation to it, even with the different weapons available. On top of that, the camera that moves in complete sync with the character's torso whips around like a Blair Witch Project cinematographer and makes things much more jumbled than they need to be. Add the occasionally pitch-black level and you've got a recipe for RAGE. Plus, using orbs as weapons might have been passable in a much higher-caliber game, but in Koth they just look cheesy.
The game has some good ideas, like the setting and background story, but they don't make up for the gameplay.
Moonfall: Land of Dreams
by Delusions
| 2.0 |
| Rating |
Moonfall: Land of Dreams
Most gamers have had the "I've just spent 10 hours of my life playing�" feeling. But it's not an "I just WASTED part of my" feeling, typically. Moonfall is one of those games where you feel like it WAS a waste.
Moonfall: Land of Dreams is plagued with so many problems that it's painful. The graphics are atrocious. Normally I don't make a big deal about graphics, but when it impedes on the gameplay AND looks like it was deliberately made to be unattractive, then there's a problem. The animations are stiff, and the controls are unresponsive on top of that (warning: you'll fall to your death due to weird switches in gravity multiple times). The combat, while not a central part of the game, feels like it was an afterthought, and it's slow. You can often completely avoid the combat and be just fine, which leaves you wondering why, if it's so unimportant to the whole of the game, the fighting's there at all.
To make a long rant short, Moonfall fails to engage the player. It's a chore to motivate yourself to play, especially when the game doesn't try to.
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By: Adam Clark
Posted: Thursday September 10, 2009
Action
Adventure
Arkanoid
Fighting
Platform
Puzzle & Casual
Hidden Object
RPG
Shooter
Simulation
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Strategy
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