The game this week is The Last Stand! It’s a zombie survival game which is one of my favorite genres for both films and games. The game pits you (a lone survivor?) against the ensuing mob of undead; the only thing separating you from them is a shabby barrier and your trusty handgun with unlimited ammo. Are you lucky enough to make it through the night?
The game is fairly simple because all you can do is move around inside your barrier and shoot the zombies before they destroy your barrier and eat your brains shortly after. The Zombies come in the form of average zombies, fat zombies, running zombies, and dog zombie. The gun mechanics are pretty straight forward and create a spinning plate scenario where you are firing, moving to a new location under attack, and reloading the weapon. Once you make it through the night you get points to spend on one of three categories to prepare for the looming night: repair the barrier, search for weapons, and search for survivors. The weapon selection is pretty cool and changes the gameplay up and the survivors are great because they add to the overall defense of the barrier. Once all the weapons have been discovered it is just a race to see how long you can last without becoming a mindless zombie yourself from the repetitiveness…
Oh this game is a memory hog or at least it was for me, slowdown was creeping up around day 6 from all the zombies and bullets on screen. For the record my machine is really old so that was prolly the cause as a friend had no issues at all... so if you have an old machine beware!
Good Luck and Have Fun!
p.s. The blog is going on vacation for two weeks while I run around Spain with my girlfriend!
April 30, 2007
April 22, 2007
Flash Game of the Week: 04/23/07
The game this week is The Fancy Pants Adventures! It is a platformer with an awesome stick figure art style and speedy gameplay making it feel like a cross between Comic Zone and Sonic The Hedgehog. Mr. Fancy Pants can run, jump, and roll his way to some unknown goal in hopes of finding a new level to further test his platforming skills. The animation is top notch and the music really brought the whole thing together, this is a must for any old school gamer!
Like I said this is a platformer in the truest sense of the genre because all you do is run and jump through the level. What is great about the game is that the physics of the character are very fun; he gains momentum when running altering the jump, which can then be combined with hills and ramps to create super fun launching pads. The run also allows him to run along curved paths for that Sonic loop-de-loop feeling which can then be turned into a roll by pressing the down arrow key. Mr. Fancy Pants wields the holy grail platformer mechanic... the controllable jump! Both the horizontal and vertical control feel natural which is a huge accomplishment, other than the frame delay on jump activation and moments of slowdown the jump was spot on. The sense of scale to the levels was awesome and made me want to explore all around which actually landed me into a secret level where I got the Wall Jump ability. After that I was hooked and cannot wait for more levels to play.
Speaking of more levels, Level 2 Demo is available now! The game overall feels much smoother and responsive. It also includes some other adjustments to Mr. Fancy Pant’s abilities such as a Slide, Ledge Hang, Wall Jump, Hand over Hand Rope Climb, and a CANNON! Give it a shot and lets hope someone snatches this thing up and puts it out on Playstation Network with a level editor!
Good Luck and Have Fun!
p.s. Thanks to Omar for sending this my way!
Like I said this is a platformer in the truest sense of the genre because all you do is run and jump through the level. What is great about the game is that the physics of the character are very fun; he gains momentum when running altering the jump, which can then be combined with hills and ramps to create super fun launching pads. The run also allows him to run along curved paths for that Sonic loop-de-loop feeling which can then be turned into a roll by pressing the down arrow key. Mr. Fancy Pants wields the holy grail platformer mechanic... the controllable jump! Both the horizontal and vertical control feel natural which is a huge accomplishment, other than the frame delay on jump activation and moments of slowdown the jump was spot on. The sense of scale to the levels was awesome and made me want to explore all around which actually landed me into a secret level where I got the Wall Jump ability. After that I was hooked and cannot wait for more levels to play.
Speaking of more levels, Level 2 Demo is available now! The game overall feels much smoother and responsive. It also includes some other adjustments to Mr. Fancy Pant’s abilities such as a Slide, Ledge Hang, Wall Jump, Hand over Hand Rope Climb, and a CANNON! Give it a shot and lets hope someone snatches this thing up and puts it out on Playstation Network with a level editor!
Good Luck and Have Fun!
p.s. Thanks to Omar for sending this my way!
April 16, 2007
Flash Game of the Week: 04/16/07
Sometimes to a fault I am a creature of habit so I am starting a new habit, called Flash Game of the Week! From now on, Monday is going to start with me posting a link to my current favorite flash game. I hope you get as much fun out of them as I have!
The game this week is Indestructotank! It has juggling, explosions, and a combo counter people and that is all that really needs to be said but on top of that it has an EXP system to increase the probability of juggling. Basically you pilot this tank that is indestructible and crash into the enemy armaments to launch the tank into the air to smash into the enemies.
The design of the game hinges on the player’s ability to keep the tank floating in the air racking up as many enemy kills from one initial launch. The more combo hits and distance covered the more EXP gained. The EXP is then used to purchase a greater frequency in certain types of enemies; I think you are starting to see the vicious circle here! Like any addictive game there is a greed factor, the tank has a fuel gauge and when it runs out the tank explodes immediately. The trick is not to get so greedy that you keep a combo going on too long before banking the EXP, which only happens when the tank hits the ground. I was pissed the first time I had a 20+ combo and the tank blew up before I could land to hit the EXP plateau and refuel.
Personal Best:
Max Combo = 26
Max Combo Score = 1494
Max Height = 164
Max Experience = 1770
Good Luck and Have Fun!
The game this week is Indestructotank! It has juggling, explosions, and a combo counter people and that is all that really needs to be said but on top of that it has an EXP system to increase the probability of juggling. Basically you pilot this tank that is indestructible and crash into the enemy armaments to launch the tank into the air to smash into the enemies.
The design of the game hinges on the player’s ability to keep the tank floating in the air racking up as many enemy kills from one initial launch. The more combo hits and distance covered the more EXP gained. The EXP is then used to purchase a greater frequency in certain types of enemies; I think you are starting to see the vicious circle here! Like any addictive game there is a greed factor, the tank has a fuel gauge and when it runs out the tank explodes immediately. The trick is not to get so greedy that you keep a combo going on too long before banking the EXP, which only happens when the tank hits the ground. I was pissed the first time I had a 20+ combo and the tank blew up before I could land to hit the EXP plateau and refuel.
Personal Best:
Max Combo = 26
Max Combo Score = 1494
Max Height = 164
Max Experience = 1770
Good Luck and Have Fun!
April 5, 2007
HIPPOPOTOMONSTROSESQUIPEDALIAN
The game sends Lex, a wisecracking bookworm, off on an adventure to save whom else but the princess. The princess is whisked away through the pages of three books, which are filled with mythological beasts, pirates, and monsters all standing between Lex and the princess. Each level is broken into a few fights with a climactic boss fight yielding a hidden treasure Lex can then use to boost his abilities. The hidden treasures range from damage upgrades to status boosts; one of my favorites was the Bow of XYZ that added extra damage to any word using one of those letters. In between levels there are mini-games, which can yield items and special tiles to aid Lex in his quest for the princess, which serve as a nice distraction.
The spelling gameplay is centered on a 4x4 grid of tiles, each containing a letter and colored dot. The colored dots serve determine the strength of the tile; there are bronze, silver, and gold dots and the strength increases in the same order. Length of word increases the amount of damage dealt per word spelled so when coupled with the dot system it creates a simple relationship for dealing damage. Sounds easy enough right, well now come the RPG elements; the creatures can cast spells and use special moves to change the status of with the tiles and Lex himself. Most of the status changes are variations on damage over time, wait X turn, and lose a turn. Now to be fair the designers also included almost all of the same abilities for Lex to use against his foes by allowing his tiles to care special properties. All of these systems work together to make the player create strategies for spelling based on the potential of their own tiles and the abilities of the creature. It may sound like a lot to take in but the game is paced to introduce these systems in such a way that once you think you have the hang of one element a new one comes into play and the learning starts all over again. Without this the game would have gotten quite stale and boring within the first 15 minutes, so kudos to the designers for keeping it fresh!
Now I am going to ramble a bit about all the little touches that made this game so endearing. First the dialogue is pretty funny Lex and the creatures all have personality and make you want to actually read the text bubbles. The sound effects, character models, and animations further the personality of the creatures to something rarely found in games these days. Mouse clicking on Lex himself makes him perform funny little animations that feel like taunts, silly and fun for no reason at all. Oh yeah Lex can level up as well with the traditional EXP gained from each creature he defeats yet another nice nod to RPG genre. If you actually die all of the mini-game re-spawn to help you build up potions and special tiles for the next fight, the system can be abused by just dying time and time again to buff up for the later fights. I am glad this is in there for the people that might be great a spelling but suck at the strategy aspect. Overall I loved this game even though I suck at spelling. Give it a shot if you have time… demo found at Pop Cap!
p.s. Here is a much more colorful and well written review!
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