A list of the best freeware platformers released last year, in (more or less) alphabetical order. Click on title for permalink. Instructions on how to unzip .RAR and .LZH files can be found in this FAQ.

- Cave Story was released in 2004, translated in 2005 (sorry, guys)

1. A Game with a Kitty 2: Darkside Adventures
2. Gambare Natsuki-San
3. Goonies 20th Anniversary, The
4. Lyle in Cube Sector
5. Knytt/Within a Deep Forest
6. Noitu Love and the Army of Grinning Darns
7. Painajainen
8. Poyo
9. Spud's Quest
10. Treasure Tower
11. La-Mulana (special mention)

For the sake of completeness: Satan Sam, Vivid Conceptions, ... (Suggest/comment)

Reviews



1. A Game with a Kitty 2: Darkside Adventures

A Game with a Kitty 2: Darkside Adventures is the latest platformer release by Bernie, featuring a much improved gameplay engine and plenty of secret locations to discover. You take on the role of an Arch-Chancellor on a quest to retrieve the lost crown, which equates to plenty of jumping and throwing stuff around.

The protagonist of the story can use the stars collected as weapons, but his inventory capacity will only allow up to thirty of them to be stuffed into his deep pockets. Special skills are awarded for surviving boss encounters, though certain jumps are pretty difficult to execute properly. Only four major locations in total, with an average of four to five short levels assigned to each.

There are several tough puzzles to figure out but nothing too perplexing with a bit of thought. Needless to say, a recommended download for fans of classic NES titles especially the Mario series.

Name: A Game with a Kitty 2: Darkside Adventures
Developer: Bernie
Type: Freeware
Platform: PC
Size: 14.7 MB
Difficulty: 4/5
Rating: 9
Direct download link: http://www.origamihero.com/agwak2da.exe
Other platformers by Bernie: Skyhammer, A Game with a Kitty

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2. Gambare Natsuki-San

Gambare Natsuki-San is an excellent puzzle platformer by Alpha Secret Base, borrowing a few elements from an obscure PSX game called Umihara Kawase Shun. The rope has been replaced with a metal gadget, able to extend and grab on to walls and ceilings.

Press the Z key to activate it, and use the directional keys to move around while holding down the same button. Jump using the X key, and tap the C key to bring up the pause window. Selecting the third option from the main menu will take you to the tutorial, complete with demonstration regarding controls and advanced techniques.

The objective of the game is to collect all food items, while avoiding water and contact with spikes. It's entirely possible to finish all fifty levels in one sitting. Very addictive and highly recommended.

Name: Gambare Natsuki-San
Developer: Alpha Secret Base
Type: Freeware
Platform: PC
Size: 9.41 MB
Difficulty: 3/5
Rating: 8
Direct download link: Click here

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3. Goonies 20th Anniversary, The

The Goonies 20th Anniversary is an excellent remake of the console classic by Retro Remakes competition veterans. Your quest involves saving a group of local kids trapped in an underground cave, and perhaps stealing a bit of loot while you're at it. You can punch at the enemies to protect yourself and collect vitality drinks to restore health.

Like most platformers, there are a number of keys to collect in each stage though your character can only carry one at any time. A save function can be accessed from the main menu by pressing the k and control key at the same time. OSX and Linux versions are available as well.

Name: Goonies 20th Anniversary, The
Developer: Brain Games
Type: Freeware
Platform: PC, Mac, Linux
Size: 11.6 MB
Difficulty: 2/5
Rating: 7
Direct download link: http://goonies.jorito.net/download/theGoonies.zip

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4. Lyle in Cube Sector

Lyle in Cube Sector is a platformer that is reminiscent of the classic Metroid series in more than a few ways. Exploration is a key element in this game, as you seek out the culprit responsible for the kidnapping of Lyle's lovable kitten.

The protagonist starts off with no possession or special skills, but will soon acquire the ability to pick up blocks and use it to eliminate enemies or jump twice as high. Things begin to unravel pretty quickly once you have learnt a trick or two, plus there are many rooms to explore and secrets to discover.

Don't be put off by the retro graphics, this is one quality effort that fans of classic platform games should not miss.

Name: Lyle in Cube Sector
Developer: Bogosoft
Type: Freeware
Platform: PC
Size: 1.14 MB
Difficulty: 4/5
Rating: 8
Download page: http://www.sitesled.com/members/bogo/lyle.html

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5. Knytt/Within a Deep Forest

The story of Knytt begins with an abduction and a crash landing on some unfamiliar planet, which means plenty of land to explore although there's hardly any interaction with other creatures. Save points are easily accessible, Knytt will glow red when in danger, and the shining beam of light will assist your search for the necessary repair items.

There's about sixty screens worth of adventure which equals to roughly an hour or two of play. Of course, this isn't a Nifflas production without several unlockables and secrets to reward the curious.

In Within a Deep Forest, you control a bouncing ball made out of different materials which is always in perpetual motion throughout the entire game. Starting off with the basic blue, your jump height will change depending on the type of ball in use. A comprehensive tutorial provides all the information you need, while solutions to most puzzles can be found in the forums. Press F1 to play in full screen mode.

Name: Knytt/Within a Deep Forest
Developer: Nifflas
Type: Freeware
Platform: PC
Size: 20 MB (each)
Difficulty: 3 and 5 respectively
Rating: 7
Direct download link: Knytt, Within a Deep Forest

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6. Noitu Love and the Army of Grinning Darns

Controls in Noitu Love and the Army of Grinning Darns are stripped down to basics, featuring the standard punch and jump plus two more attack variations assigned to both the left control and shift key. Much like Capcom's Mega Man series, you get to utilize certain devices to change form and access special powers. The first few levels may seem repetitive but the game does get better after the second stage.

Most of the highlights occur during boss battles, where each leader has to be defeated using different strategies. The final boss encounter is simply amazing, even when compared to other platformers freeware or otherwise. A word of advice, you'll miss out on quite a bit if the easy difficulty setting is chosen. Press alt-Enter to play in full screen mode.

Name: Noitu Love and the Army of Grinning Darns
Developer: Joakim Sandberg
Type: Freeware
Platform: PC
Size: 7.58 MB
Difficulty: 4/5
Rating: 8
Direct download link: http://www.konjak.org/noitulove.zip

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7. Painajainen

The developers of Painajainen had noted that this platformer was partly inspired by both of autofish's earlier efforts, namely seiklus and velella. Made in two weeks for a Finnish game competition, it chronicles the story of a boy trapped in his own dream.

Finding and getting butterflies to follow your character grants you special powers, with subtle hints on each ability provided on the same screen. Press enter to access the map and a progress chart. A few bugs exist but can easily be solved by pressing the E key for a quick return to the starting point. The save game area is located just next to it.

Name: Painajainen
Developer: Virtanen Games
Type: Freeware
Platform: PC
Size: 5.09 MB
Difficulty: 1/5
Rating: 7
Direct download link: http://koti.mbnet.fi/erkkavir/Painajainen.zip

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8. Poyo

From the wonderful world of Game Maker comes Poyo, a new platforming adventure which took Lazrael only one month to complete. You control the main character using the arrow keys, but most of the puzzles in the game can only be solved by figuring out the proper way to utilize your warp ability. Tap the X key to jump and use the Z key in conjunction with a directional arrow key to dash past traps or activate switches.

Press the down arrow key while standing in front of another creature to start a conversation. Instructions are printed on a text file which can be found in the zip package.

The F4 key can be used to switch between windowed and full screen mode. Features forty-five levels and six boss encounters.

Name: Poyo
Developer: Lazrael
Type: Freeware
Platform: PC
Size: 4.22 MB
Difficulty: 3/5
Rating: 8
Direct download link: http://lazrael.avalanchestudios.net/crap/Poyo_Official_1.zip
Other games by Lazrael: Super Haunted Insomnia Tower, Starlit Zone Fighter, Pozzo - Jello Crusade, Flapper

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9. Spud's Quest

Dizzy has had it's fair share of halfhearted remakes. With Spud's Quest, fans no longer need to endure such indignity though our lovable egg has now been replaced with a protagonist named Spud. You can only carry three items at any time, so expect a lot of backtracking in this game.

Name: Spud's Quest
Developer: Chris Davis
Type: Freeware
Platform: PC
Size: 4.04 MB
Difficulty: 4/5
Rating: 7
Direct download link: http://total-klik.net/file.asp?action=dload&file=16

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10. Treasure Tower

Treasure Tower is a game by David Newton that mixes a bit of WarioWare gameplay with platforming elements. Guide a noble knight through twenty rooms to reach the top of a tower and collect the treasure.

Most of the actions available to you can be carried out by using the arrow keys. Press up to enter doors or activate switches. Tap the left shift key to jump. Run over items to collect them.

You begin each game with 36 seconds on the clock, which can only be replenished by collecting food. Running into obstacles such as spikes or ghosts will cause you to lose valuable seconds.

Name: Treasure Tower
Developer: David Newton
Type: Freeware
Platform: PC
Size: 4.29 MB
Difficulty: 3/5
Rating: 7
Direct download link: http://wired.st-and.ac.uk/~wong/treasuretower/treasuretower.zip
Other platformers by David Newton: Special Agent

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11. La-Mulana (special mention)

La-Mulana is a freeware free-roaming platformer game designed to look, sound, and play like a classic MSX game. It's heavily influenced by the classic Konami MSX game 'The Maze of Galious' and anyone who has played that title will probably recognize the similarities very quickly. You play the whip-wielding Indiana Jones-esque archaeologist Lemeza Kosugi as he investigates the ancient ruins of La-Mulana in an attempt to find its treasure and one-up his father, who is trying to get the same treasure as well.

The game is huge, with many different areas to explore and dozens of items and weapons to find. Each area has a large variety of puzzles and traps and you need to solve the puzzles in each area to discover the Ankhs and Ankh Jewels, which allow you to fight the eight Guardians of the ruins. To solve the puzzles you'll need to be able to read the tablets scattered throughout the ruins, which will require a Hand Scanner and translation software for the portable MSX that Lemeza has brought along on the adventure. Your Hand Scanner will also allow you to find items and search the bones of less fortunate adventurers.

Name: La-Mulana
Developer: GR3 Project
Release: 2005 (translation - 2007)
Type: Freeware
Platform: PC
Size: 6.11 MB
Difficulty: 6/5
Rating: 9
Direct download link: http://agtp.romhack.net/extra/LA-MULANA.zip
Translation patch: http://agtp.romhack.net/download/la-mulana-patch.zip

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Lead your team to the top of the premiership using strategy and cunning in this unique card-based football game.

Soccer Cards 2 is a football game quite unlike any other. An addictive game of chance that you influence with your skill. Choose your match cards revealing a situation in play, such as a goal, shot, pass, tackle, penalty, etc. Use your strategy options to increase your scoring chances and thwart your opponents.

Name: Soccer Cards 2
Developer: Michael Douglas
Category: Sports
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

La-Mulana is a freeware free-roaming platformer game designed to look, sound, and play like a classic MSX game. It's heavily influenced by the classic Konami MSX game 'The Maze of Galious' and anyone who has played that title will probably recognize the similarities very quickly. You play the whip-wielding Indiana Jones-esque archaeologist Lemeza Kosugi as he investigates the ancient ruins of La-Mulana in an attempt to find its treasure and one-up his father, who is trying to get the same treasure as well.

The game is huge, with many different areas to explore and dozens of items and weapons to find. Each area has a large variety of puzzles and traps and you need to solve the puzzles in each area to discover the Ankhs and Ankh Jewels, which allow you to fight the eight Guardians of the ruins. To solve the puzzles you'll need to be able to read the tablets scattered throughout the ruins, which will require a Hand Scanner and translation software for the portable MSX that Lemeza has brought along on the adventure. Your Hand Scanner will also allow you to find items and search the bones of less fortunate adventurers.

Name: La-Mulana
Developer: GR3 Project
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

Shooter

A screenshot from Ishisoft's upcoming Skywaymen was recently posted. [Clockwiser, Pushover review]

The new Shoot the Core is up.

Typhoon 2001 updated with configurable controls. [Typhoon 2001 review]

cactus announces a new shooter entitled Clean Asia. [Space, The Design, Unholy Stage, Decontrologic, Ad Nauseam, God Came to the Cave, Illegal Communication, Retro Future, Precision, Retro II review]

oddbob announces Beast Invaders 3; wraps up production of G-Force with two sets of screenshots on both his site and the Retro Remakes forum thread. [direct download link, G-Force, Beast Invaders 2 review]

New screenshots from Excellent Bifurcation added. [Excellent Bifurcation review]

Platformer

The translation patch for La-Mulana is out. [La-Mulana walkthrough and maps]

We've got a mention on OMEGA's diary! [OMEGA's download page, INO-vation, Marble, Twintower review]

New screenshots from Riva Runs added to Crobasoft's web site.

Adventure

The Forgotten Element has a new web site.

New version of The Marionette now available. [The Marionette review]

Walkthrough for Yahtzee's 5 Days a Stranger, 7 Days a Skeptic, Trilby's Notes and 6 Days a Sacrifice can be found here. [Yahtzee's past projects]

Puzzler

Blocksum replays in .dat file format can be downloaded by clicking on the numbered rankings on this page.

Place any of these in Blocksum's replay folder, then select a file from the replay menu option to watch. [Blocksum review]

It is also possible to watch the replays in-game by going to the high score menu, selecting a high score, and press the download details option. [thanks zzmann!]

Mr. Blocko: Super Tournament Edition updated.

Miscellaneous

3Punge results are out. [FileFront mirror, Santaro, Round and Round review]

Trouble In CloudLand is a 2D game that features star-shooting mayhem and powerup collecting goodness. Conquer three unique worlds populated by troops of loveable but devious foes. Simple controls put you right in the action, while allowing for multiple play styles. Evolving gameplay will challenge even the most experienced of players.

Trouble In CloudLand was developed over four months by Joshua and Jony. It was programmed using Python, Pygame, and Eclipse.

Name: Trouble In CloudLand
Developer: Battle Zero
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

Speed is an alright card game by the creator of Dice Wars, in which the player has to discard all cards in hand before the computer AI does. This is achieved by placing a card which is sequential on specially marked areas. Each stage introduces increasing difficulty.

Name: Speed
Developer: GameDesign
Category: Puzzle
Type: Flash
Size: 1MB

In Excellent Bifurcation, the aliens have attacked and their ability to exist in either or both of their world and ours has given them an almost unsurpassable advantage. Take command of a special fighter craft capable of existing in both realities at once and drive them back!

The form your fighter takes on the left has double fast-firing cannons and can charge to release up to eight seekers. It is ideal for destroying small and weak but numerous enemies. The right-hand form has a single powerful cannon which fires slowly but does far more damage, and is more suited to taking out larger enemies. It can charge up to release a wave which passes through things, damaging them as it goes. You can switch them between the worlds depending on what kind of firepower you need where.

The only vulnerable parts of your ship are the white parts at the centre. This means that the small form is much better at dodging than the large one. The only dangerous parts of bullets are the brightest (yellow or white) parts. Also, if you are shot down the form which was hit emits a green shockwave instead of a yellow one.

Press the Z key to shoot, X key to charge the special weapon, and C key to switch between two forms. Use the A key to activate autofire. You can change settings, like windowed vs fullscreen and whether it uses vsync, by editing init.txt.

Name: Excellent Bifurcation
Developer: Linley Henzell
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

Doctor Who and The Daleks is a remake of and loving tribute to the classic console game Daleks. The game begins with the Doctor materialised on the surface of Skaro, homeworld of the terrifying Daleks. You control the Doctor, moving him with the number pad or the keyboard. Pressing S or five on the numpad is considered a pass move, where the Doctor stands still and the Daleks move.

Every time the Doctor moves, the Daleks move closer as well. However, the Dalek troops aren't quite as smart as the Doctor. In their bloodlust they will collide with each other, leaving behind a pile of radioactive debris which other Daleks may collide with as well. So you'll want to make your moves carefully and try to lure the Daleks into each other.

You are aided in your struggle by the Tardis, the Doctor's travelling machine through time and space. You can use the Tardis to instantly transport yourself to another place on the battlefield. Unfortunately, the Tardis is still an unpredictable beast, so you can't control where you'll appear. A teleportation counts as a regular move, so if you land next to a Dalek, bad luck there.

Use the function keys to change the size of the game.

Name: Doctor Who and The Daleks
Developer: Dream Codex
Category: Puzzle
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

Reviewed by the Gnome (Gnome's Lair)

Ahh, episodic gaming, point-and-click fun, lovely absurdism and an exercise in alliteration. You just got to love the newest (can you believe it’s the third one released, already?) Sam and Max Episode: The Mole, the Mob and the Meatball. It’s funny, it’s well directed, it’s excellently written, it’s self-contained, it’s slightly psychotic, it must definitely be the cheapest just-released game in whole wide web and it’s the sole proof mankind ever needed to prove how perky and alive adventure gaming still is.

Then again, it’s also far too easy and quite a bit on the short side, but guess I can live with these things. Especially when this is the only Sam and Max game ever to feature a hilarious, brilliant and jazzy Mafia song. Oh, and admittedly it does feature a whack-the-rat style minigame that’ll make Hit the Road veterans cry. And a great driving mini-game. And an amazing variety of puzzle types, which might not be tough, but are always entertaining.

Anyway, back to the Mafia as, well, it’s quite central to the plot, for it’s the Mafia and Ted E. Bear’s Mafia-Free Playland and Casino you’ll be unleashing the investigating duo upon. In a search of a mole no less. Still, that’s all you’re getting out of me… Them Spoiler-dudes have already given me two warnings… I’m confident there won’t be a third.

My lips are sealed. You, on the other hand, have to play this game. Now. It will hit worldwide audiences at the 8th of February.

Name: Sam and Max Episode: The Mole, the Mob and the Meatball
Developer: Telltale Games
Category: Adventure

Deathchase: UFO is a lo-fi remake of classic ZX Spectrum game 3D Deathchase by Mervyn Estcourt. It was made for the Four Colour Mini Competition held by Retro Remakes, which required games to use 160x100 pixels display with only 4 shades of gray similar to TI calculators.

Chase down and destroy evil alien saucers throughout the 8 sectors. Avoid crashing into trees. Aliens can be shot only in close proximity. When they are in range an indicator in bottom right of the screen will start to flash.

There are 4 saucers in each sector although you can expect more on the later stages. Special bonus is awarded for clearing all of the 8 sectors.

Name: Deathchase: UFO
Developer: Nenad
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

6 Days a Sacrifice is the fourth and final instalment of the John DeFoe series, which thus far has encompassed 5 Days A Stranger, 7 Days A Skeptic and Trilby's Notes.

Theo DaCabe, a surveying officer for Buckinghamshire County Council, is assigned to run a routine health and safety assessment on the headquarters of a fad religion called Optimology. Little does he realise that he is about to be caught up in the machinations of destiny, and a plot that has simmered for two centuries.

Name: 6 Days a Sacrifice
Developer: Yahtzee
Category: Adventure
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB

INO-vation is an alright platformer by OMEGA, the creator of Every Extend. Guide your character around a maze and collect scattered objects to complete your collection of obscure items, with their uses unfortunately only described in Japanese.

Name: INO-vation
Name: OMEGA
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

Platformers

Tormishire poster added. [Tormishire preview]

Within a Deep Forest 2 has been abandoned by Nifflas. The latest version is available for download from this page.

Lyle in Cube Sector updated to version 1.04 with bug fixes and stuff. No sequel yet. [Lyle in Cube Sector review]

A trailer for Cypherians Systems was recently posted on the Banq-it web site.

Adventure

As mentioned on Gnome's site: a demo for The Blackwell Legacy was recently released.

Duty and Beyond gets a mention in this month's PC Zone magazine. [Duty and Beyond review]

Shooters

More screenshots from Force Majeure posted.

Shoot the Core writes about Magical Cannon Girl, a Comiket 71 release.

The translated version of Ikachan has it's own page now. [Ikachan, Glasses review]

Action

The Alien Shooter 2: Vengeance 190 MB demo (in English) is available here. [More Alien Shooter 2 info]

FLD will release the updated version of Holiday Hills soon. [comparison screenshot, Holiday Hills review]

Miscellaneous

According to The Podunkian, Fallen Angel Industries should return soon.

New screenshot from The Spirit Engine sequel posted. It will not be freeware.

In Battle City X, you play as a tank and your mission is to protect your HQ against enemy tanks. If you hit tank which is glowing red, a random bonus will appear.

Expect to find extra terrain, new enemies, new bonuses, ability to load maps from files and saving your hiscore, all absent from the original game.

Name: Battle City X
Developer: Kostey D.
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

Vampire Castle is an average platformer at best, with some rather unforgiving action sequences even at the easiest difficulty setting. Best to stick with Cave Story or Akuji the Demon, this one doesn't quite make the grade yet.

Name: Vampire Castle
Developer: RezetiA
Category: Platform
Type: Demo
Size: 50MB

Ovine by Design's remake of Driller is out. More info on this page.

Name: Driller
Developer: Ovine by Design
Category: Remake
Type: Freeware
Size: 20MB

Four Elements V Contest results are out. [from Andrew's site]

Gravitron updated with multiplayer feature. [Gravitron review]

Yahtzee will release 6DAS soon. [Yahtzee's past projects]

The horror series might be getting a 3D remake as well.

Retro Remakes is currently running a four color competition.

In The Marionette, you play as a struggling sculptor named Martin. One evening he finds in his mail a strange white envelope, unmarked except for the number '1011' written in the top right corner. Inside is a photograph of a room with ropes hanging from the ceiling. He has barely registered that fact when he is struck unconscious, and later wakes to find himself in completely unfamiliar surroundings, with only a house nearby to offer any hope of help...

Name: The Marionette
Developer: Team Effigy
Category: Adventure
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

From Andrew Wooldridge's site:

From the creator of Aveyond comes a new game called Grimm's Hatchery. This looks to be a casual game where you hatch and raise pet animals such as dragons and gryphons. The artwork looks top notch, and given the great work of the previous game, this looks to be another success for its creator.

Funny that there was never an announcement in the Indiegamer forums.

Reviews by jcsworld

Flash version of River City Ransom

A demo of the NES classic, River City Ransom, remade in flash. Unfortunately it's only two screens of game, so there is little to do other than beating up opponents. Still, an interesting attempt that hopefully gets developed further.

Spin It Up

A music game made in flash. Using the mouse, spin the pink bar to the right spot in time to score points. Song selection is a bit limited, but will probably expand soon.

Xeno Raider

Xeno Raider is a short flash game by Babara. Explore a cave, collecting various items to progress through the game and ultimately save Princess Rena. Gameplay is somewhat like a simplified Zelda. Strangely, there is no HP meter of any kind, and you cannot be injured by enemies at all.

The mouse-driven movement system can be a bit awkward at times, but is mostly manageable.

Version 7 of my game Cultivation is available as a free download.

Cultivation explores the social interactions within a gardening community. You lead one family of gardeners, starting with a single individual, and wise choices can keep your genetic line from extinction. While breeding plants, eating, and mating, your actions impact your neighbors, and the social balance sways between conflict and compromise.

Cultivation features dynamic graphics that are procedurally-generated using genetic representations and cross-breeding. In other words, game objects are "grown" in real-time instead of being hand-painted or hard-coded. Each plant and gardener in the game is unique in terms of both its appearance and behavior.

For those of you who have found Cultivation to be confusing in the past, the game now includes an extensive in-game tutorial. The user interface has also been polished quite a bit, and one crash has been fixed. This is the version that I will be screening at Slamdance this coming weekend, so it counts as a "final" version.

Cultivation is certainly an unusual game, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's good. From my experience, some people absolutely love it, while others absolutely hate it. I'm pretty happy with this reaction (much better, I suppose, than everyone simply agreeing to shrug their shoulders about it). It's intended to be an "art game," after all, and mixed reactions go with that territory.

This seems like an appropriate time to explain a bit about what I was trying to do with Cultivation. You can read the full article at Arthouse Games.

Name: Cultivation
Developer: Jason Rohrer
Category: Social gardening strategy
Type: Freeware
Size: 426 KB

The epic and bloody adventure of the psychotic Cereus Peashy... Take control of the legendary Golgothan Cereus Peashy and carve a bloody path across the vast desert. Download this deluxe offline fullscreen version of the game and collect shycons, throw spikes, travel far and wide, slaughter anything that moves... and become legend.

Name: Cereus Peashy
Developer: Diverge Creations
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

Lunaria is an alright horizontal shooter with cute sprites and decent gameplay. Power-ups appear in the shape of orbs, which are only revealed by destroying random tiles affixed to the walls.

Press the Z key to shoot, or tap the X key to switch speeds. Use the C key to access the pause menu. Click on the first link after the screenshots to download.

Name: Lunaria
Developer: Team HotPulse
Category: Shooter
Type: Demo
Size: 20MB

Tetris, Puyo Puyo, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo and Lumines are some of the best puzzlers ever made. Soon you can add Blocksum to that equation.

The game is rather simple to learn. Join a number of tiles together by using the Z key, and their corresponding number increases. Gather a large group of blocks with the same number to make them disappear. Grey orbs can be used to remove all blocks with the same number on the field simply by connecting it to a tile.

Hold the X key to move the tiles upward. Press the C key to access a pause menu. Requires the latest DirectX version to run.

Puzzle veterans will love the possibilites of chaining up combos with this one. Highly recommended.

Name: Blocksum
Developer: Shintaro Sato, Ginger, xor
Category: Puzzle
Type: Freeware
Size: 30MB

Rider V2 is a brilliant bike simulator with plenty of realism unseen in other similar attempts. The city is brimming with folks on their daily routines, which include the men in uniform doing rounds and will definitely halt your trip if any rules are broken.

The position of the mouse pointer in the target reticle determines the bike's speed and direction. Don't speed or ride past a red light when an officer is around, else you'd risk incurring their wrath and at least a ticket if you're fortunate.

There's a lot of personal touches added in, for example drivers turning on their signals before making a turn or even taking a smoke on a slow sunday morning drive.

Name: Rider V2
Developer: Crest Computer System
Category: Simulation
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

Warsow is a free open source first-person shooter game for Microsoft Windows and Linux. It uses a 3D engine based on Qfusion, itself a modification of Quake II GPL engine. The game uses cartoonish graphics with celshading style, mixing dark, flashy and dirty textures to achieve a unique look.

While Warsow is still early beta software, the Cyberathlete Amateur League has accepted it as a competition-worthy game since version 0.12, and its popularity is on the rise.

Name: Warsow
Developer: Warsow team
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 80MB

Hi Folks,

This time Runtime posts in own matter: Runtime's in-house developed game Hacker's Digest has not yet been mentioned here. Here's a brief description:

A reflexive style arcade game in which you are part of a hacker educational environment. To hack an enemy system, you have to guide a small ball into the enemy
computer by changing the direction of the panel reflecting the ball. Hacker's Digest was completed back in 2002. It is a reflexive-style arcade game with some unique features. The game consists of 60 different puzzles in 6 different difficulties.

Have fun,

Maenny from Runtime Entertainment

More screenshots from nenad's untitled shooter can be found in this forum thread. A video showcasing more enemy types can be downloaded as well (right-click to save). [Retro Remakes article, Counterclockwise review]

Addictive 247 is offering all their games at low reduced prices for the next few days.

Levitar 3D: Evolved updated with one new episode, bringing the total number of missions to twenty-four. [forum thread]

A new video demonstrating enemy interaction in Penumbra: Overture was recently released.

New version of Vectory uploaded. [Vectory review]

More sketches added to Pixel's desktop. Best save them before they disappear forever... [soundtrack from Pixel's upcoming shooter]

Plenty of screenshots from upcoming AGS adventure games posted here.

A Cure for the Common Cold is a short AGS adventure game by Marina Siu-Chong, also currently developing The Hatmaker's Tale.

The story. After spending years as a starving artist, you've managed to catch the eye of a influential gallery director. He wants to see some new work, and you've got a terrible cold that is draining your creativity. You'd better find a cure for the common cold, and fast!

This game uses a Broken Sword point-and-click interface. Left-click to interact with a hotspot, or right-click to examine objects. Click on items in your inventory and then click on other objects to use them together.

Move the cursor to the top of the screen and click on the pop-up menu to access the save or load function. If you need a reminder of the game objectives, these can be found by clicking on 'The Cure', also on the pop-up menu.

Name: A Cure for the Common Cold
Developer: MashPotato
Category: Adventure
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

A beta version of an Asteroids remake was recently seen in the BlitzMax forums, Vectory is another shooter that features glowing shapes and brightly colored explosions as eye candy. Works well enough, though the gameplay is slightly archaic and will only please fans of the classic.

Geometry Wars fans should look elsewhere, as this production doesn't contain the sort of franctic action that you've come to expect from this style.

Name: Vectory
Developer: Filax
Category: Shooter
Type: Demo
Size: 5MB

Night Effect is a decent versus fighting game by Gatling Cat, though the demo only features two playable characters there's quite a number of moves to experiment with. As usual, some configuration changes are required to play using the arrow keys.

Click on the executable link just underneath the first screenshot to download the trial version.

Name: Night Effect
Developer: Gatling Cat
Category: Action
Type: Demo
Size: 30MB

Platformer

A new platformer by Crobasoft has been announced, though Riva Runs is still far from being finished...

Shooters

More screenshots from the upcoming Hyper Wars added. [Hyper Wars review]

A video from the upcoming shooter by nenad was recently posted. [Counterclockwise review]

Adventure

The second installment of the three-part text adventure by Yahtzee is out, which will eventually lead to the release of 6DAS. [Yahtzee's past projects]

Interview with HandMade Games translated.

Remakes

Click here for more screenshots from another Spindizzy remake.

A playable beta release of Puyo can be found over at the Retro Remakes forums, featuring five levels worth of gameplay. Copy the DLL files into the System32 folder under the Windows directory to get it working. [Ishisoft]

Colocoro is a brilliant action game involving the act of getting a metal ball to touch the blue exit area. Wii controller support is included, though it is still playable using the mouse or keyboard controls.

Press the enter or space key to navigate the main menu. The kicker course involves using a plunger to move the ball around, while holding down the mouse button shifts the maze around in rotation course. The same act is required in rolling course, though the ball's speed depends on the length of the line drawn. You can only tilt the maze slightly using the left or right mouse button in Colocoro course, but holding down both will cause the ball to jump.

Features an online high score table. Scroll all the way down for the download link.

Name: Colocoro
Developer: inaka
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

Space is a stylish 2D vertical scrolling shooter. It's got a pretty unique visual style, in that all the graphics are built from small cubes with black outlines. The gameplay is typical for the genre. Blast lots of different aliens and space ships to smitherines. After a while bosses appear, and you get upgrades to tackle the mounting difficulty.

The story. You were on your honeymoon trip with your hot new wife, when a meteor struck her down. Enraged by sorrow you turn your car into a space ship and venture into space to get revenge on everything you can find.

Controls are simple. Arrow keys to move, and Z to shoot.

Name: Space
Developer: cactus
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

The creator of Soldat, Michal Marcinkowski, finally released the 2D platform game he was working on for years. This game was created after discussions with Dolny in 2004 and 2005. The game is entitled R or R09.

The game follows Joseph, a cleaner at a dogfood company called Goodco. A bunny escapes from the company and Joseph is sent out to chase it.

Name: R
Developer: Michal Marcinkowski
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 15MB

This is the seventh in a series of Slamdance Finalist reviews (Tim posted a brief review of this game back in April 2006).

Steam Brigade is described by its creators as a 2D, side-scrolling real-time strategy (RTS) game.

Those who have played other RTS games are familiar with the 2d, top-down playfield that is standard for the genre. Even when RTS games "go 3D" (as most mainstream RTS games have in recent years), they are still fundamentally 2D games---you command units that move around on a planar terrain surface.

With Steam Brigade, the dimensionality is reduced by a notch. In fact, I see it as a 1D RTS game. Your units move on a linear playfield comprised of a single platform, like what you might see in a side-scrolling platform game. In a traditional 2D RTS, the "front" for the battle is often a line or a curve (with red units on one side of the front, and blue units on the other, for example). In Steam Brigade, the front is reduced to a single point on the battle platform.

Design limitations can often clear fertile ground for creativity, and such limitations were certainly fruitful in the design of Steam Brigade. I'm fond of pointing out that jumping to 3D adds nothing to strategy games (or most other games, for that matter). Quite often, especially in RTS games, a 3D presentation simply gets in the way (as the camera's view is obscured by terrain elements). After exploring Steam Brigade, I'm moving toward the belief that a second dimension is unnecessary, too. Here, we have real-time strategy stripped down to the bare minimum: picking the best group of units to thwart your enemy's group of units.

The creativity lies in the innovative mechanics that have been built on top of this basic foundation. For example, balloon bombs float silently toward the enemy line, but if they are shot down prematurely, they may drop their payload on your own ground units. Another example of great mechanics is found in the bunkers that are fixed on the battle platform. Control over a bunker is determined by a majority rule: your passing infantry units are pulled into the bunker until it is full, incrementally raising a flag of your color above the bunker. If enemy infantry enter the bunker, they lower your flag, notch by notch, and then raise a flag of their own. A bunker held by one color prevents rolling ground units of the other color from proceeding or firing past the bunker, leaving them completely open to attack.

Read the full review at Arthouse Games.

Name: Steam Brigade
Developer: Pedestrian Entertainment Inc.
Category: Strategy
Type: Demo
Size: 23.5 MB

Shooters

Another screenshot from Pixel's upcoming shooter added to his desktop page.

N-E-M updated to version 1.1a. [N-E-M review]

Puzzle

PC Logic Games posted a run down of the best puzzlers of the year. [Hex-a-hop, Armadillo Run, Glowy review]

Klei Entertainment is secretly working on a new game after the success of Eets.

Remakes

Kevin is working on a remake of North and South, online multiplayer feature added to Ur-Quan Masters and the Driller remake should be out this weekend.

Magazines

This month's PC Zone features Prototype and G-Force, as mentioned in an earlier post. [G-Force direct download link, Beast Invaders 2, Prototype, Xain'D Sleena, Gravitron review]

Reviewed by Maenny (www.runtime-hq.com)

Warzone is a now free 3dimensional RTS game in a dark and gloomy postapokalyptic setting. It's superiour gameplay is the reason for a fanatic community who further enhances the game by re-working the code and creating new content for the game. It is fully playable in multiplayer and in singleplayer.

The gameplay is well done and as a mediocre strategy-game player you will find yourself at home with the commands. An interesting feature is the possibilitiy to actually "design" your units - that is, in your researchlab you can research different parts of vehicles, which afterwards can be combined to a unit, be it a tank-like vehicle or a repair-robot. Every design you have already created can be updated with later researched technology.

Warzone 2100 was the first RTS-game in 3D being released under the GPL-License. Published in 1999, it now has a strong community who improve the code, add features and design mods for the game. I like the feeling of the game and although the resolution is at maximum in 640x480, the dark postapokalyptic atmosphere is nicely established.
A big plus indeed is the active community which doesn't stop to work on the game. So there is reason to hope that the visuals and the gameplay will further be enhanced and new mods will keep the game alive.
Take care which version you download, because there are quite a number of different releases being destributed.

Read the entire review at www.runtime-hq.com

Name: Warzone 2100
Category: Real Time Strategy
Type: Freeware
Size: 21 MB

Adventure

mrkwang posted a Rooms review at GameBoomers. [HandMade Game website and download link]

Vince Twelve gets interviewed by Gnome.

New screenshot added to the Legend of the Lost Jewel forum thread.

Miscellaneous

Buster mentions (along with a new long-term project at work) that Mini01 is to be the first of a monthly game series. Post translated by Shih Tzu. (thanks!)

Here's a bit of update on the current situation troubling Home of the Underdogs.

As of January 2007, the site has not been updated for a year. In a blog entry from November 2006, she has informed readers that she has written several reviews for games (over twenty), but that she has been waiting for the new wiki system before updating. But because of delays with the wiki system, she writes that she plans to update the site manually before the year-end. However, that has not happened as of January 2007.

Another brilliant Java 4K 2007 Competition entry, Metro4K is a remake of SimCity with a large number of it's complexity merged into several small elements. There's no scrolling, instead just click on the map view a location.

Services are combined, while power lines are replaced with area coverage. Most of the other equations have been retained with some simplifications.

Name: Metro4K
Developer: Blaine Hodge
Category: Simulation
Type: Browser
Size: 4KB

Here are some English interviews posted on Pig-Min. (click on link after screenshots to view full interview)

- James Gwertzman, PopCap's Director of Business Development

- Jenova Chen, creator of Cloud and flOw

- Dave Gilbert, creator of Shivah (Pig-Min review)

- Santiago, Sofia's Debt

- HandMade Game (to be translated soon)

Mini01 is the latest release from Buster, the developer of Akuji the Demon and Guardian of Paradise. Much like the options in Gradius, your tail can be used to fend off enemies for a score bonus.

Includes an online high score feature.

Name: Mini01
Developer: Buster
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

On the heels of my in-depth review of Super Columbine Massacre RPG! comes some disturbing news: the game has been pulled from the Slamdance game festival due to pressure from sponsors. You can read the original story at Kotaku.

Update 1: The game Braid withdraws from Slamdance in protest as the story continues to unfold. There are lots of posts coming online with opinions and analysis---I'm tracking a list of them here.

Update 2: Now a total of six finalists have withdrawn in protest. I just posted an interview with Danny Ledonne, the creator of SCMRPG.

ClickBeat is very similar to Elite Beat Agents, and it was the author's original intention to make a clone. The aim of the game is to click the circles on the screen as they appear, in time with the music.

Songs are downloaded separately from the executable file.

Name: ClickBeat
Developer: The Phorse
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

Crostar returns with another gem entitled Round and Round, this time it's a variation of the Game Boy classic entitled Kuru Kuru Kururin. Your task is basically to guide both protagonists towards the end of the level while avoiding collision with baddies and inanimate objects.

Collect at least one flashing item with each character to enable the shoot action. Shots will be fired towards the white dot, so you need to navigate and position the enemies in the right place to harm them.

Press the Z key to do damage, or hold the X key to slow down the rotation speed.

Name: Round and Round
Developer: Crostar
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

Santaro is another 3 Minute Competition entry which showcases a rather annoying gameplay flaw made into a pretty decent game. The objective in each level is to make your way to the Christmas present, with your path usually hampered by icy-cold water, polar bears and other strange anomalies. Features nine stages in total.

Name: Santaro
Developer: Cheese
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

Oh no, it's raining plants! You'd better catch them with your Extendo-Tongue before they break into your car outside your house in Mildura.

This is a remake of the game Pyoro, from WarioWare on the Gameboy Advance. You may be shocked to hear this, but Nintendo didn't steal the idea from me - I stole it from them. This is in no way affiliated with Nintendo, so you won't be able to play it with the Power Glove.

Name: Pyoro
Developer: K-ero
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

Alien Breed Obliteration is an update of the original top-down shooter in which the player has to find the exit-lift out of each maze while blasting aliens bent on halting your progress.

Hold the control key to shoot, tap the shift key to change weapons or press the space key to access Intex Terminals whenever one is found. More instructions can be found in a manual which is included in the zip file. It's also possible to save at any point by pressing the escape key.

The game is a little old but nevertheless works well enough on modern PCs, plus a cheat code is posted on the front page together with a nifty level creation tutorial. Definitely one for the collection.

Name: Alien Breed Obliteration
Developer: FlashJesterPunk
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB

HitBlock is a decent remake of Crillion with updated graphics and adjustable difficulty among other options. The objective of the game is basically to break all destructible blocks using the perpetually moving ball. The player has to change the color of the ball often, avoid steel, collect keys and more, depending on the level requirements.

The gameplay may be archaic but anyone who enjoyed the classic will be delighted with this remake.

Name: HitBlock
Developer: Georg Rottensteiner
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 3MB

La Soeur de Barrage is a pretty decent shooter with emphasis on boss fights and accessible controls. Use the mouse to move the character and hold the left button to shoot.

There's plenty of save points and unlimited continues to assist beginners, plus a super easy mode has been included which allows the player to resume a game with twenty-four lives. Three long stages.

Name: La Soeur de Barrage
Developer: Tocoroten
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 50MB

Senior Year is an English visual novel created by Ewan Grantham for BkLovr Games. Visual novel fans might be slightly disappointed with the lack of nicely drawn anime underage girls in student uniform, plus Japanese dating sims are practically a dime for a dozen though this particular production does have its own merits with some decent voice work by a group of serious aficionados.

Worth a look if you're a casual follower with an interest in the genre, but everyone else might want to give this a miss. Available for Windows, Mac and Linux.

Name: Senior Year
Developer: BkLovr Games
Category: Adventure
Type: Freeware
Size: 80MB

Melty Blood is an immensely popular doujin 2D fighting game for the PC, widely considered to be one of the best of it's genre ever made, on par with other commercial fighting games like the Guilty Gear and Street Fighter series.

The short demo features two characters to choose from.

Name: Melty Blood Act Cadenza Ver.B
Developer: Ecole
Category: Action
Type: Demo
Size: 50MB

Much like Jetro Lauha's Racing Pitch, Opera Slinger is an IGF student showcase entry that requires the use of a microphone to perform certain actions in the game. Step into the shoes of Forte the opera singer as he attempts to win over his fans in a singing duel with an evil adversary.

Make your way towards each spotlight to initiate the singing sequence. A slick production showcasing good 3D modelling and textures but the gameplay is a little lacking.

Name: Opera Slinger
Developer: Treblemakers
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 120MB

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

Super Columbine Massacre RPG! (SCMRPG) is Danny Ledonne's attempt to explore the 1999 Columbine High School massacre with a video game. In his artist's statement, Ledonne writes that he "wanted to make something that mattered" and that he "wasn’t willing to put months of scant free time into an easily forgotten adventure set in a mythical realm of dragons or spaceships." You can read his statement in full if you wish (and I would recommend that you do), but I'll distill one point from it for the purpose of this review: he was apparently aiming high with SCMRPG.

What Ledonne has given us is a full walk through the morning of the shooting, but one in which we are doing the walking as Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. You start out in Harris' bedroom with a wake-up-call from Harris' mother. Then you head to the basement to gather your gear (picking up duffle bags and propane bombs). At that point, Klebold joins you in the basement, and you move through most of the game controlling both boys as a team.

I see the game as being comprised of three distinct "acts." During the first act, the goal is to gather the gear, drive to school, and plant bombs in the cafeteria without getting caught. This act plays much like an adventure game---you pick up necessary items, bring them to prescribed locations, and avoid run-ins with hall monitors and security cameras. None of the standard role-playing game (RPG) elements, such as experience points, are prominent during the first act.

I would say that this first part of the game is the most successful in terms of emotional power. There's something quite disturbing and moving about carrying out these preparatory actions yourself. I've watched a movie that explores Columbine (Elephant, 2003, d. Gus Van Sant), but it didn't snag me in the same way. Just hitting the spacebar to pick up those duffle bags in Harris' basement---there was an inescapable feeling that I was doing it. The sadness, loneliness, despair, and fatalism of those preparatory activities could not be ignored. Perhaps nothing could really put us inside Harris' head on his final morning, but SCMRPG sure comes close.

Read the full review at Arthouse Games.

Name: Super Columbine Massacre RPG!
Developer: Danny Ledonne
Category: RPG
Type: Freeware
Size: 27 MB

Streets of Rage Remake version 4.00 is out. [Streets of Rage Remake review]

Super Jazz Man demo now available. [direct download link]

A walkthrough for The Winter Rose was recently posted. [The Winter Rose review, Charlie Foxtrot preview]

Merry Gear Solid reviewed by Clickzine. [Merry Gear Solid: The Fallout]

For fans of Knytt, here are some screenshots from several abandoned projects.

Here are some screenshots from the upcoming racing game by Senile Team. [Beats of Rage review]

The Design is a 2D shooter with some unique quirks. You control two dots on a design, which can shoot at the angle from one to the other. New figures on the design appears and you earn points by removing them. This is what the shooting is for.

Note that the enemies can only be killed while they're white. If you shoot an enemy while it's red, the bullet will turn against you. Aside from the normal shooting, you also have three upgrades that'll help you with getting a highscore.

Name: The Design
Developer: cactus
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB