Last week we took a look at some of the less complex games in the market, talking about a few titles that harken back to a simpler time in gaming. We pointed toward titles like "Grid Wars" and "That Cloud Game" as free alternatives to all of the "Oblivion" titles in the world. It turns out people truly crave games with a much more welcoming interface, foregoing the complex nature of today's gaming world.
That said, we've been swarmed with letters from Nerd Alert fans asking us to yet again delve into the depths of PC gaming … something Ryan promised he'd never do again. But we believe in giving the readers what they want and so we have decided to give a rundown of a few of our favorite downloadable titles. So without any further ado, let's get going with the free games. Game on!
Ryan:
"Mario Forever"
With so many excellent "Super Mario Bros." titles out there for gamers to play, what makes "Mario Forever" any different? Well, it's free.
"Mario Forever" is, for all intents and purposes, a fan-created version of the "Super Mario Bros." game featured in "Super Mario Bros. All-Stars." Confused? Good. Released in October 2003, "Forever" is quite possibly one of the prettiest 2D "Super Mario" titles ever made. The graphics look like something out of PS2 hardware, with fully animated backgrounds and cell-shaded characters aplenty. It feels somewhat reminiscent of "Paper Mario," but only in a visual sense.
Game play is straight old-school "Mario" goodness, with a few tweaks thrown in where needed. It's a little difficult to play "Forever" using a keyboard and the game claims to support joypads, but I couldn't get mine to work for the life of me. The title suffers a bit from this, but is still easy enough that players won't die countless times trying to jump over a crevice in the first world … at least not most players. Plus the creators threw in "Mario Minix," a mini-game of sorts where players try to accumulate points by thrashing enemies with the traditional head jump or a newfangled shield. It's a short diversion, but still worth checking out.
The game shines in the audio department, with a techno remix of the "Mario" theme being the first thing gamers hear upon starting it up. Yes, it's awfully cheesy. But it's a lot of fun at the same time.
"Mario Forever" isn't perfect by any means, but this is the best alternative to "Mario" outside of the original games. Emulators? We don't need to stinkin' emulators. Rather, download "Forever" ASAP and bask in the classic gaming goodness.
Sundeep:
"Gunbound"
Like tanks? Me too. That's why the first time I saw a glimpse of the online game "Gunbound" I was a little put off. It's just a bunch of silly child-like anime characters in animated tanks with facial expressions reminiscent of "Thomas the Tank Engine" or the talking furniture on "Pee-Wee's Playhouse" … or so I thought.
It turns out if you play into the sweetness that is "Gunbound," you encounter a game that is very similar to the '90s classic "Worms," first marketed by Team 17. However, unlike "Worms," players don't control a platoon of characters.
Rather, players control a single tank, of which there are many you can choose from with varying abilities. However, it's not as simple as taking aim and shooting. Different tanks shoot different projectiles and react differently to the wind and other changing elements.
For instance, one tank, the "BigFoot," shoots a straight shot four-missile package which is relatively simple to aim but doesn't cause quite the amount of damage one would hope to do some killin' with. Another, the "Boomer Launcer," fires a salvo of boomerangs into the air … it's extremely deadly but very difficult to actually hit your opponents with.
In addition, your little childish anime character (called an "avatar") is anything but little and childish after you get to start "buying" things for him or her. You see, after fighting it out in a couple of these tank battles you begin collecting gold. This lets you start outfitting your characters with a whole variety of weird and fun things … everything from suits of armor, flags from various countries, to giant guns and lightning hammers.
Best part? There's nothing more fun than watching one of your improbable tank shots actually hitting its target and blowing it to smithereens. Woohoo.
Head over to http://www.softnyx.net to check it out.
Ryan:
"Snood"
I'm a little torn here. There are so many other games I should mention that are worth gamers' hard earned downloads, but I keep coming back to "Snood" time after time. It may not be the prettiest girl at the ball, but I can't say "no" when she wants to dance … whatever that means.
If you haven't heard of it by now (and let's be honest, it's almost 10 years old), "Snood" is one of the most addictive puzzle games known to man. "Tetris?" Not even the same league. "Dig Dug?" That digging tool never stood a chance. "Bubble Bobble?" Please.
The basic idea behind "Snood" is shooting little colored faces at other colored faces in order to make them disappear. So if you see a cluster of angry red-faces hanging out in the corner, you'd better blast another angry red face to disband them before a fight breaks out … at least in my imagination.
In simpler terms, the title is a lot like "Bust a Move," except there is no time limit. Players are free to coldly calculate every move, ricocheting Snoods off of walls and making amazing plays to eliminate all of the creepy little bastards.
Later versions would go on to include such highlights as an "Armageddon" mode, sans Ben Affleck and instead adding a timer to make "Snood" that much more of an ulcer-inducer. "Armageddon," much like the film, is not for the weak of heart. Tread carefully, bold gamers.
The game was later released on both the DS and Game Boy Advance, but why pay for something you can have for free? Don't be stupid: download "Snood" the next chance you get. I guarantee you won't be sorry.
Sundeep:
"FlashGames-R-Us"
If there is one type of game that every gamer should know about, it's the "flash" game. Flash games are traditionally simple, non-graphic intensive games, which provide large amounts of entertainment in very short periods of time. Think of them as tiny packets of joy you might want to experience at small breaks in your day.
There are a whole host of flash game sites on the Web all of which provide wide varieties in types and qualities. My personal favorite is AddictingGames.com. It's exactly what is says it is. Addicting. In most cases, one would arrive at AddictingGames.com and plan on only spending five minutes checking out what's new and what's interesting. Four hours later you start to wonder how so many great games were created that no one apparently knew about.
While AddictingGames features a wide variety of flash games all pooled together on one site, there are others that feature a more specialized touch. You can find similar sites at Miniclip.com and Newgrounds.com.
If you want to try something a bit more well crafted check out either Teagames.com or Homokaasu.org.
You'll find that games at these sites tend to be slightly more creative with both their style and gameplay. It'll be a miracle if you don't end up wasting frightening amounts of time.
Good luck, he he.
Ryan ([email protected]) and Sundeep ([email protected]) are hopelessly addicted to video games. Ryan is eagerly awaiting the release of "Joy of Painting" on the Revolution. Bob Ross + video games = awesome! Sundeep has been anxiously awaiting "Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children," which is set to release April 25.
