The new Retro Remakes magazine is now available as a PDF download.

The past three Retro Active issues can be acquired from this page, under a similarly titled heading.

oddbob reviews nominees from Game Tunnel's Game of the Year Awards. Here's the introductory article.

There's a poll about the worst adventure game released this year in the AG forums.

- image taken from Overclocked, an upcoming adventure game by the developers of The Moment of Silence. [preview]

This is definitely a vintage year for Thrust remakes. Scavenger is a PiEyeGames production that includes 3D graphics, mouse controls and some telling gameplay changes. Among the new additions are a landing pad that serves as a refuel station and power generators that can be destroyed to disable the threat from all defense turrets.

Your mission involves collecting enough key orbs to activate the sector's exit area. These objects are usually surrounded by gems and has a red glow, plus collecting them also doubles as options that upgrade your firepower.

Name: Scavenger
Developer: PiEyeGames
Category: Action
Type: Demo
Size: 10MB

A smaller version of Fumito Ueda's masterpiece, Samurai Colossus tells the tale of a lone warrior faced with an army of mechs. Armed with only a katana and some dexterous skills, rendering these monstrous juggernauts powerless may prove to be a daunting task as some of the robots are more than a few stories high.

Decent 3D graphics overshadow the rather generic gameplay, although it's definitely an item of interest for hack and slash fans.

Name: Samurai Colossus
Developer: Render Junkies
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 50MB

Here's a scan of the interview with the Streets of Rage Remake development team by play magazine. [SoRR review]

Nenad is currently developing a 3D shooter. [Counterclockwise review]

Galcon updated to version 1.1. Change list can be found here.

The Merry Gear Solid speed run can now be watched at YouTube.

- sidebar image from the upcoming Shmup-Dev Autofire 2007 Competition, Force Majeure

Holiday Hills is a pretty good reinvention of SkiFree, though this time your character rides a toboggan and there are presents to collect for bonus points. Use the arrow keys to steer, or press the alternate and enter key at the same time to access the full screen mode.

Name: Holiday Hills
Developer: Johan Peitz
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

The new Streets of Rage Remake is set to be released next week, though a tasty preview with several playable levels can be obtained from the front page.

Featuring a selection of six playable characters spanning the entire series, it's also possible to choose a partner controlled by the CPU if you can't get hold of a friend to join the mayhem. All the moves have been retained with several new additions, plus more gameplay modes will be included in the next update.

Anyone who loved the original won't be disappointed with this effort.

Name: Streets of Rage Remake
Developer: Bombergames Soft
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

Seems that Merry Gear Solid is catching on like wildfire, with mentions on Kotaku, selectbutton.net and Something Awful to name a few.

There are even calls for a sequel, but The Podunkian (real name: Arthur Lee) may have to neglect work on The Underside if such requests were considered. And the Arsecast Host would be really disappointed if the Cave Story tribute was delayed any further.

Web sites
- Merry Gear Solid
- Super Fun Dungeon Run

The Underside
- gameplay videos: one, two
- screenshots: one, two, three
(opens in new window)
- Clickzine preview

[Merry Gear Solid secrets in comments section]

A nice find under the tree just in time for Christmas. Merry Gear Solid is a tribute game that will only make sense to fans of Konami's stealth espionage series, with plenty of recorded codec conversations and subtle references.

This TDC Christmas Compo entry is a tasty teaser of what's to come from the developer of The Underside.

Name: Merry Gear Solid
Developer: The Podunkian
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

X-Out returns with a brand new shooter entitled Gravitron, though this one requires a little more tact as it is actually based on Thrust. Instead of transporting pods into the skies you now have to destroy reactors while saving any spacemen wandering on the surface of the planet.

Switch to mouse controls by pressing the tab key when the main menu is shown. Activate the shields next to a fuel pod to fill up your tank. Progress is saved using a pass phrase, plus the nifty level editor facilitate user creations quite well. Expect more content to be posted in the near future.

Name: Gravitron
Developer: Castle Software
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

TWilight INSanity is a pretty decent doujin shooter by Eikyuu Loop, also responsible for the development of Iincho and Clover Wing. You can swap characters by pressing the X key, though the second team is perhaps the strongest out of the three.

Press the control key to skip cutscenes, and use the space or C key to vary your movement speed. Tap the Z key to initiate the special tension attack.

Name: TWilight INSanity
Developer: Eikyuu Loop
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 60MB

Another doujin versus fighting game, Monster features nicely animated 2D characters and decent effects but no unfortunately AI in the trial version.

Press the escape key at any time to access a list of moves during gameplay. Run the config.exe file to modify the key settings, since the default configuration isn't the standard mapping most users are familiar with. There's only a handful of characters to choose from and the absence of a single player mode is rather crippling but it's definitely one Comiket 71 release to keep an eye on, especially if an updated demo is ever posted.

Click on the download now image to grab the file.

Name: Monster
Developer: 8105graphics
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 30MB

The gameplay in Super Haunted Insomnia Tower involves a tall building and the act of continually making your way upwards by jumping off floating platforms.

It might be useful to note that the screen wraps around, because at times a jump in the opposite direction might be much easier to execute. Use the arrow keys to move about, and press the space key to leap into the sky.

Click here for the direct download link.

Name: Super Haunted Insomnia Tower
Developer: Lazrael
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 3MB

In Spider, the player has to swing around using webs spun by the little creature to collect fireflies. One can't help but be reminded of String Theory, though Dillon's work has controls suited for fast-paced gameplay.

Left or right click to shoot webs, and hold the buttons hang on for dear life. Press space to tighten your webs and swing.

Differentiating webs can be a tad difficult at times, and the application doesn't handle task switching too well but nitpicks aside this is definitely worth a go. Four levels only.

Name: Spider
Developer: HKU
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 50MB

Much like Everyday Shooter by Jonathan Mak, Fire and Forget is a horizontal shooter which incorporates music as one of it's gameplay elements. The first part of the action involves targeting enemy ships and pressing the space key at the appropriate moment, which is shown as circles at the bottom of the screen. Basically a combination of RayStorm's missile lock and Dance Dance Revolution's gameplay elements.

The second portion of the game is a little easier to comprehend, just hold the space key to drop bombs on buildings for bonus points. The number of bombers in your squadron is based on the total notes collected during the previous segment.

Requires Java installed to run.

Name: Fire and Forget
Developer: robfitz
Categort: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

Helium Boy is a decent platformer that is based on figuring out how to overcome obstacles by using your balloons correctly. You can hold up to two at any time, or release all of the balloons currently inflated by pressing the C key.

Areas too high to reach with a basic jump can be accessed by repeatedly pressing the Z key with at least one balloon equipped. Prepare one quickly by pressing the X key.

Name: Helium Boy
Developer: Bertil
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

And Yet It Moves is a platformer consisting of backgrounds and objects made out of collages. Certain puzzles in the game require the world to be rotated around, but the player has to avoid falling from a dangerous heights or risk injury.

More of an experiment, this particular piece does include two levels worth of exploration and a handy autosave feature to bookmark your progress.

Name: And Yet It Moves
Developer: TU Wien
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

The latest G-Force build was recently posted. Now includes speech, music and joypad support. [direct download link, oddbob's site, G-Force review]

Submission due date for the Java 4K 2007 is March 1st 2007, though fifteen entries are already available to play. [Fuzetsu, Alpha Shot 4K review]

A new interview with Pug Fugly, winner of the Retro Remakes 2006 Competition was recently posted on the OneSwitch.org.uk blog. [Competition Results, Remakes Competition Summary, The Pyramid review]

Sam and Max Episode 1 extras discussed here.

(Screenshots from current Shmup-Dev Autofire 2007 Competition WIPs)

This Java 4K puzzler by Kevin Glass is a decent Cubis clone with most of it's basic gameplay intact, which includes wedges that goes under a block to make a higher stack. A counter shown on the top right of the window indicates the number of block to be removed in each stage to achieve level progression.

Name: Cubis
Developer: Kevin Glass
Category: Puzzle
Type: Browser
Size: 4K

Goop is an alright LocoRoco clone made by Kevin Glass for the Java 4K competition, a pretty impressive feat considering the allowable amount of code set as a limitation to foster creativity. Use the left or right arrow keys to tilt the screen and shift mama Goop to it's intended destination while avoiding spikes and saving her children along way.

Name: Goop
Developer: Kevin Glass
Category: Action
Type: Java
Size: 4K

As reported by Shoot the Core and the2bears: MTV interviews Kenta Cho. (YouTube link)

Click here for the original video on MTV. (may not work for residents outside U.S.)

Kenta Cho Speaks

The Japanese game designer gives one of his first interviews in English, and explains why...

MTV: What do you think... 'cause Geometry Wars seems to me, that's almost like a Kenta Cho game.

KC: (laughs)

MTV: What do you think of that game? Have you been playing that a lot?

KC: Yeah, I like the Geometry Wars that was released with Project Gotham Racing 2, the original version. That kind of 360 degree shooter is unpopular in Japan. But Geometry Wars has very good gameplay. It also fit with the controller. The 360 has twin dual analog sticks.

MTV: What's your high score in Geometry Wars?

KC: (laughs) I am not good at it. Perhaps one million... twenty... over one million?

MTV: One million? I can't get to a million myself. I'm at like 300,000 or something like that I'm not very good.

KC: (chuckles)

MTV: Would you actually be interested in having your games on Xbox Live Arcade?

KC: I have interest but I think that my game is too simple to release on the market. (points to Gunroar playing in background on laptop)

KC: So perhaps if someone would release my game on the consoles, the gameplay or the graphics and music should be refined.

MTV: Have game companies ever called you up and asked you to do work for them?

KC: Some people give me their e-mail about releasing my game on some console like an Xbox or PSP... but perhaps it is difficult to release my game on the market.

MTV: You don't charge money for your games. Why not? You could make a lot of money for these games. Why don't you do that?

KC: (chuckles)

MTV: You could be rich.

KC: (laughs) I distribute my game because I create the games that I want to play. And if some people want to enjoy my games, I give my game and code to those people. I don't have any intention to create money with creating games.

[ABA Games download page, Val and Rick review]

Also known as Victi, Vigil is a different sort of adventure game suitable only for mature audiences. The subject matter is questionable, and some of the scenes are mildly disturbing even when much of the story is shrouded in mystery.

The demo showcases quite a bit of gameplay, in which all movements and interactions can be controlled using the mouse. Left click on a destination to make Dehon run towards it, and right click when standing on a correct spot to wave your hand or chant a prayer. Rather useful in activating objects or opening doors.

Perhaps best described as Sin City meets Killer 7. The trial version is available from GarageGames as well.

Name: Vigil
Developer: Freegamer
Category: Adventure
Type: Demo
Size: 120MB

Warning: Contains nudity.

Galshell 2 Bullet Rain is perhaps the most accessible of all Artesneit releases, though they're not taking it any easier on the nudity content.

It's possible to begin playing from any of the three levels, with plenty of continues to use and a different character assigned to each difficulty. Collect items marked with the letter P to increase your power-up gauge. When it's completely filled, your weapon will receive a decent firepower upgrade.

Not suitable for players with weak stomaches.

Name: Galshell 2 Bullet Rain
Developer: Artesneit
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

Click here to view the cheats, but be warned. It will ruin much of the experience.

Get the Jets'n'Guns expansion pack here.

This is the fifth in a series of Slamdance Finalist reviews.

Plasma Pong is Steve Taylor's remake of Atari's 1972 arcade game Pong, but it's a remake with a very interesting twist. Instead of batting a ball back and forth in the 2D, gravity-free vacuum of the classic, Plasma Pong moves the game into a 2D fluid field.

As the ball bounces and the paddles move, they interact with the field through simulated fluid dynamics. The state of the field is presented with both a color map (showing---I'm guessing---the fluid pressure at each point in the field) and particles that are suspended in the fluid. The suspended particles help to reveal currents, eddies, and other features of the flow. The ball is also suspended in the fluid, and its motion can be affected dramatically by the flow. As the fluid gets stirred up, the ball's motion can become quite unpredictable.

You can affect the state of the fluid with more than just the motion of your paddle, however. The left mouse button sends a stream of fluid out from the center of your paddle, while the right button sucks fluid into your paddle. The suction is strong enough to attract and retain the ball. Once the paddle fills with fluid, releasing the right mouse button creates shockwave in the fluid that hurtles the ball back into the field.

The game is visually dazzling. Yeah, it's very 2D, but I still found my jaw on the floor---it's hard to believe that a computer in 2006 can actually produce such a display.

Read the full review at Arthouse Games.

Name: Plasma Pong
Developer: Steve Taylor
Category: Classic Remake
Type: Freeware
Size: 7.41 MB

Calling this just an expansion pack is practically a crime, as it contains twice as much content as the original. The demo for Jets'n'Guns Gold only showcases two levels, though they are replayable with earned credits accumulative and added to your total after consecutive attempts.

There's plenty of stuff to shoot at and it does get rather annoying when your weapon overheats but an expensive cooling system upgrade should solve that problem. Sprites are extremely detailed, thanks to a game resolution increase. New ships, enemies, weapons and secrets, the list of new features doesn't seem to end.

Undoubtedly one of the best 2D horizontal shooter available.

Name: Jets'n'Guns Gold
Developer: Rake in Grass
Category: Shooter
Type: Demo
Size: 20MB

Object and world editors have been included in the latest Thrust Xtreme download. [Thrust Xtreme review]

X-Out's Gravitron updated, now comes with an online high score system. [Gravitron review]

A new version for Spider was recently released to cater for owners of videocards that do not support pixel shader 2.0 features. [Spider review]

The expansion pack for Jets'n'Guns is now available, simply entitled Jets'n'Guns Gold. [screenshots, features list]

Click here for a list of all 104 IGF Student Showcase entries to try out.

Some of the entries previously mentioned: Invalid Tangram, NaaC, The Blob, Spider, Plasma Pong, Fire and Forget, Base Invaders, Toblo, Spherious, Helium Boy, And Yet It Moves.

Anything by students of the Game Academy is pretty impressive: Explosion Train, Desire, Into the Tale: Dream Fall, Fate, Weaponed Head.

Worthy mentions: Space Shooter 3D 2k7, Opera Slinger, Lily and the Giant, etc...

This is part of a series of Slamdance Finalist reviews and interviews.

Book and Volume is an interactive fiction (IF) piece by Nick Montfort. If you're wondering what IF is, think of an old-school text adventure and then turn the literary craft up a few notches. This particular piece deals with information-tech and geek culture, and it has a bit of a cyberpunk flavor.

For me, reviewing IF is tough: I'm so new to the genre that almost all of it is 100%-pure magic. Here's my take on it: an almost palpable world comes to life right inside your head. Because you can explore the world actively, it feels even more compelling than what I've ever experienced while reading non-interactive fiction. The result, for me, is incredibly powerful---almost to the point of making me feel like my mind is coming unhinged.

Of course, it's what the creator does with the medium that really counts. Mr. Montfort is obviously a solid prose writer, and his descriptions are what bring the 24-block city of nTopia to life. Within this artificial world, he tells a relatively simple story, at least in terms of surface-level plot points: Some servers in the city are down, and you need to reboot them; a user needs tech support; another server is down. Beyond completing the various maintenance tasks that are assigned by your in-game boss, the rest of the story---I'll call it the sub-plot---seems to be optional.

The piece plays on a fixed in-game time schedule, and it always comes to an end eventually, no matter what choices you make. Thus, you can't get "stuck" at an obstacle half-way through that will keep you thrashing for many real-world hours. You always get an ending of one kind or another after reading for a while.

One ending, it seems, is the "winning" ending, although the piece does not make this very clear. That ending ties the whole work together with a some nice prose flourishes and a heavy dose of post-modern self-referentiality. I'm still thinking about the piece, mining the experience for meaning. Issues such as illusion, reality, creators, creations, and corporate culture are explored nicely.

Nick Montfort is not only an active IF creator, he's also the field's chief theorist. His book Twisty Little Passages was the first to analyze IF. I recently had an opportunity to interview Nick by email, and we discussed, among other things, the importance of storylines to successful games.

Read the full review and the full interview at Arthouse Games.

Name: Book and Volume
Developer: Nick Montfort
Category: Interactive Fiction
Type: Freeware
Size: 221 KB

First in-game screenshot from FTG released. [The White Chamber: International Edition]

Mike Bithell (Visiting Day) is currently developing Reunion.

An image of the complete Jet Set Willy Online cast can be found at oddbob's site.

Herculean Effort Productions (Apprentice) will release Super Jazz Man soon.

Asougi is a freeware vertical shooter that resembles ESP Ra.De., a Cave arcade favorite featuring characters with the ability to fly and amazing psychic powers.

Some of the bullet patterns are rather unique and not the sort commonly found in recent shmup releases. It's also rather friendly to beginners as the number of continues are set to unlimited, though progress past stage three is only allowed to players using three credits or less.

The executable file with a longer name is the version with less effects for slower computers. Click here for the direct download link.

Name: Asougi
Developer: Asougi Project Team
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 120MB

RIAH is a decent but short platformer with most of its gameplay elements originating from the Castlevania series. Press the Z key to attack, hold the X key to jump or use the C key to swap weapons. Choose from axes, knives, hammers and spinning discs.

The double jump skill is available by tapping the X button twice, and an editor is included as well to facilitate user creations. Click here to download the file.

Name: RIAH
Developer: Folio
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

Something Amiss is an adventure game made using the LASSIE creation tool and playable in any Flash-enabled browser, though this particular production showcases only two screens worth of puzzles and little of anything else. Based on a novel of the same title.

Name: Something Amiss
Developer: Tucker Bowen
Category: Adventure
Type: Flash
Size: 1MB

This is the fourth in a series of Slamdance Finalist reviews.

flOw is a game that defies genre classification. Actually, it might not be a game at all, depending on what definition we use, because there is no explicit goal. We can look at it instead as a work of interactive art, or as a digital sculpture. In fact, I can imagine it working well in a physical installation with a flat-panel, touch-sensitive screen.

In flOw, your mouse clicks control an aquatic, segmented, worm-like creature. The world is divided into a number of depth levels, and you start out near the surface. The deeper your go, the darker the water becomes.

At a given depth level, there are various small creatures (they look like diatoms or plankton) that you can eat. Each edible has a slightly different effect on your creature (some cause extra body segments to form, others cause existing body segments to expand, still others cause limbs to sprout or mandibles to become temporarily enlarged). Along with the easy-to-eat are other worm-like creatures, similar to your creature. Deeper levels contain larger creatures, and even some creatures that will try to eat your creature.

The presentation is stellar, with smooth, geometrical renderings of all the creatures. My words "segmented" and "worm-like" above should not mislead you---the feel is not creepy-crawly, but rather translucent, graceful, and flowing. I'm reminded of a jellyfish exhibit at the aquarium. All the activities in the game are accompanied by musical sounds that blend into an ambient soundtrack. Thus, we could also view flOw as a kind of experimental musical instrument. This one could make Brian Eno proud.

Read the full review at Arthouse Games.

Name: flOw
Developer: Jenova Chen
Category: Experimental
Type: Flash
Size: 8.4 MB

The Whispered World is an abandoned project that is only made available as a demo for download, with the full version unlikely to surface due to publishing problems. A verb scroll is used for interaction, while accessing the inventory bag only requires a right click anywhere on screen.

The backgrounds are absolutely gorgeous, but unfortunately there's only two screens to explore with very little to do in this release.

Name: The Whispered World
Developer: Marco Hullen
Category: Adventure
Type: Demo
Size: 50MB

Saucelifter is a brilliant Choplifter remake featuring vector graphics for enemy vehicles, turrets and buildings. Press the Z or C key to shoot in either direction, or hold the X key to aim downwards. The landing gears will appear automatically when your ship approaches the ground.

The aim of the game is basically to grab up to eight hostages at any one time and transport them to the teleporter on the right. Land right next to it and they will exit the ship and walk onto the platform automatically.

Paul was also one of the developers involved in the Sword of Fargoal remake.

Name: Saucelifter
Developer: Paul Pridham
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB