New Game Round-up
The latest and greatest new games reviewed, including an epic rpg bursting with adolescent humour, perhaps the best free online tower defence game ever made, and a game starring an angry gnome who hates Christmas.
Ooooh, we have some treats for you in this, our latest round-up of new online casual games. But of course, you don't want to read about them yet, do you. You would much rather read my utterly pointless preamble to the games. In particular, I bet you would like to read about the vacuum cleaning technique that I invented. You see, when I vacuum my home, I don't do it the usual way. Instead, I like to split the rooms up into 1m by 1m grids. I then vacuum clean each grid using a rotational manoeuvre that… Oh, so this isn't interesting you. You want to go straight to the games and you don't care about my stupid vacuum cleaning. Oh, very nice.
How about I share my theory on why UK plug sockets are better designed than American ones? I see, you're not interested in that either. What about I tell you about the book I am reading - it's called the History of Curtain Making from Medieval Times to… Okay, I get it. You are only interested in playing games and want me to shut up right this moment. Okay, okay, I promise, straight to the games now. Oh, whoops, where have they all gone. It's all dark all of a sudden. There must have been a power cut. Sorry folks, it looks like you're going to have to come back next week… Only teasing! There hasn't really been a power cut. I just accidentally-on-purpose leant against the switch. See, look down below, look at all those shiny games. Play them.
Published by Tasha on 5th October 2010
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John Cooney
Armor Games' head of game development John Cooney - or jmtb02, as he is better known - is one of the most prolific and imaginative game developers around.
When John Cooney returns home after a busy day of coding and designing at Armor Games, he immediately checks that the curtains are closed. Once he has ensured there are no gaps through which he might be spied, he allows himself to relax for the first time since he left for the office in the morning. It is hard work maintaining a unified appearance, and he sighs with relief as he separates into his constituent parts.
You see, John is not one man. He is an amalgam of five different people who, somehow, are able to reside in the same physical space at the same time. There's Mark, the code wizard, who can concoct a fancy game engine in the time it takes most of us to pop to the shops and back. Tim is the design genius, effortlessly creating beautifully animated sprites and swanky game environments. Bob is the holistic thinker, dreaming up ever more weird and wonderful ideas for games. Then there's 02, a baby elephant with a propensity for raving who is the primary tester for most of John's games. She ensures that the games are fun to play. And finally, there is John himself, who has the task of assembling this disparate group into a single coherent being.
Published by Alex Kearns on 2nd October 2010
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Top 10 running games
Don't fret, you don't need to be fit or athletic to partake in the fun. Just sit back in your couch, fire up your favourite browser and play ten of the best running games available for free on the web.
I once made the mistake of going for a run. It was shortly after the Christmas festivities and I was feeling bloated from all the rich food and wine I had consumed. A friend guilt-tripped me into going jogging with her. Never again. Within minutes of setting off, I was suffering terrible hot flushes, I felt on the verge of vomiting and I was quite clearly in the midst of an epic coronary. That I survived the experience is a miracle in itself.
Needless to say, I haven’t gone running since. Now, whenever I feel the desire for some exercise, I switch on my computer and play some of these great running games. They provide all the thrill and excitement of running but without any of the pain. Perfect.
Published by Tasha on 26th September 2010
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Flock Together
Beautiful graphics, a charming storyline and fun original game-play make jmtb02's latest game a joyous and touching experience. If only it were a bit longer.
Regular visitors to this blog will know that we are suckers for games with a bit of heart. That is not to say that we hate games that involve mindless blowing up or shooting of things - we play them all the time. We're also not adverse to some cold-hearted logical puzzle solving. Or frantic time management simulations. But if you really want to get on our good side, create a game that is not only great fun to play but also communicates something about the human experience. Think games like Immortall or Loved.
Thankfully, we are not alone in this passion for games with some soul. As the popularity of our list of Games that make you think proves, there is huge demand out there for arty, philosophical games. More than 150,000 people had read the list at last count, making it by far our most popular article.
Published by Tasha on 19th September 2010
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The Best 30 HTML5 games
HTML5 is set to revolutionise the creation of online games over coming years. Here, we present you with the longest list of HTML5 games available on the internet.
We love Flash. Until recently, it has provided the easiest and most powerful way of creating the online games that we showcase on this blog. It is not going too far to say that Flash spawned the online casual gaming industry. Without it, game studios would have found it almost impossible to provide online the slick animations, vector graphics and lightning fast interactivity that gamers demand.
They would have been forced to resort to the old way of doing things, painstakingly creating games using difficult-to-learn operating system specific technologies. These games would be expensive to develop, would only work on one operating system (so if you were on a Mac, you would have a problem) and users would be forced to download the games to play them.
Published by Alex Kearns on 10th September 2010
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Best point-and-click games of 2010
A bit early maybe, but we think our point-and-click-obsessed readers are going to love this: the best point-and-click games of the year.
We were planning to wait until the end of the year before publishing this list but such has been the demand from our readers for more point-and-click games that we decided to bring it forward. This article is a follow-up to our list of Top 10 point-and-click games that we published at the end of last year.
2010 has thus far proved to be a pretty good year for point-and-click fans. It has not perhaps yet reached the heights of 2009 when two of the greatest ever point-and-click games - Machinarium and Little Wheel - were released. But there have certainly been enough great new point-and-click games in 2010 to keep even the most voracious point-and-clicker sated.
Published by Tasha on 20th August 2010
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Top ten war games that won't ruin your life
Indulge your military fantasies with our selection of modern-warfare games that can be completed in an afternoon.
My friends and I have an agreement. We will never play THAT multiplayer online war game again. I am not going to share with you what THAT is, because I'd feel very guilty if you then went off and got as addicted to playing it as we did. All you need to know is that the game is pure, unadulterated evil, and that if you start playing it, it will rob you of every minute of spare time you have. That's one of the biggest problems with many multiplayer online war games - they are so huge that you pretty much have to invest every waking moment in them to succeed. So how then can you indulge in your passion for online war games without sacrificing your life?
The answer, we hope, is our list of Top ten war games that won't ruin your life. These games, like most games we write about on this site, are casual games that can be played in your browser for free. They can be completed in a couple of hours or less. And yet they are packed full of all the war strategy and action goodness that any self-respecting military commander could want. For this list, we have focused on games with a modern warfare theme (ie, guns, tanks and planes rather than arrows, cavalry and swords or lasers, quantum canon and light sabers). Historical and futuristic war games will be covered in upcoming lists. We hope you enjoy the games.
Published by Alex Kearns on 18th August 2010
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Top 20 music games you can play online
Get into the groove with our compilation of the best free music and rhythm games on the web.
Rhythm games, compose-your-own-music games, memorise the tune game, even music fighting games... we have them all and more. If you like music and you like gaming, then we hope you will enjoy our list of 20 music games that can be played in your browser for free. Without further ado, to the games:
We hope you like our list of games. If you think we have missed out any brilliant online music games, please tell us all about them in the comments section below.
Published by Tasha on 1st August 2010
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Evan Miller
In ImmorTall, indie developer Evan Miller created one of the most emotionally moving games to grace the internet. We speak to him about his gaming philosophy and plans for the future.
Regular visitors to this site may have noticed that we have given one game a disproportionate amount of coverage in recent months. We reviewed the game here, we placed the game at the top of our "Games that make you think about life" list here and we reddited about it here. The reason why we have lavished such attention on ImmorTall - an arty side-scroller - is that quite simply we love it. ImmorTall is one of the most emotionally moving games we have ever played. It is up there in the league of gaming tear-jerkers with Jason Rohrer's legendary Passage.
For the game's developer, Evan Miller, the game could have had him crying for entirely different reasons. As he explains later in the article, developing arty games like ImmorTall is a big risk. It can be very difficult to find a sponsor for such games, and he could quite easily have been left out-of-pocket as a result. Thankfuilly, that was not the case - ImmorTall has received widespread acclaim across the internet.
Published by Alex Kearns on 29th July 2010
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Top 20 online zombie games
You don't need to turn on your console to get your fix of zombie games. Some of the best such games can be played right here in your browser.
Those of a nervous disposition are advised to press the back button now. For the inspiration behind today's list of games is one of the most terrifying creatures man has invented: the zombie. You have been warned. If being inundated with slavering human-shells bent on your destruction fills you full of dread, then you best be on your way. Braver souls, however, are in for a treat. We have rounded up all the zombie games on the web, incinerated or decapitated those that were not up to scratch, and are left with what we consider to be the 20 best. Here they are:
As usual, if you think we have missed out any brilliant online zombie games or even if you just want to vent your spleen, then please tell us everything in the comments section below.
Published by Alex Kearns on 23rd July 2010
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Game reviews
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ClubWorld
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Insectonator
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Top ten war games that won't ruin your life
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Jake Elliott
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Gregory Weir
By combining great story-telling with imaginative game worlds, Gregory Weir has created some of the most thought-provoking games on the internet.
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John Cooney
Armor Games' head of game development John Cooney - or jmtb02, as he is better known - is one of the most prolific and imaginative game developers around.
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Evan Miller
In ImmorTall, indie developer Evan Miller created one of the most emotionally moving games to grace the internet. We speak to him about his gaming philosophy and plans for the future.
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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.
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