A sequel to The Longest Journey, Dreamfall had disappointed many fans of the original with a new control scheme and action-oriented gameplay. Presumably this decision was made with console owners in mind, though camera angle issues still exist.
Bug-ridden and practically unplayable, Paradise is a rather forgettable effort by White Birds Productions. It's designer should be strapped to a chair and forced to play this turkey, just to understand what the fans had to go through. Both thumbs down.
Lexaloffle is currently working on an updated version for Swarm Racer and a new game called Chocolate Castle Snake. [Swarm Racer, Super Sprout review]
eXceed2nd-VAMPIRE- is a brilliant shmup by FLAT which mimics the polarity gameplay system made popular by Ikaruga. The color of the circle surrounding your character can be changed by tapping the C key. This will determine the type of enemy bullets that your ship absorbs while charging the special weapon in the process.Labels: ikaruga
Dash Border is a rather unique shooter by Isshiki, creator of Vax-11, Z-LOCK and Area 2048 among others. The screen wraps around, enemies are shapes made out of simple lines and bullets can only be fired in a straight line. Much like Asteroids really, but that's where the similarities end.
Ac!dbomb is the latest release from Mr. Chubigans, developer of Vivid Conceptions and Sandbox of God. The game has bomb defusing elements from Metal Gear Ac!d 2, in which you race against time to uncover the pistons hidden behind the tiles.
Yum Yum Remake is basically a reinvention of the original from Derby. The background color is a soothing blue, though the action is anything but. Point to a location on screen using the mouse, and the white little creature will speed towards it.
What's Tony the Tiger doing in a match-three game? But seriously, this is one solid contender for the throne currently occupied by Zuma Deluxe. Probably what most matching games do not have is a lovable mascot, and Bengal could be a big hit with kids.
Angry, Drunken Dwarves is basically a remake of Capcom's Puzzle Fighter. There are a few features missing from this effort, for example the on-screen representation of characters and extra animations for breaking gems.
Mysterious Floating Something is basically an action game with a bit of everything. Think Defender, but with the player assuming the role of the aliens out to abduct humans. The objective is to round up four hundred guests for the greatest party of all time.
Tripline is a surprisingly fun puzzler by Joakim Sandberg, developer of Noitu Love and the Army of Grinning Darns. The objective of the game is to draw a line across all shapes in each level, but three shapes with the same pattern must first be crossed out in a sequence before another can be engaged.
The soundtrack to Noitu Love and the Army of Grinning Darns is now available for download. [Noitu Love review]
Knightsquire is basically a remake of buloght's earlier one room adventure, with new backgrounds and a complete quest involving the rescue of the king's daughter.
Pladzma is a shooter developed by RezetiA which features no power-ups to collect. In it's place is a shop that sells weapon upgrades provided that you have the credits to finance your purchases.
Even though Raiden II is slightly dated, this PC port still has a place in every shmup fan's collection. The introduction of a purple Plasma Beam is a boon, combining the width of a spread shot and the firepower of the blue laser beam. Medals can be collected for bonuses in each of the eight levels featured.
Skyhammer is another fun platformer by Bernie, creator of A Game with a Kitty and several other freeware adventure releases. This particular effort is considered abandonware and will never be completed, but still manages to offer several hours worth of gameplay.
Much like the Mystery Case Files series, the objectives in Hidden Expedition: Titanic mostly involves finding a number of items in each screen from a list on the left. The hint system has been changed slightly for this iteration. Instead of a limited number of usages, a time penalty will be incurred for every clue request.
Introversion pushes the release date of Defcon to September 2006.
From the wonderful world of Game Maker comes Poyo, a new platforming adventure which took Lazrael only one month to complete. You control the main character using the arrow keys, but most of the puzzles in the game can only be solved by figuring out the proper way to utilize your warp ability. Tap the X key to jump and use the Z key in conjunction with a directional arrow key to dash past traps or activate switches.Labels: lazrael
The Blob is a school project which might be partially inspired by Katamari Damacy. No prince or King of the Cosmos here, but you're given control of a ball which has the ability to absorb other colored inhabitants of the city instead of making them stick to it. Use the mouse to move the blob around and left click to jump.Labels: deblob
GROW nano ver.0 is the latest release by Eyezmaze, which appeared on the web site shortly after putting out his version of Solitaire.
Omega Void is an alright game where the objective is to guide a yellow dot from the starting point till the end without touching any of the walls or obstacles. Consisting of forty levels, this particular effort isn't too bad although the music is pretty good.
Kenta Cho has a new game out! Well, perhaps just a light show. His latest experiment is called Dngn. (requires Flash Player version 9)
Illegal Communication is an excellent effort by cactus which takes the mouse cursor gameplay to the next level. The first few screens consist of fairly standard obstacles, but as you get further more ingenious elements begin to make their appearances.Labels: cactus
Retro Future is a pretty fun shooter by cactus, in which you control a gray object hovering above a city quite like the one featured in Shade. Use the W, A, S and D keys to move the ship around. Switch between primary and secondary weapons by pressing the E or Q key.Labels: cactus
Sven Gordan Paranormal Parody is a game made using the storyline and locations from the first Ben Jordan release but with new dialogue and graphics.
A Knight's Pursuit is probably buloght's shortest game, with all events occuring in one room.
Java is quickly becoming the platform of choice for shmups featuring vector shapes. In Lash, your ship has a laser beam that can be used to destroy enemy bullets which are green in color and cause some damage as well. Press the Z key to shoot and hold the X key to fix your laser aim in one direction.
From the same competition that brought us fuzetsu comes Alpha Shot 4K by kappaOne. Press the space key to shoot and collect power-ups from enemies which you have destroyed to increase your ship's firepower. The primary weapon can be upgraded to level fifteen.
Precision is another action game by cactus which plays a bit like the RunMan series, although you're able to exert some degree of control over your character's horizontal movements.Labels: cactus
Retro II is a pretty good vertical shmup by cactus showcasing the use of simple vector objects and limited colors. Press the Z key to shoot, and tap the X key repeatedly to launch bombs. Weapon upgrades in the shape of the letter U can be collected to increase your ship's firepower.Labels: cactus
Intercept is the latest offering from Perfect Run, featuring a gameplay system much like the one found in Hizoka Ohkubo's Warning Forever. The objective is to defeat the boss in each round before time runs out, forcing you to chase after the mothership while dodging all manner of projectiles.
LDWarmup is actually an untitled project by lerc, a regular Ludum Dare competition participant. You control a ship which has the ability to grow a destructive tail by gobbling up green dots. Purple spinning objects will cause your ship to explode on contact, but the new appendage can be used to destroy these malevolent entities.
Duty and Beyond is an AGS effort which took Wandering Adventures three months to develop, and much like Gamma Bros it features characters and objects made out of small pixel counts. You assume the role of Piet the pizza delivery guy on a quest to earn some additional pocket money during his working hours. A peculiar order takes him to a mysterious mansion with the owner nowhere to be found.
Kudos is the latest release from Positech Games, in which you get to assume control over the social life and career choices of a Sim, sorry, your avatar.
Dynasty is Nevosoft's latest addition to their growing stable of casual puzzlers, although this has a slightly different control scheme when compared to the rest of the matching games available.
Natto-Cat is Aaron Maupin's remake of the classic Boulder Dash for the C64, featuring a cyborg cat from the future named RB51. Your mission is to steal cat snacks from unsuspecting cave rabbits and volatile custards which explode on contact.
There's a new downloadable show on independent releases called Indie Superstar, produced by Dejobaan Games.
For podcasts, drop by StuffWeLike and Planetfreeplay.
Yohsaku is an action game about a lumberjack skilled in martial arts. Instead of using machinery to chop down trees, your character has to punch and kick at just the right angle to cut them in half.Labels: pekpok
Color Puchi is a decent puzzler by PEKPOK, which looks like Pixelus and Guru Logi Champ at first glance but plays quite differently when compared to those two. Labels: pekpok
Galamoss Arrangement is an updated version of the original Galaxian remake by PEKPOK, featuring a smaller screen and the barrage option which can be selected from the main menu for some bullet dodging practice. Your ship's color can be changed by pressing a different button to start a game. Press the C key to shoot and tap the Z key to launch a bomb.Labels: pekpok
Galamoss is a decent Galaxian remake by PEKPOK, featuring updated 2D sprites and faster gameplay. Your weapon can be upgraded by collecting power-ups, but the trial version only features four levels and one bonus round.Labels: pekpok
Twinkle is an alright Game Maker production by Dark Sirrus featuring excellent use of special effects, although the novelty wears off rather quickly since it was originally made with short bursts of action in mind. Your task is to destroy all stars as they appear on screen or risk collision with these celestial bodies, which seem to gravitate towards you at an alarming speed.
Warning: Contains strong language and graphic scenes.
Shoot the Core updated it's massive shmup database with 24 new entries.
New screenshot over at Buster's site, but no downloads yet.
Slash the Building is an incredibly fun competition entry by Liku, featuring a stick figure with a sword and plenty of structures to demolish. Like saturday morning cartoons, your blade can slash brick walls with ease by pressing the Z key rapidly.
Light-Z is another decent shooter developed by Liku. Although it shares the same name as it's flash cousin, this effort does feature 2D sprites, more detail and longer gameplay.
Light-Z Flash is a decent shooter by Liku, featuring abstract shapes quite common in a number of Japanese freeware releases recently. There's a time limit which you can temporarily pause by destroying enemy ships, and scratching bullets will launch shots with the ability to chase down any harmful objects.