Buster's Iwanaga is close to a release. [Vacant Ark review]

The new HoneyBlaster site is up.

A screenshot from Oddbob's Beast Invaders 3 was recently posted. [Source: the2bears, latest G-Force build]

Fetch (RPG) will be out soon.

Death Worm is finally out. Another fine candidate for Cage Match... [interview, Death Worm review]

Mix fluid dynamics with an arena shooter. Release date: next week. [Retro Remakes article, Veck review, Geometry Wars clones]

You can drag and drop play-record files into a running Guxt window to watch replays. Here's a replay of all five stages beaten. (major spoilers)

non-zipped version (right-click to save, bonus and anchor not collected)

Get Guxt here. More hints can be found at the Cave Story LiveJournal.

As translated by Shih Tzu. (thanks again!)

Here's Pixel's message on his Desktop page:

"WIP shooting game v.0.8.0.0

The archive doesn't include a manual. Here's the basic 'readme' info:

* Game is not complete yet
* Five stages in all
* Controls are the arrow keys and Ctrl
* Supports gamepads

Play records are stored in the automatically-created folder 'play-records'. I'm interested in seeing how players develop from their very first play until they get used to the game. If you could compress and email me all your records (without deleting any), I'd much appreciate it."

Pixel provides his email address as rochet at nifty.com. (Just as a reminder, he doesn't speak much English, so I'd recommend keeping any emails short and simple.)

Some things to try:

- in stage 1, grab both power-ups before the first checkpoint for a special guest appearance (collectible)
- in stage 2, shoot the strange-looking asteroid (the one that's distinctively different) on the right when it appears for a special power-up
- continue shooting at the weak points of a boss (after they have been destroyed) to earn a shield item (thanks Shaheen!)

Guxt is a new vertical shooter by Pixel, the famed creator of Cave Story and Ikachan.

Click on the first text to download. Use the arrow keys to move your ship, and tap the left control key repeatedly to shoot. Screen size can be adjusted by selecting the menu tab. A key configuration option is included as well.

Power-ups can only be collected after you've destroyed their protective shells. Autofire is possible once your ship gains it's first weapon upgrade.

Name: Guxt
Developer: Pixel
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

Insect Invade 2 is a two-dimensional shooter where you are a drunken man trying to defend himself from the invading insects. Of course, these bugs will not give up easily, they will hunt you down.

Name: Insect Invade 2
Developer: cactus
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB

The latest G-Force build can be downloaded by clicking here.

Hold the Z key to shoot, and press the X key to activate your superzapper. [instructions, G-Force, Beast Invaders review]

Makoto Nagano is a 34 year old fisherman. Recently he succeeded in completing the last phase of the Japanese game show: Ninja Warrior. Of more than 500 contestants only one other man completed it before he did.

Early screenshot from Nenad's postponed hires vector project, Ablation-X. [click here for a larger version, Ablation review, download link]

Out of nowhere comes the versus fighting game entitled Glay - Beatout!, expected to feature the current line-up from the popular rock group and past band mates. Perhaps even guest appearances of members from L'Arc en Ciel and X Japan, with rumors of hide and Gackt being considered as final bosses.

All moves are listed in an accompanying text file. There are special moves and combos planned for each character, but no proper A.I. has been implemented yet at this stage. Definitely a project to keep tabs on, especially for fans of J-Rock music and their outrageous looks. Only Jiro can be selected in this version, but expect more fighters, content and songs in the very near future.

Name: Glay - Beatout!
Developer: ransu
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

Pamidama is a rather decent puzzler in which the player has to switch containers around to match each ball's color, two at a time. The challenge is to guess where each ball would end up, a task made much more difficult with the introduction of balls with differing characteristics.

Switch containers around by using the C key. There's also a battle mode included to facilitate multi-player gaming sessions with either the computer A.I. or a friend.

Name: Pamidama
Developer: Harvest Bell
Category: Puzzle
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB

Joust 3 - Revenge of the Lava Troll is another brilliant remake by Jph, featuring seven stages worth of action as you battle in the air against enemy knights, bats and even pterodactyls. Hold the K or up arrow key to take flight, and press the J key to fire a stunner arrow. Replenish your supply of arrows by collecting golden eggs.

Touch the Tikki statue once the area is clear in order to advance. A handy save feature can be activated by pressing the F5 key, while quick load is possible using the F8 key.

Name: Joust 3 - Revenge of the Lava Troll
Developer: Jph Wacheski
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB

Screenshot taken from nenad's untitled project, a work in progress.

- video preview of Untitled
- right-click here to download another video
- screenshots 1, screenshots 2, screenshots 3
- Retro Remakes article
- previous releases by nenad

The Marvel Super Heroes remake by SpiDoL is a decent effort developed with the MUGEN game engine, though some text editing is required to get the sound working. Search for the Data folder and change the Sound configuration value in the mugen.cfg file from 0 to 1, in order to enable the sound effects plus some background music.

Most of the standard and special moves from the arcade version have been retained, hence veterans should be able to figure out the controls in no time. Some of the new characters are pretty fun to play with as well. Thor is especially impressive, but Carnage is rather cheap and Todd's creation has little powers. A simultaneous team mode also allows all four combatants to slug it out at the same time.

Name: Marvel Super Heroes
Developer: SpiDoL
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 120MB

The Breakdown is an old school, point and click adventure game. After the intro it will become clear that you're playing the pointy haired main character, and your objective is to get to your home town and cash the winning lottery ticket in time.

Name: The Breakdown
Developer: Jouni Utriainen
Category: Adventure
Type: Freeware
Size: 20MB

100 Invaders is an interesting take on the classic Space Invaders theme by jph, in which your ship is able to thrust forward when the up arrow key is held. The allowable travel distance depends on your current Pow level, which can be increased by collecting green pods.

These power-up pods can be created by shooting each orange pod three times, though grabbing them can be rather tricky because when your ship travels in one horizontal direction all pods in the vicinity will move towards the opposite angle.

Large invaders are only vulnerable if you hit them right in the middle. Hold the left control key to shoot, and use the left alternate key to distribute half of your current Pow level to the next ship.

If you can endure the epileptic-inducing effects then this is definitely one remake worth having in your collection.

Name: 100 Invaders
Developer: Jph Wacheski
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

scottatacama recently posted screenshots from a third Spindizzy remake currently in production. [Spindizzy Remake preview]

As reported by Postman, Studio Hunty is currently hosting all games (mostly demos) by Platine Dispositif.

According to Pixel (Cave Story), his upcoming vertical shooter would probably be released next month.

More miscellaneous stuff from AOU2007 Amusement Expo.

Otomedius: collage (3MB), instructions (338KB), Elebits (556KB).

For those who are thirsting for more Braid coverage (hey, it's been 15 days):

or

For those who want to see a response to the recent comment debate straight from the horse's mouth:

or

For those of you who want to read something about Braid that contains far fewer spoilers than my recent preview:

I give you an interview with the creator of Braid.

A list of the best freeware puzzle games released last year. Instructions on how to unzip .RAR and .LZH files can be found in this FAQ.

1. Blocksum
2. Acidbomb/Acidbomb 2: Rearmed
3. Clockwiser
4. Pushover
5. Twintower
6. Pozzo - Jello Crusade
7. Packin' Plax/Bombzuka
8. X-It Again
9. Hex-a-Hop
10. Zookeeper

Special mentions: Puyo, Tiltor, Slime Pod, Puzznic, Tripline, Square Cell




1. Blocksum

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
Platform: PC
Size: 32.1 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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2. Acidbomb/Acidbomb 2: Rearmed

Ac!dbomb is the latest creation from Mr. Chubigans, developer of Vivid Conceptions and Sandbox of God. The game is basically about defusing bombs, in a race against time to uncover the pistons hidden behind the tiles.

Beams of light can be used to reveal the number of pistons underneath each line of tiles. Just like Minesweeper, you can left click to mark a tile as safe or right click to designate one as a piston. The number of pistons in each level is displayed on the top right of the screen. Press the enter key to reduce the countdown to ten seconds.

A sequel was released in early 2007 though it is recommended to play the Acidbomb series in succession. Made with the intention to distribute over the Playstation Network via Playstation 3.

Name: Acidbomb/Acidbomb 2: Rearmed
Developer: Vertigo Games
Platform: PC
Size: 12.2 MB, 11.6 MB
Direct download links: Acidbomb, Acidbomb 2: Rearmed

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3. Clockwiser

Two gems in a row from Ishisoft, and it seems like the Puyo Puyo remake will make it three. A second release out only months after the excellent Pushover, Craig Forrester has now updated the Amiga favorite Clockwiser for everyone to enjoy.

The objective of the game is basically to rotate blocks belonging to the section on the left so that they match the ones shown on the right. This can only be done by drawing rectangles and moving them along it's edges, with the pull of gravity in effect at all times.

Special blocks will be introduced at a steady pace, and there are just enough configurable options to please both geniuses and beginners. An unlimited undo feature has been included, plus the doodle city is a blast to play around with.

Practically no fault to be found in this effort, hence it comes highly recommended for fans of difficult puzzlers.

Name: Clockwiser
Developer: Ishisoft
Platform: PC
Size: 4.45 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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4. Pushover

As a few of us may remember, Pushover was an excellent puzzler published by Ocean about fifteen years ago. The remake by IshiSoft features the same objective as well, to topple all dominoes found in each level. The difficult part was figuring out how to arrange certain pieces in order to successfully cause a chain reaction and finally ending up with the trigger piece being pushed.

For this reason, the protagonist can pick up and place domino pieces in key areas. Some dominoes may have special characteristics, although most are explained during the first few tutorial stages. Press the Z key to grab tiles or push a domino by using the left or right directional key with the action button. Fullscreen can be enabled under options. Later levels are rather challenging, but don't let that discourage you from downloading this fabulous remake.

Name: Pushover
Developer: Ishisoft
Platform: PC
Size: 14.8 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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5. Twintower

The objective in Twintower is to build as tall of a structure as possible on both sides of the balance by using blocks that fall from the sky. Stacking too many blocks on one side of the balance will cause everything that you have built to collapse. Use the mouse to move the balance around, and right-click to save a screenshot when your end level results are displayed.

The level ends when the player manages to stack a yellow brick on both sides. These bricks are easily identifiable by the red flag on top of each, but will only appear when you have stacked the blocks up to a certain height.

Name: Twintower
Developer: OMEGA
Platform: PC
Size: 3.60 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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6. Pozzo - Jello Crusade

In Pozzo - Jello Crusade, you play the role of a janitor named Pozzo who works for a jello restaurant. He dreams of saving up enough for a well-deserved vacation on some tropical island paradise. Unfortunately, his manager has found out that the local health inspector is dropping by for an unscheduled check.

You're given the task of cleaning up the entire premise ridden with rotten jellos before the law enforcer finds them. Fail and Pozzo can kiss his planned holiday goodbye. A lousy job indeed, compounded by the fact that Pozzo is stuck with no limbs and has to eat all the jellos that he finds.

With the story out of the way, let's get straight to the actual game. As mentioned earlier, most levels require the player to eat a lot of jellos before being allowed access to the exit. Pozzo cannot retrace his steps once he has eaten jellos off a tile. Not a very innovative concept, but Lazrael has managed to craft a superb puzzler that showcases imaginative use of tile design and graphical effects.

New tiles are introduced from time to time, which include a variety of colored blocks, switches, teleport pads and many more. Later levels provide tougher challenges as you need to plan ahead every move your protagonist has to make.
One drawback is that it uses ripped music, only because the developer could not get hold of an original music composer. The game features forty levels and two unlockable endings based on your score.

Name: Pozzo - Jello Crusade
Developer: Lazrael
Platform: PC
Size: 1.40 MB
Direct download link: http://lazrael.avalanchestudios.net/crap/pozzo.zip

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7. Packin' Plax/Bombzuka

In Packin' Plax, the player has to stack colored plaques on a table so that three of the same color are connected either horizontally, vertically or diagonally. This is done by catching the plaques using the loader object controlled by pressing the left or right arrow keys. Tap the space key to drop an object onto the table.

You can only fail to catch up to five plaques, though it's possible to replenish your chances by increasing the current level or collecting power-ups. An excellent Klax clone, with only bland textures and absence of gamepad support as minor disappointments.

xCept also released a 3D Bombuzal remake entitled Bombzuka, an item of interest for fans of the original.

Name: Packin' Plax/Bombzuka
Developer: xCept
Platform: PC
Size: 10.4 MB
Direct download links: Packin' Plax, Bombzuka

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8. X-It Again

X-It Again is an excellent remake of Psygnosis's puzzler for the Amiga, faithful in nearly every aspect. Profiles are used to save progress instead of passwords.

Much like Sokoban, most of the gameplay involves pushing blocks around to fill holes and getting your character to the exit tile. Instructions can be found inside the Documents folder, with some rather useful hints provided. All tiles are described in detail, for example glue tiles can be walked over but blocks get stuck when they are pushed onto them. At least one level contains red herrings as well.

Name: X-It Again
Developer: Puzzlehouse
Platform: PC
Size: 16.4 MB
Direct download link: http://www.puzzlehousefin.com/d/X-It.zip

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9. Hex-a-Hop

In Hex-a-Hop, your quest involves stepping on all green hexagonal tiles in each stage to make them disappear.

You can take as long as you need to figure out a solution. New tiles are introduced during your journey with adequate instructions. Later stages include walls, trampolines, frozen tiles and more.

Some level hints can be found on the web site as well. Considered by Jimmy of PC Logic Games as the best Game of the Year, slightly ahead of the other favorite Armadillo Run.

Name: Hex-a-Hop
Developer: Tom Beaumont
Platform: PC, Linux
Size: 1 MB
Direct download link: Click here

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10. Zookeeper, Kiteretsu: Zookeeper, Kiteretsu: Solitaire

No Top Ten lists about puzzlers are complete without a mention of Zookeeper. Kiteretsu's remake is an updated version of the perennial favorite with several changes that would please admirers of the original. Just like it's predecessor, your task is basically to swap tiles around to make matches of three or more. Remove a certain number of tiles as stated on the top right of the screen to proceed to the next level.

Tiles can be moved without the wait for combos to end, plus the help button shows all possible matches instead of one chosen at random. There's a pause and mute option included as well. Definitely a keeper.

For Mahjong solitaire fans, Kiteretsu's offering is a very good clone with cute graphics and colorful tiles. Standard features such as continues, password saves, hints, shuffle and a useful undo option are all available in this package.

Name: Zookeeper, Kiteretsu: Zookeeper, Kiteretsu: Solitaire
Developer: ROBOT, Zip Bear Town
Type: Browser Game

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Special mention: Puyo

Notable mentions:

Tiltor

Tiltor is a game made using AGS, but surprisingly there's not a single element of adventure to be found in this effort. It's actually a linear puzzler that requires the use of only four buttons for all actions, including menu selection and saving your progress.

The objective in each level is to get a red block to the exit by tilting the screen left and right. Note that the only way to quit is by pressing the left alternate and F4 function key at the same time, though this is just a minor hassle.

Features over a hundred and fifty stages, plus an additional arcade mode that you just can't say no to. Deceptively simple but fun to play, owing much to it's simplistic controls.

Name: Tiltor
Developer: AH productions
Platform: PC
Size: 4.81 MB
Direct download link: http://tiltor.googlepages.com/Tiltor_setup.exe

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Slime Pod

Slime Pod is a rather manic puzzler by Kaeshirodai, in which the objective is to make eight or more connecting slimes disappear thus creating a Giganto combo.

The number of combos needed for level progression are shown at the bottom left of the screen. Gems count as three slimes, and combos made with the evil eye are rejected outright. You can lose the evil eye by making it fall off the bottom of the screen. They can also be destroyed if you rapidly click on them, although this will cost you five magic points.

There is no penalty for clicking on any number of slimes, but you have to create the number of Giganto combos required in each level before time runs out. Energy can be replenished by making a Giganto combo of any color.

Name: Slime Pod
Developer: Kaeshirodai
Platform: PC
Size: 0.67 MB
Direct download link: http://g-indus.hp.infoseek.co.jp/games/slime_castam.lzh

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Puzznic

Puzznic is Retrodev's remake of Taito's classic arcade puzzler with a few new elements not found in the original. The gameplay involves pushing blocks with the same symbols to touch each other in order to make them disappear. Remove all blocks within the time limit to proceed to the next level.

Left click to move a block to the left, likewise for the opposite direction. None of that casual match three action here, later stages require plenty of brainpower to solve.

Name: Puzznic
Developer: RetroDev Games
Platform: PC
Size: 6.64 MB
Direct download link: http://www.retrodev.co.uk/RetroGames/Puzznic.zip

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Tripline

Tripline is a decent puzzler by Joakim Sandberg, developer of Noitu Love and the Army of Grinning Darns. The objective of the game is to draw a line across all shapes in each level, but three shapes with the same pattern must first be crossed out in a sequence before another can be engaged.

There are sixty pages to flip through. Pretty good for an effort made in three days.

Name: Tripline
Developer: Joakim Sandberg
Platform: PC
Size: 3.14 MB
Direct download link: http://www.konjak.org/tripline.zip

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Square Cell

Essentially a match three game, but with a twist. Only horizontal rows will disappear, and the player can only achieve this by clicking and stacking rows of blocks in an attempt to arrange them in an order that will cause this effect. Includes an online high score submission feature, implemented seamlessly into the game.

Name: Square Cell
Developer: JaJ
Platform: PC
Size: 2.18 MB
Direct download link: http://www.jajproductions.nl/SquareCell.zip

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The Jeluvian Project is primarily an action game, but you need to implement some strategy and tactics. You will have to decide which path your squad will take, which enemies you will attack, when to cease fire and when to open fire.

It uses the familiar RTS controls, where you command your drones with the mouse. But at the same time, you get to make immediate decisions for them - you will have to aim, shoot, and reload. You take control of the action, not merely the strategics: More like being a Sergeant of a squad, rather than a General of an entire army.

Name: The Jeluvian Project
Developer: Pondwater
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

New additions to jph's Aetherzap:

- obstacle in the form of four giant spikes that are moved towards the player's base as the other targets move over them (this greatly changes the game play)
- updated sounds
- changed some sprites
- spiffy background

Screenshots from earlier versions of Blocksum can be found at the CESA and Success Corp.'s web site.

Froggy Ribbit - One Switch version released.

Here are three excellent Ikaruga tributes worth mentioning.



eXceed2nd-VAMPIRE- is a brilliant shmup by FLAT which mimics the polarity gameplay system made popular by Ikaruga. The color of the circle surrounding your character can be changed by tapping the C key. This will determine the type of enemy bullets that your ship absorbs while charging the special weapon in the process.

Press the Z key to shoot and use the V key to bring up the pause menu. There are only four stages in this trial version, unfortunately. The 70MB file package may take a while to download, but rest assured that it's one shooter well worth the effort especially for fans of Treasure's classic.

Name: eXceed2nd-VAMPIRE-
Developer: FLAT
Type: Demo
Platform: PC
Size: 69.6 MB
Download page: http://flat.web.infoseek.co.jp/EXCEED2nd/eX2-sam.htm





Kairuga is a short shooter demo by Kairos, also featuring the iconic gameplay system from Treasure's Ikaruga. You can switch the polarity of your ship by pressing the X key to absorb enemy bullets with the same color and charge your special weapon. The emphasis is on scoring where destroying three enemies of the same color in a row will earn you one chain, and bonus points are awarded for getting a high number of chains.

The only drawback to an otherwise brilliant shmup is it's length, with only one level on showcase.

Name: Kairuga
Developer: Kairos
Type: Freeware
Platform: PC
Size: 8.03 MB
Direct download link: http://64digits.com/games/3625/Kairuga_v.1.4_Final.zip





rRootage is an abstract scrolling shooter created by Kenta Cho which featured four gameplay modes. One of them is actually based on Ikaruga itself.

IKA mode allows the player to switch between white and black. While white, similarly-colored projectiles reflect at the enemy, and vice versa with black. This mode tends to be the easiest of the four because you only have to dodge half the enemy's bullets at any given time, and also because the half that you don't have to dodge end up doing extra damage when you collide with them.

The game has the player fight a large boss. The boss changes form each stage, and there are five stages for each of forty levels per game mode. Stages cannot be played separately, but any level in any mode may be played without playing the lower-sequenced levels.

Name: rRootage
Developer: Kenta Cho
Type: Freeware
Platform: PC, Mac, Linux, PSP
Size: 4.21 MB
Direct download link: http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/%7Ecs8k-cyu/windows/rr0_23.zip

Thanks to jph for sharing one his unreleased creations with us, we now have a brilliant isometric take on the classic Wizard of Wor to enjoy. Return to Wor features gorgeous pixel graphics courtesy of Gabe Brooks, though many players feel be slightly disorientated at first due to the skewed view presented throughout the game.

Nonetheless, everything works as it should and much of this is credited to jph's expertise at making old classics new again. As a Worrior, your task is to hunt down monsters in a maze-like dungeon with a unified field disruption rifle and several useful abilities not found in the original.

An extreme rarity.

Name: Return to Wor
Developer: Jph Wacheski, Gabe Brooks
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB

Counter Spark: Weaving the Blue Orient is an alright horizontal shooter which features two stages worth action, and though sprites are rather lackluster the game does include an adjustable difficulty level to challenge both beginners and veterans alike.

Hold the Z key to shoot and press the X key to use your special attack. Use the C key to switch spells. Continues are allowed, so you can jump right back in even after losing miserably.

Name: Counter Spark - Weaving the Blue Orient
Developer: Elfield
Category: Shooter
Type: Demo
Size: 10MB

Possibly the best Balloon Fight remake ever, though the game itself is practically nothing like it's source material. Balloon Tournament 2006 features multiplayer deathmatch with a very capable A.I. controlling your opponents and teammates.

There's plenty of characters to choose from, and even more to unlock by completing challenges with the best times. Land on an opponent's balloon twice to ground them, then proceed to knock them out before they inflate a new balloon. Certain stages require the player to capture an object and hold it for a certain period of time.

It's also interesting to note that the developer of this game was also responsible for programming Blocksum.

Name: Balloon Tournament 2006
Developer: Ginger
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

Skywaymen is a short demo for the upcoming horizontal shooter by Ishisoft, though getting it to work may require a certain SDL.dll file which can be found either in the Clockwiser or Pushover installers freely available from Ishi's web site.

Name: Skywaymen
Developer: Ishisoft
Category: Shooter
Type: Demo
Size: 2MB

Twenty of the best freeware adventure games released in 2006 (roughly). Mac and Linux versions of the AGS engine are available. [show all twenty entries on one page, part 2 only, Digg this article]

1. Duty and Beyond
2. Reactor 09
3. Spooks
4. Knightsquire/The Family Treasure
5. Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth
6. Automation
7. Heartland Deluxe
8. Missing
9. The White Chamber: International Edition
10. Nathan's Second Chance

1. Duty and Beyond

Your 'quest' in Duty and Beyond is simply to deliver a pizza. But who knew that the adventure would take you on an epic journey across several exotic locations in search of the mysterious customer. Simply a winner in the content category, with multiple endings to achieve depending on your final score. Fans of classic LucasArts games (especially Maniac Mansion) will love this one to bits.

Name: Duty and Beyond
Developer: Wandering Adventures
Resembles: Maniac Mansion, The Longest Journey
Size: 4.25 MB
[ direct download link | walkthrough ]

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2. Reactor 09/Cedric and the Revolution

Warning: contains a short discussion about a mature subject.

Reactor 09 is simply a fine piece of work by Bernie. Featuring multiple endings and gorgeous art with hues resembling those found in Beneath a Steel Sky, this game demonstrates what the AGS engine is capable of in the hands of a professional.

A bit less controversial is Cedric and the Revolution, in which you play the role of the titular character on a quest to gather enough people for a demonstration. Both are definitely adventure games worth having in your collection.

Name: Reactor 09/Cedric and the Revolution
Developer: Bernie
Resembles: Beneath a Steel Sky
Size: 4.70 MB, 1.72 MB
Direct Download Links: Reactor 09, Cedric and the Revolution
Walkthroughs:
- Reactor 09
- Cedric and the Revolution

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3. Spooks

Spooks is an excellent AGS adventure game by Erin Robinson, where most of the sprites and backgrounds were drawn using MSPaint and nine shades of gray. The story begins as Mortia finds herself in possession of a goldfish on a day out at the carnival. The prize she won from a game of darts is the catalyst of her adventure to seek the meaning of life.

The writing stands out and most of the music employed doesn't disappoint, although puzzles can be slightly perplexing at times. A small drawback to an otherwise amazing achievement, considering that it's a first effort and a sign of things to come.

Name: Spooks
Developer: The Ivy
Resembles: King's Quest IV, Grim Fandango
Size: 4.88 MB
[ direct download link, walkthrough ]

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4. Knightsquire/The Family Treasure

Knightsquire is basically a remake of buloght's earlier one room adventure, with new backgrounds and a complete quest involving the rescue of the king's daughter.

Clicking on the portraits allow you to swap between two characters, since certain actions can only be attempted by either the squire or the knight. Items can be passed around to each other by simply selecting an object, then choosing the recipient. Use the left mouse button to interact and press the right mouse button to examine your surroundings.

The Family Treasure is another lovingly crafted AGS adventure game by buloght that uses a point-and-click interface made popular by classic Lucasart titles. A story about pirates and hidden treasures may not be original but the gameplay more than makes up for it.

Name: Knightsquire/The Family Treasure
Developer: buloght
Resembles: Discworld, The Secret of Monkey Island
Size: 849 KB, 985 KB
Direct Download Links: Knightsquire, The Family Treasure
Walkthroughs: Knightsquire

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5. Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth

Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth is a new game by Screen 7 featuring the immortal screen legend on another globe-trotting adventure. Out of all efforts by many other fans, this one resembles it's source material the most.

Like the original, multiple paths can be used to reach the objective. Arcade sequences are optional, depending on your actions in the game. No voice acting yet, plus the length is rather short but this release is well worth downloading even if it's not the full version.

Name: Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth
Developer: Screen 7
Resembles: The Indiana Jones series by LucasArts (of course)
Size: 5.83 MB
[ download page | walkthrough ]

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6. Automation

Automation is a winner of the first One Room One Week Competition, in which all entries are small games made in a relatively short period. The story is centered around a bloke who met an accident while transporting a rather expensive droid, and must attempt to recover his experiment back in one piece or risk losing his job.

The kick command yields some interesting actions when used on certain objects. Most puzzles are logical though some items require a bit of pixel-hunting.

Name: Automation
Developer: Mr Colossal
Size: 5.62 MB
[ direct download link ]

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7. Heartland Deluxe

Originally an OROW competition entry that won the prize for best writing, Heartland Deluxe now includes cutscenes and a panoramic view but it's relatively short length may disappoint many adventure game veterans, plus an abrupt end to proceedings does little to improve the situation. A commendable effort nonetheless.

Name: Heartland Deluxe
Developer: LimpingFish
Resembles: Hotel Dusk - Room 215
Size: 24.4 MB
[ direct download link | walkthrough ]

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8. Missing

Warning: Contain scenes of violence, strong language, blood and gore.

In Missing, you play the role of an ex-cop in search of his missing wife and child with only a handful of clues as leads. Most players will struggle with the controls at first but persistence is rewarded with one of the best stories this year. It's important to note that save games are only allowed in your room and nowhere else.

Tension builds up rather quickly after the protagonist settles into bed for the first night. There's a mystery to solve and a few twists in the story that will keep you playing right till the end. Full marks for one of the best games of it's kind.

Note: Try setting your monitor refresh rate to 60 Hertz if the game doesn't display correctly the first time.

Name: Missing
Developer: RPGCreations
Resembles: Uninvited, Shadowgate, the Deja Vu series
Size: 3.09 MB
[ direct download link | walkthrough ]

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9. The White Chamber: International Edition

Warning: Contain scenes of violence, strong language, blood and gore.

The White Chamber: International Edition is a new version of Studio Trophis' debut effort. There are plenty of easter eggs to be found, and some are hinted at the end of each adventure. Fans of the original certainly won't be disappointed with the extras.

Worthy of another mention in the 2006 list, owing much to the inclusion of four new endings and voice acting.

Name: The White Chamber: International Edition
Developer: Studio Trophis
Resembles: Silent Hill
Size: 299 MB
[ download page | walkthrough ]

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10. Nathan's Second Chance

Nathan's Second Chance is an excellent freeware adventure game made by Tim Knauf. Much like what the title suggests, your character has a sudden heart attack and finds himself embarking on his final journey.

Only this time, the trip involves a bus ride to meet a Brit. The eccentric man offers Nathan another opportunity to return to the land of the living, but under one condition. He must reconcile his differences with his daughter, who no longer stays together with the family.

And so the grand adventure begins. It's fairly simple to get into, thanks to an extensive tutorial. All the puzzles are relatively easy to solve as well, contributing to the gameplay because the story continues to move along without long pauses or unnecessary side quests.

Name: Nathan's Second Chance
Developer: Upper Orbit Software
Resembles: The Adventures of Willy Beamish (Dynamix)
Size: 6.84 MB
[ direct download link ]

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Here's a summary of scores awarded by AGS forum users, presented Famitsu-style:

The old GR3 Project's web site was closed recently. A 50MB zip file (design documents for La-Mulana) and the remixed soundtrack (high quality, 54 songs) were posted on the front page for download.

Click on the open door to visit GR3 Project's new web site. [La-Mulana download page]

Ablation is basically a four color vertical shooter with an interesting concept. Touching a white bomb neutralizes all projectiles, while activating a black one destroys every object in range. Collect power-ups for a firepower upgrade. Hold the control, Z or space key to shoot, and use the function keys numbered 5 and 6 to switch window sizes. Press the P key to pause the game.

Black pixels do no damage, though contact with a white pixel will cause your ship to lose one power-up degree. Destroy an enemy's weak point for a special core bonus.

Shades of Clean Asia, but very different at the same time and well worth downloading.

Name: Ablation
Developer: Nenad
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

Aetherzap is a rather loose remake of an old Midway arcade classic entitled SpaceZap, featuring an updated control scheme and a mind-numbing soundtrack to assault your auditory senses.

Use the arrow or W, A, S, D keys to launch an attack in any of the four available directions. Enemy patterns begin to vary as the game progresses, while your base is rebuilt automatically after some time. Collect green pulsating dots for bonus points.

Name: Aetherzap
Developer: Jph Wacheski
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB

New screenshots posted at the Honeyblaster site. [4 color compo releases]

BenH's 4 Colour Shooter (now dubbed Axion) updated with an end of level boss. [web site, Axion, Pyoro review]

According to various sources, FLAT has handed development responsibilities of eXceed3rd-JADE PENETRATE- to TENNEN-SOZAI. [eXceed2nd-VAMPIRE-, eXceed review]

Results for the AGS Awards 2006 are out. The wiki site has been updated with all nominees.

Project Aon updated with two new additions. All four books from the Combat Heroes series are now available as free PDF downloads.

Information about a new project was posted over at the Acoders' web site.

Wolverine is currently developing a platformer for the Retro Remakes mini compo, featuring Robin Hood and his group of merry men.

News about Pixel's upcoming shooter can be found here. As translated by Shih Tzu:

Thanks for your posts. I'm sorry to make you all wait. The shooting game is slowly coming along. As usual, I'm resisting the impulse to show it to people early. There are a number of reasons that I can't release a half-done version: I wouldn't be able to keep up with the number of player requests that would come from players using a work-in-progress version, and it would also risk ruining players' first impressions.

Acidbomb 2: Rearmed is the latest puzzler by Mr. Chubigans, developer of Vivid Conceptions and Sandbox of God. Much like it's prequel, your objective is to defuse bombs in multiple locations by using advanced deduction skills and quick thinking.

Beams of light can be moved around to reveal the number of pistons underneath each line of tiles. Just like Minesweeper, you can left click to mark a tile as safe or right click to designate one as a piston. The number of pistons in each level is displayed on the top right of the screen. Press the enter key to reduce the countdown to ten seconds.

It is recommended to play the original Acidbomb before attempting it's successor. Made with the intention to distribute over the Playstation Network via Playstation 3.

Name: Acidbomb 2: Rearmed
Developer: Vertigo Games
Category: Puzzle
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

Wizard of Wor Remix is another beautifully crafted remake by jph, featuring larger mazes, a handy fold space button which allows basic teleportation and a very capable A.I. written to mimic the actions of a secondary player in the game.

As a Worrior, your task is to hunt down monsters in a maze-like dungeon with only a unified field disruption rifle as your only weapon. Definitely an item of interest to fans of the original, though the current generation may not be so easily endeared by it's archaic roots.

Name: Wizard of Wor Remix
Developer: Jph Wacheski
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB

Top 20 freeware adventure games released in 2006 (roughly). [show all twenty entries on one page, part 1 only]

11. Dungeonman 3
12. A Cure for the Common Cold
13. The Winter Rose
14. The Marionette
15. Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World
16. Nearly Departed
17. Trilby's Notes/6 Days a Sacrifice
18 - 20. 1213 Episode 1, 2, 3

Best Browser Adventure Game Category:

11. Dungeonman 3

Dungeonman 3 is another sequel to Videlectrix popular text-based adventure, but this time they have included awesome jaw-dropping graphics and animation. You're bound to be impressed by the gorgeous backgrounds and detailed character portraits.

If that isn't going to floor you, then the humor and poor usage of fake Old English will. The game is rather short and easy puzzles are of no help, but what you get in return is a satisfying experience and an amazing tribute to classic adventure titles from the past.

Name: Dungeonman 3
Developer: Videlectrix
Type: Browser Adventure Game
[ play now in new browser window | walkthrough ]

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Bit Too Early/Too Late Category:
November 2005/January 2007 releases.

12. A Cure for the Common Cold

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

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!

Name: A Cure for the Common Cold
Developer: MashPotato
Size: 3.89 MB
[ direct download link | walkthrough ]

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13. The Winter Rose

The Winter Rose is an excellent adventure game by Alex van der Wijst which took a year and a half to develop. The story is about Rose, a young archer on a quest to save her father and rid the land of the evil ice-dragon.

For a solo effort, the game does showcase excellent use of limited resources. Backgrounds are hand-painted, and a lot of nice touches have been added to create the right atmosphere. The animation is great, snowflakes are beautifully animated, and throwing in footprints is genius.

But what is most impressive about the game is the writing. Every item has a description based on your actions, a feat rarely seen in other AGS titles. You will be rewarded with quite a few chuckles if you attempt to click on everything you see, because of the witty script.

Verdict? Fans of classic adventure games won't be disappointed with this one.

Name: The Winter Rose
Developer: Alex van der Wijst
Size: 8.28 MB
[ direct download link | walkthrough ]

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14. The Marionette

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
Size: 13.1 MB
[ direct download link | walkthrough ]

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Demo Category:
Short demo versions of full games, scheduled to be released in 2007.

15. Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World

Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World is a new adventure series from Naphtalite Productions, featuring a slightly absentminded titular character, his sidekick and an accompanying robot.

Graphically reminiscent of classic 2D LucasArts titles, a verb coin called The Badgotron is used for interaction with objects and characters. The story kicks off with a rescue mission, but soon after Kaptain Brawe finds himself branded as a fugitive from justice for a crime he did not commit.

Name: Kaptain Brawe: A Brawe New World
Developer: Naphtalite Productions
Size: 21.7 MB
[ direct download link | walkthrough ]

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16. Nearly Departed

Nearly Departed is an adventure game made using a relatively new scripting engine named LASSIE. As a professional illustrator working for Disney, John Green has done an amazing job with the graphics for this upcoming release.

The final version will include voice acting. No full screen option for the demo, unfortunately.

Name: Nearly Departed
Developer: John Green
Platform: PC, Mac
Size: 16.3 MB
[ direct download link | walkthrough ]

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The Special Edition Category:
Special editions for each of these games are for sale.

17. Trilby's Notes and 6 Days a Sacrifice (note: released in January 2007)

18, 19, 20. 1213 Episode 1, 1213 Episode 2, 1213 Episode 3

Walkthroughs: Trilby's Notes and 6 Days a Sacrifice

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The OROW Category (Best Three):
The Heist, A Gunshot in Room 37, The Loathesome Man [The Heist, A Gunshot in Room 37, The Loathesome Man review]

The 'Too Difficult' Category:
What Linus Bruckman Sees When His Eyes Are Closed

The 'King's Quest' Bandwagon Category:
The Silver Lining, King's Quest III

The 'Ben Jordan' Category:
Ben Jordan Case 5, Ben Jordan Case 1 Deluxe, Sven Gordan Paranormal Parody

'Narrowly Missed It' Category:
Sydney Finds Employment, The House That Ate My Soul, Chicken vs. Road, The Game That Takes Place on a Cruise Ship

After releasing Lure of the Temptress, Revolution decided to explore a completely different setting with its second adventure game. A bleak vision of the future was imagined, where mind control and medical science combined forces to repress the populace. Beneath a Steel Sky was made available as a free download in August 2003, with the consent and full blessings from the original development studio.

Name: Beneath a Steel Sky
Developer: Revolution Games
Category: Adventure
Type: Freeware
Size: 70MB

New animation from the author of Pirate Baby.

Trailers/Teasers

Infamous Adventures (King's Quest III remake) is currently working on a new project.

Trailer for Lethal Judgment 4 released.

New pixel art added to buloght's gallery. [buloght's past projects]

A gameplay video from Mr. Stump's Dentures 2 was recently posted.

Releases/Updates

Scratches: Director's Cut will be released soon.

Steam Brigade updated with a new campaign.

Colocoro updated to version 1.5.2. Minor changes to online high score submission feature. [Colocoro review]

Alien Abduction is a decent Defender clone by Pumpkin Games, featuring 3D graphics but retaining 2D gameplay from the classic. Your objective in each level is to destroy all alien ships while protecting as many energy crystals as you possibly can.

The radar will be helpful to keep track of all the action, while power-ups appear rather frequently and can be collected for a temporary firepower upgrade. Fuel has to be replenished from time to time by hovering your craft over a fuel depot usually identifiable by it's red or pink glow. The game is now available as a free download.

Name: Alien Abduction
Developer: Pumpkin Games
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

In Bubblestorm you play as a tiny bubble inside a storm of different bubbles. While you are trying to survive from the evil red bubbles, your task is to collect as many other bubbles as you can. As you progress, your bubble will grow and the chance of being the victim of an evil bubble will increase.

Name: Bubblestorm
Developer: Johan Hargne
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

A Mini Falafel Adventure is the first platformer submitted for a recent four color competition held by Retro Remakes recently. Press the left control key to jump, and use the arrow keys to move the falafel around.

There's a special collectible to be found in this game and at least one boss encounter to reward the brave, among other surprises.

Name: A Mini Falafel Adventure
Developer: Chris Nimmo
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

Axion is a horizontal scrolling shmup by BenH that puts most of the releases posted in the GMC forums to shame. Smooth controls, a super blast which can be activated using the space key, tons of power-ups to collect and even a minor boss encounter thrown in as icing on the cake.

The only drawback is that the one level included is rather short in length. It will definitely leave most players wishing for more.

Name: Axion
Developer: K-ero
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

After Burner Climax on D-language is a test project by keim, developer of Nomltest FS, Invisible Vision and Quantized Blaze. Only two keys are used, and though the gameplay is currently a little unbalanced this particular production is already showing plenty of potential in it's early stages.

If his previous achievements are anything to go by, this could end up being a lovely remake indeed.

Name: After Burner Climax on D-language
Developer: keim
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

The new Pixeljam.com website is now open.

Play the moonjumper game or click on random images to find all four hidden unlock codes. Use these passwords in the downloads section to access additional content. [games.pixeljam.com, Gamma Bros review]

Voting for the GameSpot-hosted 2007 IGF Audience Awards is now open.

"All IGF finalists who were able to submit a playable demo (or had significant public play opportunities in the last year) are eligible, and the one with the most votes picks up the $2,500 prize."

Freeware: Gamma Bros, Armada Online, Racing Pitch, Bubble Islands, Toblo, Bang Howdy

Playable demos: Armadillo Run, Bone: The Great Cow Race, FizzBall, Toribash, Blast Miner, Samorost 2

Videos: Castle Crashers

Stack Attack is a very simple concept game with minimalistic and almost DOSlike graphics. Click grouped blocks to make them disappear from the playfield, and the number of blocks in the group will determine the score given.

Clicking on a single block will cause a thousand points pentalty to be taken from your score. If you remove an entire column then a free column bonus will be awarded for the duration of the free state. More blocks are being pushed into the playfield from below, slowly at first but then faster as the game continues on, until it is very frantic indeed.

If you need more blocks and the blocks are being pushed on to the screen to slowly then use mouse button two, or the space bar, to bring them on faster. You may want to do this at the start of the game, but once the speed is higher this will be the last thing on your mind.

Name: Stack Attack
Developer: TCKSOFT
Category: Puzzle
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

Itty Bitty RPG is a single player passive role playing game that anyone can embed in their own website. Basically you can visit the site, slay a few monsters, upgrade your equipment and be off to your next thing all in a few moments. This code combines the convenience of a simple web counter with a role playing game.

Click on the IBRPG icon in the navigation to create an account. Mouse over the icon to see your experience grow. Click on one of the random monsters that appear on the page and do battle. After you succeed or fail, go back to the town to restore health. Click on the treasure chest to get some money. Reload at least ten or so times to see the spiffy alert dialog when you level up.

Playable only with Firefox 2.0.

Name: Itty Bitty RPG
Developer: Andrew Wooldridge
Category: RPG
Type: Browser

All concept art. Click on images to view in large size. [Force Majeure, Junkboy's web site]

Barbarian for the New Generation



Hot Amazon woman, PHWOAR!



A proper Double Dragon remake



Another Cave Story 'rip-off'



Pirates of the Carribean: The Video Game

Tower of Moai is another fun little diversion from SKT, creators of the equally brilliant Nest of Moai and Nobuyuki Forces series. In this game, your task is to direct statues towards a swinging ladder. The platform that these guys are on is slightly unbalanced, so there's some work to be done in order to get the required quota for a good ranking.

Occasionally large objects will land on this platform, though these hazards can be pushed out of the way with a little effort. Rescue a hundred Moai statues in less than ninety seconds to progress.

Name: Tower of Moai
Developer: SKT
Category: Action
Type: Flash
Size: 1MB

Mr. Sweets is a rather fun puzzler which involves matching three or more sweets together. A candy will expand in several directions when clicked, indicated by the odd shape and bumps on each. Other sweets will be pushed outwards, and when a match is made the chain begins. Remove enough candies from the playing area to fill up the heart before the sun sets. Sweets change after every ten stages.

The game has a rather catchy though campy tune, reminiscent of something that is usually featured in Katamari Damacy. A view of the soundtrack CD can be seen in the credits page by clicking on the sound team button. It's quite unfortunate that the music can't be turned off without muting the sound effects, so headphones are recommended if you still want your mates to take you seriously after playing this one.

Name: Mr. Sweets
Developer: SKT
Category: Puzzle
Type: Flash
Size: 1MB

Losted is a decent four color Robotron: 2084 variation by DevlSoft, featuring ten levels worth of action with a boss waiting at the end. A nice diversion for at least a couple of minutes.

Name: Losted
Developer: DevlSoft
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

Hoiuchi Sekai is an alright horizontal shooter which features an array of cute sprites, and though the game does work well enough the pace is slightly sedated with little of the manic action that is pretty much the hallmark of doujin shmups.

Plenty of power-ups to collect, but the omission of a hit point for your ship does make dodging bullets a rather tricky task. There are eight stages to beat, while an autofire option can be enabled in the configuration menu.

Instructions on navigating the Vector site can be found in the FAQ.

Name: Hoiuchi Sekai
Developer: Houichi Plus
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB

DieFeen is an alright vertical shooter by the creator of Visionary Wings, though this particular production features 3D enemies and backgrounds much like those found in the Shikigami no Shiro series. The title refers to little fairy creatures which act as options, surrounding your character and offering some protection from the hail of bullets usually prominent in most doujin shmups.

You can retrieve up to four of these fairies from your inventory at the press of a key, and switch their formations around at any time. They will have their own health indicators, which are depleted whenever a bullet hits any of them.

Still only a Comiket 71 release at this time, though a full version will be made available in the next expo.

Name: DieFeen
Developer: Nekomimino Kakera
Category: Shooter
Type: Demo

Review written by Maenny @ Runtime Entertainment

The independent turnbased strategy title Starship Kingdom tells the story about a universe at the edge of chaos. Two royal houses decide to fight for the hegemony. As a side effect, they will destroy a whole lot of independent and peaceful smaller houses, which have no intention whatsoever to expand. So far this game reflects reality...
You play one of the royal houses, of course (what an interesting game it would be if you played one of the smaller, peaceful houses!). Each turn consists of 4 phases: Deployment (new ships can be added to a fleet of one of your planets), Attack (what would that be?), Fortify (shift one planet's ships to it's neighbour) and Upgrades, where you either can upgrade a planet or the production itself.

You fight for dominance and the more planets you own, the more credits you will have and the more ships will be ready for battle at the begin of each turn. There's one thing to be mentioned: The planet are connected by lines, which indicate that you can travel from one to another planet in one turn. Planets not connected can't be invaded directly. That's an important fact to know for your strategical consideration. Planets which are only connected to your other planets you own don't need no big fleet, you can fly the ships to the front. But consider this: Once your front is being defeated all planets behind with only one ship are an easy prey.

The graphics of Starship Kingdom are nicely designed. The starmap is 2D and is like a strategical commandfield, which fits excellently the atmosphere of the title. The battles are animated in a traditional way - they are being automated, you can't take influence once the battle has begun. The battles are in 3D and with nice fire and smoke effects. At any time you can skip the animation and directly see the result of the battle.
Starship Kingdom is a solid programmed turnbased title with a normal strategical depth. It will be excellent a game for people who like statistics and board-like strategical titles visualized on the computer. Nevertheless learning the game claims some time and patience, there's no tutorial game but a text file which can be accessed any time during the match, which will explain the phases and the gameplay.

The good news is that you can play this game in singleplayer, hotseat or online. And you have an editor for the creation of custom starmaps. This guarantees a lot of content and hereby could interest you for a longer period. I think a turnbased game could do with an Email-Mode, giving you the possibility to play a game over several days while not being online the whole time.

Altogether Starship Kingdom is a good game for strategics who like board-like games with a challenging turn based battlesystem, mostly visualized by numbers and icons. If you prefer classical Age of Empires-ressembling games this won't be the right title. But if you are a Risk-fan this could be a nice futuristic alternative. There's a demo on their site to download for free.

System Requirements: Windows 98/Me/XP/Vista, DirectX 8.0 or better, 1 GHZ Intel or AMD Processor, and 3D graphics card capable of displaying at least 1024x768.

Name: Starship Kindom
Developer: ApeZone
Size: ~11MB
Licence: Demo
Price fullversion: 19.95$/16.95EUR

You lucky modern kids with your high-speed Internet connections and graphical interfaces actually got luckier. You got yourselves two (well, another two, that is) free retro games to enjoy, without even downloading a thing. Simply click here for a web-game of Puzzle Bobble (aka Bust-a-Move) or here for a look at the classic PC platformer/shooter Commander Keen.

Jonathan Blow's game Braid has been much talked about but little played, since he has been keeping the game under very tight wraps. Braid won the award for Innovation in Game Design at the 2006 IGF, but no demo was posted. Braid was discussed at the 2006 Experimental Gameplay Workshop, but no demo was posted. Braid was entered into the 2007 IGF and Slamdance festivals, and still no demo was posted.

Braid was selected as a Slamdance finalist, and I was heading to Slamdance too, so it seemed like I was finally going to get to play this elusive game. Alas, controversy erupted (when SCMRPG was pulled from the finalist list), and Jon pulled his game from the festival in protest. I wasn't going to play-test Braid at Slamdance after all.

However, somewhere along the way, Jon was nice enough to send me a snapshot build for review purposes. That build, version 0.847, is the subject of this preview. The build is a little rough around the edges, with place-holder graphics still lurking in the later levels and some performance issues in the early levels that were nearly complete (on a 1.9 GHz machine with a GeForce4 graphics card, this 2D platform game saw major slow-down when played at it's ideal resolution). Even with this rough build, I was able to draw one simple conclusion without doubts or reservations: Braid is the most innovative and interesting game I have ever played.

Braid has the potential to change the way you think about reality. It will certainly change the way you think about video games. In this preview, I will explain why it has this power, using detailed examples from the game. However, part of the game's interest lies in it's surprise factor: there is great joy to be had in discovering just how clever this game is for yourself. In fact, I am glad that I never read a preview of this game before I was lucky enough to play it myself. All I knew, and all you should know if you want the full experience, is that Braid is a 2D platform game in which the player manipulates the flow of time. If you're willing to wait for an official release, you should stop reading here.

You can read the full preview at Arthouse Games.

Name: Braid
Developer: Number None
Category: 2D Platformer
Type: License not yet set
Size: 120 MB (download not available to public)

The creator of Nanozoa is currently developing Honeyblaster for the four color competition held by Retro Remakes.

Click here to view an animated gif of the game in action.

Some lovely games currently in development over at the Retro Remakes forums. Competition ends on February 11th. [Deathchase: UFO, Doctor Who and The Daleks review]

The creator of Begemed is currently developing DIA RPG engine, an engine made with Game Maker that can be used by others to build their own RPGs. [Begemed review]

Colocoro updated to version 1.4.0, with new Shooting course and plenty of other changes. [Colocoro review]

New Star Blog updated. [New Star Soccer 3 review]

The White Chamber translated to both Italian and Portugese.

Animated sprite from Buster's next mini-game?

Buster's post, translated by Shih Tzu: I'll be ending the net rankings for mini01 this month. Thank you for all the records. I'm impressed by all the high scores! [Guardian of Paradise]

Minion interviewed by The Game Creators. [Star Wars review]

Get your own desktop Kiwi pet right here.

New sketch added to Pixel's desktop.

Shooters

Shoot the Core updated with five new entries.

Riders on the Storm postmortem published at the2bears.

Platformer

New Tormishire image posted.

Knytt source code and soundtrack released, according to Total Klik. [Within a Deep Forest, Knytt, other games by Nifflas]

Puzzler

DUOtris Mobile now available for both Blackberry and Java. Echoes will be released very soon. [DUO, DUOtris, Mono review]

Home Base updated. Now includes fifty levels in both Normal and Reverse modes. [direct download link, Home Base review]

rhacp is a brilliant variation of Snake by Crostar, a regular 3Punge competition participant and also the creator of Round and Round. This particular effort uses 3D models, but retains much of the gameplay elements from the original.

The objective of the game is basically to swallow other enemies which resemble shorter versions of your creature. If any of them touches other parts of your snake's body besides the head, mines will begin to appear from the end of it's tail. Touching these mines causes the current game to end instantly.

The number of enemies to eliminate in order to progress is shown at the upper left side of the screen. Collecting all round objects will make every mine in the vicinity disappear, clearing your way when the area is getting a little too crowded.

Only the arrow keys are used to control movement. Press the Z key to start from any level. Continues are unlimited.

Name: rhacp
Developer: Crostar
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

Other Age is a rather amusing dating simulation which requires the use of an internet browser to run. The silliness is cranked up pretty high in this one, and though the adventure itself is rather short there's at least a couple of endings to discover.

Will only interest fans of ren'ai games.

Name: Other Age
Developer: Zeiva Inc
Category: Adventure
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

In Imaginary Realm 2 - Absolute Scenario, your task is basically to help Orem to get the best costume and win the contest. You will get different ending depending on which costume you choose.

Chalk this up as one of those weird finds.

Name: Imaginary Realm 2 - Absolute Scenario
Developer: Zeiva Inc
Category: Adventure
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

Forces is an original genre game made by an 11th grader named Adam Bielinski. It is considered to be one of the best examples of Turing developed games, rivaling Coutsos's Evasive Maneuvers.

You make sparkles on the screen using the mouse, and then click to shoot the objects you drew. Calculation of damage is based on the location of both your circle and the drawn objects. The closer they are to you, the faster they fly out.

Name: Forces
Developer: Adam Bielinski
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

Sword of Fargoal is a roguelike game, with the player controlling an adventurous warrior attempting to reclaim the titular sword from the depths of a monster-infested, randomly-generated dungeon. The sword is placed randomly somewhere between the fifteenth and twentieth dungeon level.

Name: Sword of Fargoal
Developer: Jeff, Paul, Elias
Category: RPG
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

Adventure

Another AGS adventure game abandoned by buloght. [warning: image heavy thread; buloght's past projects]

Explanation by buloght - A project set in Transylvania ... I had about 12/24 rooms pixelled and all of them sketched, story, design and puzzles 100% finished.

Sam and Max Episode 3 walkthrough posted over at Gnome's Lair.

New FTG art posted. [The White Chamber: International Edition]

Some very interesting homemade box arts made for Spooks, Heartland Deluxe and Ben Jordan. [Spooks, Heartland Deluxe, Ben Jordan Case 1 Deluxe review]


Shooters

New site for Clean Asia opens. [Clean Asia review, past projects by cactus]

Excellent Bifurcation updated with an additional level, music and sound effects. [Excellent Bifurcation review]

Pixel's desktop page updated with an image of several enemy ships from his upcoming vertical shooter.

Orange-Juice (Suguri) is currently working on a new vertical shooter entitled Junpyon. [scroll down to view screenshots]

No miss gameplay video from Marvellous Twilight posted.

Platformers

The Podunkian interviews Bogo, creator of Lyle in Cube Sector. [The Underside preview video, Lyle in Cube Sector, Merry Gear Solid review]

Also reported by Total Klik; the next Spud's Quest update will include:
- new land/puzzles/items
- two new temples
- flute
- push/pull blocks
- better ending
- scrolling text boxes
- at least ten hidden emeralds
- more sidequests
- more coins
- improved dialogue

Team GrisGris recently released a demo for their new platformer, TetraBash. [Dread Lock review, Thunder demo]


Miscellaneous

mrkwang interviews the lead designer of Bookworm Adventures.

New screenshots from Switchball added to Atomic Elbow's web site.

FAQ updated with new instructions on how to navigate and download files from Vector.

News about another Remakes Competition can be found here.

PDRoms is currently running a competition in which participants are required to create LCD style games. Cash prizes offered.

GameDev.net hacked.

Reversed is a decent vertical shooter with some impressive effects and pretty fun gameplay, though the current version is missing sound effects. Power-ups resembling the ones found in Cho Ren Sha 68K can be collected for a firepower boost or multiplier increase.

Press the Z key to shoot and use the X key to activate your special weapon. Your shot can be upgraded three times, while the multipler maximum count is ten.

Name: Reversed
Developer: Kvalsternacka
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

"Se enemy is weaken" is a turn-based strategy game, where two factions, the GOOD GUYS and the BAD GUYS, fight each other. The objective always is to destroy an enemy building by placing a dynamite near it.

Features:

- 9 different units, each with a special ability.
- 4 different maps with detailed graphics
- build turrets and tankbarriers
- play hotseat on one computer or per Email
- easy to use interface
- extensive sounddesign and music.
- Easy to understand gameplay with a huge tactical possibilities.

"Se enemy is weaken" was created by Manuel Schmitt. The voice was recorded and spoken by Corpus Callosum .

"I wanted to make a game, playable per email and really easy to use. I like the idea of multiplayer games, which don't need a running server. With a PbEM-game (Play by E-Mail) you can enjoy a tactical wargame with your friends and play it when you have time to, any hour a day. Many of the Email-games out there, though, don't have a graphical interface, sometimes they only work with text. I wanted to create a PbEM-game with nice graphics and good sounds. And as I enjoy very much the freeware title ENEMY TERRITORY I decided to orient my gameplay to that game. It definitly has evolved to something of his own, but some elements are recognizable..."

The title gives a hint to the game "Enemy territory", where 'The enemy is weaken' is one of the available chat-macros. The 'S' instead of the 'th' is just a silly gag to make fun of the german accent. You can hear the chat macro when starting the game.

In future versions of the game the gameplay of enemy territory shall be adapted further: there shall be vehicles one team has to safely bring to their homebase, there will be the possibility to steal gold crates or something similiar and maybe you will be able to cunstruct bridges and destroy these...

Title: Se enemy is Weaken
Developer: Runtime Entertainment
Licence: Freeware
Size: 12MB

In Clean Asia, the eyes of mankind has decided to leave their hosts and take over the earth. Their first move was to escape to the moon, where they developed their hostile weapon technology. Ten years later they return and forcefully take over some prominent countries in Asia. Thailand and New Korea has both succumb to the hostile threat, while China insists on dealing with the eyes themselves and refuses any helping hands from around the world.

America sends a pair of pilot twins with extraordinary sixth senses to battle against the evil eyes. They both have designed their own space ships that seems to be about the only thing in existance that can be used to battle these terrible fiends.

It has three levels and two selectable ships with distinct controlling differences and abillities, fourteen bosses and ten regular enemies.

Name: Clean Asia
Developer: cactus
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB

Force Majeure is a horizontal scrolling shooter by Swedish indie-developers Monokey, originally made for the Shmup-Dev Autofire 2007 Competition. A lot of inspiration for this project has been absorbed from games like Progear or In the Hunt. Both keyboard and gamepad movement are supported.

Choose from two lethal and sexy pilots, each one with their own fighter. Bravo's fighter is faster but does not do as much damage as Choke's one, who tends to be a bit slower. Bravo's subweapon is a rocket, fired from the bottom of the ship and then traveling forward, while Choke has a megaton bomb which is simply dropped on enemies. Also take a look at the monitor under the pilots. It will show you were the weak spot on their plane is. This is the spot were you don't want any enemy bullets.

The demo version of Force Majeure only consists of one stage for you to beat. The slow moving green carrier ships carry a power up. Power ups marked P will level up the cannons, while power ups marked A enables the side arm for your fighter. A second player can join any time by pressing the player 2 start button, but do configure the keys or buttons first.

In order to score high in this game you can't just blindly roaming around and shooting enemies. You will need to earn medal multiplier points to reach the true score levels. The medal multiplier is located in the lower corner of the screen. At first you won't see anything but when you start to get multiplier points you will notice how a medal with appear and if you're really good it will evolve.

By shooting down an adversary, any fresh bullets fired by the enemy will dissolve and add multiplayer points to the player. However the fastest way is to stay really close to an enemy and shoot the finishing bullet. If you are successful you will hear a metal sound and multiplier points will be added. Watch out though, you don't wanna get too close when the enemy starts shooting and crashing into you.

When you are hit by an enemy or an enemy bullet you will lose all your multiplier points and your medal multiplier level will be reset to zero again. Extends are given at fifty thousand points and then at every seventy-five thousand points.

Name: Force Majeure
Developer: Monokey
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB

Flyout is a vertical shooter by Foppy, creator of the equally superb action game Gridfire. Guide your ship in a never-ending flight upwards, while collecting the occasional health packs hidden in precariously-placed boulders and blowing up tiny little sprites bent on halting your noble journey to space.

Maximum power-up level is five, as indicated by the lightning symbol on the top right. Increase this by collecting upgrades from a guy standing next to a Dutch flag. Touching the wall does not damage your ship, but watch out for other hazards.

Hold the Z key to shoot, or press the M key to toggle music.

Name: Flyout
Developer: Foppy
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB