Articles by Alex Kearns

Top 20 free-to-play RPG browser games

We pulled out all the stops this post. Not five, not ten but 20 amazing games for you to play now.

I hope you are not planning to go out in the next few days, because I have a real casual gaming treat for you here: 20 of the best free-to-play RPGs on the web - all hand-picked by yours truly. I should point out here that I have excluded all MMORPG games from this list. So if you are wondering why your favourite browser MMORPG - featuring better graphics than anthing on this list, multi-player action, huge persistent worlds, etc - is not on this list, that is why. Anyway, to the list:

If there are any great browser RPGs I have left out of this list, or you would order the list differently, please tell all in the comments section below.

Published by Alex Kearns on 17th January 2010
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Five classic games that you can play in your browser

In their day, they were at the bleeding edge of gaming technology. Now, you can play them in your browser for free. Oh, the humiliation.

Bear this thought in mind the next time you revel in the sublime graphics of Assassins Creed II, skid and screech your stolen car through the nigh-on photorealistic streetscape of GTA IV's Liberty City or get drawn in by the complex plot twists and game play of Dragon's Age Origins. In a lot less time than you think, these currently bleeding edge games will appear laughably outdated and unsophisticated.

First off, they will be superseded by better sequels or more impressive rivals. Then, you will start finding them in the classic sections of your local video store. Still later, you will get blank looks when you mention the games to youngsters. And, finally, in the ultimate insult, hobbyist developers will turn them into free-to-play Flash games.

Published by Alex Kearns on 3rd December 2009
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Mateusz Skutnik

Mateusz Skutnik is a rarity: a gifted artist who is also a skilled coder. He is responsible for some of the most beautiful casual games on the web.

There are two types of artist. The first sort can spend an age on a work of art, painstakingly, bit by tiny bit, building it up until, finally, often years later, they deem it ready for public consumption. And then there are those rare individuals who are blessed with such an abundance of talent that they can turn around wonderful artworks in the time it takes some of us to read a book.

In the casual gaming world, Mateusz Skutnik is undoubtedly one of the latter. Over the past few years, his output of games has been nothing short of phenomenal. Eight games in his hugely popular Submachine point-and-click series, no less then 12 Ten-Gnomes games (quirky takes on the hidden object genre), two editions of the much-acclaimed Daymare Town series, three Covert Front games, and that's before we even get on to some of his lesser known works, including my personal favourites, the Squirrel games, of which there were more than 25 at last count.

Published by Alex Kearns on 19th November 2009
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Top 10 point and click games

Stunning artwork, brilliant story lines and captivating characters have given the online point and click genre a new lease of life.

Point-and-click games have had a long and honourable tradition in the mainstream gaming world, with offerings like Monkey Island and more recently Zack and Wiki on the Wii, bringing the quirky puzzles and addictive gameplay typical of the genre to the masses.

But until recently, fans of online point-and-click adventures were left short changed. This is not say there weren't many point-and-click games available online. Far from it. There were hundreds to choose from. But this was very much a case of quantity over quality. Most of the games were much of a likeness, few straying far from the escape the room formula that had proved successful for years but which was beginning to show its age.

Published by Alex Kearns on 14th November 2009
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