by

There’s a sub-genre of puzzle games which involves building things. Most frequently what you build are bridges, hopefully ones which don’t fall down, but there’s a wide variety and what’s pretty consistent between all of these is a realistic representation of physics (within a practical limitation). This used to be quite a novel thing, evaluating forces acting on all of the objects in a scene is more CPU-intensive than was feasible in most games back then, and so games which did this, whether building games or others (they were almost all building games), came to be known collectively as “physics games.”

fantastic contraptionThat’s a terribly poor descriptor nowadays, given that more current games use physics than don’t, but it’s still the moniker given to games in which taking advantage of a physics engine is the focus of gameplay. Fantastic Contraption is such a physics-based building game, though what you build are… cars. I’m going to call them cars, fanciful cars. And yes, I realize that I just said that the game was physics based, and that would seem to me to be inconsistent with the idea of stiff inflexible rods made out of flowing water, but I never took that course on fluid dynamics, so what do I know?

Also the game is pretty fun I guess. Maybe you should just try it.

Google+0
LinkedIn0
Pinterest0

by

z-roxYou know that bit in Flatland where the square is trying to explain what a sphere is to the other two dimensional people around him? A sphere is a point which grows to a small circle as it passes through the two dimensional plane, then grows to a bigger circle, then shrinks back to a point. I’m sure you all remember that. (You should read Flatland. There’s a game based on Flatland actually… I’ll post that some other time.) Anyway, that’s Z-Rox in a nutshell except it’s two dimensional figures passing through a one dimensional space.

I love Z-Rox just for being interesting and original, but also for being accessible. It’s one of those games which is very easy for a non-gamer to grasp and enjoy quickly.

Google+0
LinkedIn0
Pinterest0

by

epic comboIt’s a game where you smash the shit out of turtles. That sounds gruesome and cruel, but if they don’t bleed then it’s not horrifying. Right?

…

Anyway, Epic Combo! is in the same vein as ragdoll-torture games like Flakboy – it’s all about finding a way to set up your deadly deadly traps which will allow them to function with maximal efficiency. The victims of your lethal sickening traps are turtles, but they could just as easily be bouncy rubber balls. Maybe you should pretend that’s what they are.

There’s also a sequel, Epic Combo Redux, which is the one that you should probably play since it’s just the same game but with more stuff.

Google+0
LinkedIn0
Pinterest0

by

Relevant links: complete version, enhanced edition

First off: do not confuse this with Dungeon Defenders, with an s. That is a 3D multiplayer game with some vaguely tower defense styled trappings, and which has gotten a lot of press. This is a straight tower defense game, done in flash, which never got any press.

dungeon defenderThe shtick is that you’re a villain in your lair with a bunch of pesky “heroes” coming to get you, so you set up defenses and traps to stop them. You lair is underground, so you can also dig tunnels and find treasure and precious ore.

It’s not the most polished game, and graphically it’s a little simple, but there are a few things I still like about this one: the digging mechanic is great. It allows for pathing manipulation and a means of earning bonus resources and a way to diversify the level design, all in a single mechanic.

This is also the first tower defense game that I know of which implemented melee units for stalling enemies in a particular spot. I’d never claim that it was the first, I play a lot of tower defense games but my knowledge is by no means complete. Never the less, I give this one credit for implementing that mechanic three years before Kingdom Rush popularized it.

Finally, there’s the protagonist unit which functions much like a hero unit in, again, Kingdom Rush. That’s fine and all, but what I really like here is the fact that the protagonist gets equipment (i.e.: loot) over the course of a level. This can really add something when you’re focused on defense but also running a side campaign to reach that tantalizing treasure chest juuust a little out of reach.

There are two versions of this. The original version is here, and is complete and fun. There’s also a Dungeon Defender Enhanced Edition with some extra features, along with some paywalled content. Which you decide to play is mostly about how tolerant you are of microtransactions, though it’s worth pointing out that the Enhanced Edition also has online saving. I find that to be pretty valuable with flash games.

Google+0
LinkedIn0
Pinterest0

by

words warriorThere isn’t a whole lot to Words Warrior, but the concept of taking words from a paragraph and using them to overcome other words in the paragraph is a little novel.

The whole thing will only take you 5-10 minutes to play though, and what game isn’t worth at least that much? I can think of a few. Don’t answer that.

Google+0
LinkedIn0
Pinterest0

by

Relevant links: game

There’s a movie called Dark Star. It’s a little boring, it moves slowly, but it’s a deserved cult classic for being uniquely weird. In it, a small number of sorely under qualified crew members putz around a spaceship – sometimes goofing off, sometimes trying to fix this or that, sometimes trying to convince their cargo, an overly smart bomb, not to blow up and kill them all. It’s written and directed by John Carpenter and the characters have a style that seems to be common among movies in which he’s involved: they’re not all that likable but at least you can recognize them for their flaws.

I hadn’t set out to talk about Dark Star, but you should watch it if you get the chance. I’m told you’ll enjoy it more if you’re high when you do so.

on the edge of earth 5000On the Edge of Earth: 5000 takes that concept, “poking around on a spaceship is fun,” and makes a video game out of it. (Yes, that is a picture of a guy sitting on a toilet.) It doesn’t move very fast and you don’t do very much, but it manages to be a good time anyway. It does have an actual objective, and that does involve blowing something up, and the developer said that the game was movie influenced (though without specifying which movie(s))… Well, you’re free to draw your own conclusions. What matters is that it’s an amusing little game that’s paced well, and manages to turn boredom into entertainment.

I’m putting this in the point and click category, despite no pointing or clicking. That’s not so unusual, there are quite a few games like this, but they don’t have their own genre and there’s really no need. In every other respect they are point and click games.

Google+0
LinkedIn0
Pinterest0