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Monday, April 30, 2007
Previous Entries

« March 2007 · Bottom of page · May 2007 »

Posted at 12:18 AM by Tim
 

 

Sunday, April 29, 2007
News
Pics from Beast Invaders 3 pictured right. [more screenshots, latest G-Force build]

A Flash trailer for Smily Fight: Legend of a Hero can be found on this page. [Smily Fight: Legend of a Hero preview]

Ludumdare 9 entries posted. [Swarm Racer review]

Some additional information about Aquaria:
- Due out after May.
- Download size is around 60 to 100 MB.
- Demo will be separate from the game storyline, with a number of abilities available from the start.

Millenipede updated to version 1.0.0. [Millenipede review]
Posted at 2:18 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  7 comments
 

 

Saturday, April 28, 2007
2008 IGF
A full announcement of the 2008 IGF will be made in June. From the IGF's web site:

IGF Main Competition
- Open to all independent developers to submit games for PC, console digital download, and Web formats.
- Final submission date: Monday, October 1st, 2007.

IGF Student Competition
- Award for the best student games. Student 'mods' to existing games will be included this year. As a result, the number of Student Showcase winners will be increased slightly.
- Final submission date: Monday, October 15th, 2007.

Information about a new competition will also be revealed in due time. The IGF itself will take place alongside the earlier GDC 2008 at the Moscone Center in San Francisco - the awards will be the night of February 20th, 2008, and the IGF Pavilion will be open from February 20th-22nd, 2008.
Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Guxt v.1.0 Released
Guxt v.1.0.0.0 released.

Ranking and Score Attack Mode are only accessible after completing the game once, but here's a cleared.bin file (with No Miss Clear replay) which can be unzipped in the temp_guxt folder (automatically created after running the game once) to unlock the new extras.

Some noticeable differences:
- Trial Mode is now called Score Attack.
- The cleared.bin file from the previous version cannot be used to unlock this new mode, although all replays will work.
- Several sprites and enemy flight patterns changed.
- An additional bonus (like Ikachan) can be found by shooting one of the middle tiles halfway through Stage 3.
- There's a proper ending sequence now, in which the entire cast (enemy ships and bosses) are properly introduced as the credits roll.

This should be the final version of Guxt released by Pixel for a long while. [Score Attack replay, more entries about Guxt]

Labels:

Posted at 1:18 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  7 comments
 

 

MatheMagic
In MatheMagic, you take on the role of a young boy who is transported to the maths dimension by an evil mathemagician. You must stop his evil plan to divide by zero, simultaneously breaking the laws of mathematics and destroying the universe. The target audience is five to fifteen year olds.

This is the current work-in-progress version lacking many more levels, a completed game engine and main menu.

Name: MatheMagic
Developer: J-Factor
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Posted at 1:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  2 comments
 

 

Friday, April 27, 2007
News
Shooters

New screenshot from Ether Vapor posted, featuring a battle with an arachnid-type boss - not textured yet. [Ether Vapor review]

Mu-cade is now available for the Mac OS X. [Mu-cade review]

Ben-H is currently working on an arena shooter entitled Biddie Crisis. [Axion review]

Postman (Shoot the Core) and Hunter will be collaborating with Bill Whitman on a comic strip.

Miscellaneous

Grubby Games is currently working on a sequel to Professor Fizzwizzle.

DigiPen Institute of Technology has a new campus set up in Singapore. Applications are accepted as of April 2007.

More screenshots of Braid posted, featuring character art by Edmund McMillen.
Posted at 7:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Big Bang Beat Preview
Another impressive-looking doujin 2D versus fighting game by NRF named Big Bang Beat, with a gameplay video posted to demonstrate the characters in action. Release date: 26th of June 2007.

Posted at 2:18 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  1 comments
 

 

Sydney 2 Preview
Sydney Treads the Catwalk announced.

The bum turned star finds his new career in the media has hit a hiccup when his television show receives mediocre ratings. Keith warns Syd that if he can't even compete with the fashion channel he'll be forced to axe the show and throw him back on to the streets. [Sydney Finds Employment, warning: mature content]

Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Shellblast Preview
Acidbomb 2: Rearmed will undergo several changes next month as the game turns from freeware to shareware. The bomb diffusal simulator will be distributed by Oberon Media, then on all other major game portals under it's new name - Shellblast. Exclusive features include:

Virtual Bomb Simulator - choose an empty shell and set your preferences to make the bomb you want to defuse
Endurance Mode - a huge, massive bomb with seven quadrants and increasing pistons
Shell Editor - make your own bomb from scratch to swap and share with friends, or play custom levels by others.
Shell-Drop - the original ShellBlast game in Acidbomb 2 is unlocked from the get-go, complete with enhanced scoreboard features
- All original 51 levels from the freeware version
- Windows Vista support
- New music, along with a jukebox feature that lets you change tracks on the fly.

More screenshots from Shellblast can be found in this forum thread. King of All Cooks (Ore no Ryomi 3) will also be a commercial release under this new banner. [Acidbomb 2 review]

Posted at 1:18 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  1 comments
 

 

Thursday, April 26, 2007
FilePlanet Spotlight: Free Games Part 1
FilePlanet recently compiled a list of ten free games which surprisingly consists of mainly FPSes, mods and MMOs. [source: xii games]

1. F.E.A.R. Combat
2. Puzzle Pirates
3. Future Pinball
4. Beyond the Red Line (Demo)
5. Penumbra
6. America's Army
7. Anarchy Online
8. Trackmania Nations
9. World of Padman
10. Linus Bruckman
Posted at 1:18 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  7 comments
 

 

Wednesday, April 25, 2007
News
GameTunnel's April Monthly Round-Up was recently posted.

Here's a summary, presented Famitsu-style:

Sam & Max Episode 5 Telltale Games 7, 9, 8, 10 [34/40] GA, GM
Wonderland Adventures Midnight Synergy 7, 8, 9, 8 [32/40] GA
Virtual Villagers 2 Last Day of Work 8, 8, 8, 8 [32/40] GA
Grimm's Hatchery Amaranth Games 7, 7, 7, 7 [28/40] SA
Hard Time MDickie 3, 8, 10, 6 [27/40]
Gunstorm 2 Cornutopia 5, 5, 6, 8 [24/40]
Roman Bowl CopleyGames 7, 5, 6, 6 [24/40]
Mars Miner RetroStyle Games 6, 6, 6, 6 [24/40]
Kalimee Guido Raffinatore N, 4, N, 6 [10/20]
Multiblocks multiblocks NA, Gameplay video

* - Freeware
N - Not Rated
GM - Game of the Month
EC - 36 and above (Editor's Choice)
GA - 32 and above (Gold Award)
SA - 28 and above (Silver Award)

Screenshots and reviews available from GameTunnel.
Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  4 comments
 

 

Monday, April 23, 2007
Bernie's New Project Preview


'My current project got a style overhaul to make it look less blocky. The sprites are drawn behind the backgrounds. That looked kind of nice in Cave Story.'



'There's also a small inventory. And: The red dots under the heart to the left determine how many moves can be performed in a row.' - Bernie. [origamihero.com, Darkside Adventures, A Game with a Kitty, Reactor 09, Cedric and the Revolution review]
Posted at 2:18 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Guxt v.0.9.0.0
Trial and Ranking are two new additions to Guxt v.0.9.0.0 (previously unavailable for selection). Both options are only accessible after completing the game once, but here's a cleared.bin file which can be unzipped in the temp_guxt folder (automatically created after running the game once) to unlock the new extras.

Some noticeable differences:
- the color of enemy bullets changed from red to orange.
- you only get one ship for Trial mode, but your score will be saved in the Rankings section.
- the major difference between the normal and Trial mode is the inclusion of a final boss battle, pictured right.

Click here to download a replay file for Trial mode. Drag and drop the play-record file into a running Guxt window to watch the replay.

A post from Pixel's BBS as translated by Shih Tzu: 'It looks like I'll be able to get version 1 out by the end of the month. Things are looking good.' [LJ post, more entries about Guxt]

Labels:

Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Sumotori Dreams
In Sumotori Dreams, each bout starts when both players touch the ground with their hands and ends when a player falls to the ground or steps outside the circle. A cube of the winner's color is then thrown in to signal the end of a round.

To win a game you need to have two points more than your opponent, and a total of at least five. Use the enter or backspace key to push, or press the arrow keys to move your character around the circle and change the camera angle view. Hold the down arrow key to touch the ground. A hidden mode can be unlocked during the main menu display by breaking one of the walls on the far right.

Name: Sumotori Dreams
Developer: Peter Sotesz
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Posted at 1:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Sunday, April 22, 2007
Gamehippo Sold
GameHippo.com, a site which featured a large collection of outdated freeware games, was recently sold due to Boson losing interest in the scene.

More details will be revealed in the coming weeks, though it's quite certain that the new owner would be looking to recoup the amount spent on his investment one way or the other.
Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  8 comments
 

 

Fairy Attackers
Fairy Attackers is a brilliant retro platformer by Alpha Secret Base, creator of the excellent Umihara Kawase Shun tribute called Gambare Natsuki-San. Press the Z key to throw your weapon at enemies, or hold the down arrow key to use your shield and reflect harmful projectiles.

The up arrow key can be used to open doors, activate objects and initiate conversations with other characters. Touch the stone with inscriptions to save your progress, or drink from the tiny fountain to restore health. Once you've gained a travel companion, press the C key to hold it for an additional float ability. A map can be accessed by using the S key.

Name: Fairy Attackers
Developer: Alpha Secret Base
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 20MB
Posted at 1:18 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  3 comments
 

 

Millenipede
Millenipede is a PC version of the classic 8-bit shooter Centipede, developed in less than seven days. Your aim is to zap all of the centipedes on each wave, while dodging spiders, snails, mushrooms and the centipedes themselves. They'll make their way down the screen until eventually they hit the bottom, and at that point they will roam around the player area until you shoot them.

Centipedes will grow into a mushroom when shot at, which serves no purpose aside from blocking the movement of other centipedes and hindering your bullets. Each mushroom takes four shots to completely destroy.

If you touch any enemy, be it a centipede, spider or snail, you lose a ship. Use the cursor keys to move around and hold the left control key to shoot.

Name: Millenipede
Developer: Firestorm Productions
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Posted at 1:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Saturday, April 21, 2007
Barbie Seahorse Adventures
Barbie Seahorse Adventures is a delightful little platformer developed by a couple of PyWeek competition veterans. The objective of the game is to guide a seahorse to the end of each level while collecting items and bonuses.

Three shots are needed in order to encapsulate an enemy in a bubble. Grab a power-up to cut this requirement down to one. Press the X key to shoot and use the Z key to jump. Bubbles can be used to reach higher ground.

The deluxe version features ten new levels and doesn't require the installation of Pygame.

Name: Barbie Seahorse Adventures
Developer: The Olde Battleaxe
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Posted at 1:18 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Questy
Questy is an original platformer with retro graphics created by smila in less than five hours, though the engine was from a previous release. Two stages only.

Name: Questy
Developer: smila
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Posted at 1:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  3 comments
 

 

Friday, April 20, 2007
Trip on the Funny Boat
Trip on the Funny Boat is side scrolling arcade shooter game on a steamboat equipped with a cannon and the ability to jump. The player will need to take advantage of waves to defeat the enemies and dodge hazards.

In the story mode, you will go through five different phases of play, and then face the final boss in the sixth phase. The story mode starts easy, but you should find it quite challenging in the last few phases.

Endless mode will put you up against waves after waves of enemies, with twelve different phases. There are little health power ups that give you one heart back if you have lost them while battling enemies.

Name: Trip on the Funny Boat
Developer: Pekuja, Hectigo, JDruid
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Posted at 1:18 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Stick
Stick is a side-scroller beat'em up featuring sticks as characters. The game offers plenty of action, lots of melee combat, and hordes of enemies willing to crack your head open.

Use the Z, X and C keys to execute basic or advanced moves. Collect weapons to deal extra damage, or gather medkit to restore a portion of your health. Press the space, left control or any of the numeral keys at the top of your keyboard to switch inventory items. One playable level only.

Name: Stick
Developer: Wired Weasel
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Posted at 1:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Thursday, April 19, 2007
News
Pixel's Guxt updated to version 0.9.0.0. [Guxt info, review]

darthlupi has a new game out which is still in it's early stages, entitled Battle Battle.

The next Ludum Dare competition will begin on the 28th of April.

A short history of The Streets of Rage remake can be found in this forum thread. The soundtrack is available here. [Streets of Rage Remake review]

Dogfight - Battle in the Skies updated with two new planes, among other bug fixes and additions. [Typhoon 2001 review]

Wolverine (Into the Eagle's Nest) is working on a new platformer. Screenshot pictured below.

Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Wednesday, April 18, 2007
News
A couple of new screenshots from Senile Team's Rush Rush Rally Racing (commercial release for Dreamcast) added. [Beats of Rage review]

Astro Port is a new development blog from DHC. Expect screenshots from their upcoming shooters to be posted soon. [DHC's past projects]

A development journal for The Underside can be found here. [Merry Gear Solid, The Underside preview]

Evolutions updated with a new background and some minor changes. Press Alt-F4 to quit the game at any time. [Evolutions review]

RPGCreations' games lineup for 2007 was recently posted in their forums. Besides Immortal Defense, another project to keep an eye on is Fedora Spade. Think Snatcher and Phoenix Wright. [Immortal Defense preview, Missing review]

Posted at 2:18 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  2 comments
 

 

Copic Fighter Update
The demo of Copic Fighter has been updated to 0.3.0. The new version features ten updated sprites, as well as changes to the gameplay mechanics and bug fixes.

Still no new content in terms of additional stages, so this update is primarily tweaks and fixes. Make sure to check the Readme for instructions.

Name: Copic Fighter 0.3.0
Developer: Michal Wisniowski
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 6.25MB

Labels: , ,

Posted at 2:08 AM by Michal
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Tuesday, April 17, 2007
IGN's Top 10 Adventure Games
1. Grim Fandango
2. The Longest Journey
3. Maniac Mansion: Day of the Tentacle
4. King's Quest V: Absence Makes the Heart Go Yonder
5. Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge
6. Sam and Max Hit the Road
7. Shadowgate
8. Police Quest II: The Vengeance
9. Myst
10. Leisure Suit Larry in the Land of the Lounge Lizards

Read the entire article.

Here's an alternative list by everyone, in alphabetical order.

Top 10 Adventure Games IGN Missed Out in Their Top 10 Adventure Games List

1. Beneath a Steel Sky
2. Blade Runner/Broken Sword
3. Dig, The
4. Full Throttle
5. Gabriel Knight series
6. Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis
7. King's Quest III, VI and VII
8. Last Express, The
9. Neverhood
10. Riven
Posted at 2:18 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  14 comments
 

 

Knytt Stories Preview
NotKnytt retitled to Knytt Stories. [lots of screenshots/view in new window, gameplay video, level editor, development report]

One new screenshot from Knytt Stories pictured below, dated 17th of April. [screenshot two]




Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  1 comments
 

 

Monday, April 16, 2007
SpaceCute - indie game making challenge!
Danc over at Lost Garden is performing an interesting experiment. He is creating some very high quality graphics and describing a basic game mechanic. Anyone who is interested is invited to take those graphics and core ideas and create a game prototype. In turn, what everyone learns from each prototype is going to be fed back into the game description and further games created. It sounds like a very interesting and fun experiment... If you enjoy building indie games as well as playing them, go grab the graphics pack and create something!

Here is the original post with the challenge, and here is a follow up post.
Posted at 2:18 AM by Andrew
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Operation Block Preview
More screenshots from the upcoming Operation Block, an Operation Wolf remake. [Retro Remakes article, forum thread]


Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  1 comments
 

 

Parody Fighter Special Heroes Dynamite
Parody Fighter Special Heroes Dynamite is a doujin fighting game with a very novel idea, featuring female cosplayers dressed up as characters from classic 2D fighters such as the Street Fighter series, World Heroes and Fatal Fury.

Click on the fourth blue button underneath the large image to download the trial version. Additional configuration is required to unpack the zip file.

Open the control panel located in your start menu, then select regional and language options. Choose the languages tab and check the box for East Asian languages installation. Select the advanced tab next and choose Japanese as the default language for non-Unicode programs.

You will then be prompted for the operating system installation CD. The computer has to be restarted once the entire process is completed. Control configuration is required in order to map the arrow keys for character movement.

(This game is not suitable for children.)

Name: Parody Fighter Special Heroes Dynamite
Developer: Retsuzan Games
Category: Action
Media: Gameplay Video
Type: Freeware
Size: 70MB
Posted at 1:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  9 comments
 

 

Sunday, April 15, 2007
LionHeart Remake Demo Released
From Retro Remakes comes news of a new remake of LionHeart. Here's the demo.

Posted at 2:18 AM by Andrew
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

News
One new screenshot from The Underside posted. Expect to see an extended gameplay video on GameTrailers soon. [Merry Gear Solid, The Underside preview]

The Shivah lands a review at The Onion A.V. Club. [thanks to Shih Tzu]

Cliffski is currently working on Kudos: Rock-Legend. [Source: Paul's development journal]

A screenshot from Chris Nimmo's latest project posted. [A Mini Falafel Adventure]

Charlie Foxtrot is very close to completion. [The Winter Rose review]

More Al Lowe interviews, one with G Wie Gorilla and the other with Custom PC. [Player One podcast]

The Podunkian reviews Binary Land.

Dust Scape is nearly done. Jph will work on a golf game with strategic elements next. [Jph's past projects]
Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  1 comments
 

 

Super Marionoid
Super Marionoid is another Game Maker production that is set to follow the footsteps of Duck Doom Deluxe. Sprites from Nintendo's classic platformer were used to replace the dull bricks and objects found in Taito's arcade title. The save game feature does come in handy, especially when considering that the difficulty is rather high and there's twenty-eight levels to beat.

Press the Q key to quit at any time.

Name: Super Marionoid
Developer: SH Studios
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Posted at 1:18 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  1 comments
 

 

Dr. Lutz and the Time Travel Machine
In Dr. Lutz and the Time Travel Machine, Dr. Abraham Lutz is desperately trying to prove his own theories about why dinosaurs vanished from Earth sixty-five million years ago. And the only way to do that is going to the Jurassic period by using a time machine.

Right click to cycle through the various interaction choices. A short game with some awkward combination puzzles and a rather abrupt ending, but charming enough to hold your attention until the end.

Name: Dr. Lutz and the Time Travel Machine
Developer: Pijin Pastrana
Category: Adventure
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Posted at 1:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  1 comments
 

 

Thursday, April 12, 2007
A Small World
A Small World is a short platformer game by JaJ, featuring the standard set of challenges, an obligatory boss fight and one or two secret areas to discover. Save and load game options are included, while your character's health can be restored by drinking from fountains. Press the down arrow key to start a conversation or interact with other objects.

Name: A Small World
Developer: JaJ Productions
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Posted at 2:18 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Dragonfire
Dragonfire is a simple game consisting of two screens. Your kingdom has been taken over by dragons and it's your duty as the Prince to get all the king's treasures back from those nasty dragons.

First you must traverse the drawbridge to the castle while dodging fireballs being shot towards you by the dragon. You must use quick reflexes to duck under the high ones and jump over the low ones.

If you make it to the other side you'll find yourself in a a room full of treasures as well as a rather large dragon at the bottom of the screen. You must then gather the treasure as quickly as possible without falling victim to the dragon's fireballs.

When you collect all the treasures an exit appears and you start over again, but with a higher difficulty than before. Get hit a total of seven times and the game is over. Nine castles in total to plunder.

Name: Dragonfire
Developer: Eiksoft
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Eyes of the Jade Sphinx
Eyes of the Jade Sphinx is an old adventure game by Dave Gilbert which was released more than half a decade ago. A classic detective story, though the version made available for download should be considered a short demo at best.

Name: The Eyes of the Jade Sphinx
Developer: Dave Gilbert
Category: Adventure
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Posted at 1:18 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Hermes
Hermes is a PyWeek competition entry partially inspired by Free Lunch Design's Icy Tower. As an ancient god your mission is to deliver messages to gods settled in height of Olympia. The climb is long, but you will be rewarded with a high score if you manage to reach far enough to surpass the last one.

Featuring pleasant music and cartoony graphics.

Name: Hermes
Developer: Frantisek Jahoda and Pavel Kucera
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Posted at 1:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Wednesday, April 11, 2007
News
STGs

DieFeen demo now available. [direct download link, DieFeen review]

dessgeega is reviewing a bunch of noteworthy games on a new site. A great read, and definitely a bookmark item!

Typhoon 2001 updated, while Dogfight was finally translated to English. [Typhoon 2001 review]

Beast Invaders 3 will be out in two weeks' time. [screenshots set one, set two, latest G-Force build]

Lunaria complete run added. [Lunaria review by dessgeega]

Kairuga V.1.4 Final released. [Ikaruga clones article]

Miscellaneous

Screenshot from Mike's latest game leaked. [PoV's past projects]

More good news. Ruff'n Tumble is done and dusted, expect this freeware platformer remake to be released soon. [Ruff'n Tumble teaser, preview]

Acidbomb 2: Rearmed updated to version 1.1. There is also a possibility that the game may go commercial next month, so grab it now while you still can. [download page, Acidbomb 2 preview]

Death Worm updated with harder difficulty. JTR also released two other games this week, Robot Attack 4000 and Jimmy Lawnmower. [interview, Death Worm review]
Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  2 comments
 

 

Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Copic Fighter Demo
The first demo for Copic Fighter has been released this morning on Mentisworks. It features classic shmup mechanics, with a little twist in terms of presentation. The intention with Copic Fighter was to move towards the art game realm in terms of overall style.



All artwork, sounds, and music in Copic Fighter are original, and unique. At the same time, controls should be quite familiar, as you move with the arrow keys and shoot with Z. Additional controls are outlined in the Readme file, which you should also check for installation instructions.

A little twist to the gameplay is that each shot fired uses up your Ink, indicated by a meter. Collect Ink left behind by destroyed enemies to replenish your supply.

Name: Copic Fighter
Developer: Michal Wisniowski
Category: Shooter
Type: Freeware
Size: 6.23 MB

Labels: , ,

Posted at 2:18 AM by Michal
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Homeland
The demo for Homeland features a portion of the full game, which is set for a release at the end of this year. Developed using RPG Maker, this tribute adapts a similar style found in Earthbound but features a completely different set of sprites and graphics.

Expect to find plenty of humorous conversations, an eclectic collection of enemies to bash, useless quests and obscure inventory items to clutter your inventory space. A worthy tribute to Shigesato Itoi's console classic.

Name: Homeland
Developer: Marcus
Category: RPG
Type: Freeware
Size: 30MB
Posted at 1:18 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

News
A screenshot of new artwork for Soft Landing posted. [Soft Landing Developer's Diary]

Update on Copic Fighter and new screenshot posted. [preview, Mentisworks]

Vilmos is working on an update on Thruster. The new version will be running in a higher resolution, a much anticipated improvement. [Thruster via Mentisworks]

Labels: , ,

Posted at 1:08 AM by Michal
post a comment  |  0 comments
 

 

Monday, April 09, 2007
Bubble Kong
Bubble Kong is a delightful little platformer developed by a couple of PyWeek competition veterans. The objective of the game is to guide a seahorse to the end of each level while collecting items and bonuses.

Three shots are needed in order to encapsulate an enemy in a bubble. Grab a power-up to cut this requirement down to one. Press the X key to shoot and use the Z key to jump. Bubbles can be used to reach higher ground.

Requires the installation of Python and Pygame.

Name: Bubble Kong
Developer: The Olde Battleaxe
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
post a comment  |  1 comments
 

 

Which Way is Up
Which Way is Up is a traditional and challenging 2D platformer with a slight rotational twist. Help a mysterious big-eared salaryman named Guy find his keys in a labyrinth of dangers and bad dialogue. Use the Z or up arrow key to jump, and press the down arrow key to activate switches or collect items.

Six levels in total. The Windows binary version contains an executable which runs just fine without the need for a Python installation.

Name: Which Way is Up
Developer: Olli Etuaho
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
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News
Another screenshot from Buster's upcoming game posted. [Vacant Ark review]

xii games is currently seeking a background artist for their upcoming adventure game (paid position).

The game is set in a not-so-distant future when a particle physicist’s mysterious and spectacular death sparks a race to find his hidden vault and claim his terrifying new discovery.

The team consists of Vince Twelve (Linus), Shane 'ProgZMax' Stevens (The Shivah, Mind’s Eye) and Nikolas Sideris. [Source: Gnomes' Lair, Leisure Suit Larry: Lost in Love, Mind's Eye, The Shivah, Linus]

OEDb recently published a guide to Video Game Degrees and Careers.

Latest PyWeek Competition entries can be found on this page.
Posted at 1:18 AM by Tim
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AtomHex Preview
the2bears bring news about Mark Incitti's (Grid Wars) upcoming arena shooter entitled AtomHex. To be released soon. [Geometry Wars clones article]



Posted at 1:08 AM by Tim
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Sunday, April 08, 2007
Puzzle Game
It's a Puzzle Game, a game where there are puzzles, and it's your job to solve them. The main gameplay element here are blocks. Blocks of all shapes and sizes are to be pushed around until a path to the exit appears.

This demonstration version has six levels.

Name: Puzzle Game
Developer: Lazrael
Category: Puzzle
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB

Labels:

Posted at 2:18 AM by Tim
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eXceed3rd Preview
More screenshots from TENNEN-SOZAI's upcoming vertical shooter, eXceed3rd-JADE PENETRATE-.

A trial version will be released in either May or June. [eXceed2nd-VAMPIRE-, eXceed review]



Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
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Lazrael's Platformers
Miscellaneous screenshots from Lazrael's other unreleased projects. Currently involved in military service for at least half a year.




Posted at 1:18 AM by Tim
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Easter Cortex
Easter Cortex is fairly straightforward game, originally written for the Retro Remakes 2007 Easter Mini competition. The objective is to clear the level of eggs. Eggs are removed by pushing them together in matching groups of three or more.

The cursor keys move the rabbit. You can only push eggs from behind, so be careful of pushing them into corners or against walls. Also try not to leave yourself with fewer than three of any design.

Press the escape key to return to the level selection screen if you get stuck.

Name: Easter Cortex
Developer: Simon Bradley
Category: Puzzle
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Posted at 1:08 AM by Tim
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Saturday, April 07, 2007
News
Veck Special Edition released. [screenshot from the upcoming Veck 2, Veck review]

Richard Jordan's remake of Zub (A Commodore 64 game by The Pickford Brothers of Naked War fame) will be released soon. [Jetpak - Solar Crisis, Atic Atac, Klass of 99]

The origin of Jenka's theme (Cave Story) uncovered.

A gameplay video from oddbob's Beast Invaders 3 can be viewed here. [screenshots set one, set two, latest G-Force build]

Crimsonland 2 and Azangara will be released soon. [Source: Lexder]

Posted at 2:18 AM by Tim
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Parotte Fighter Special Heroes Dynamite Preview
Another doujin fighting game with a very novel idea. Parotte Fighter Special Heroes Dynamite (by Retsuzan Games) features female cosplayers dressed up as characters from classic 2D fighters such as the Street Fighter series, World Heroes (Rasputin, Captain Kid), Fatal Fury and several others.




Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
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Orbit Racers
Orbit Racers is an oldie but a goodie -- it's basically a very simplistic racing game, but the twist is that there is only one button in the game, the space bar. The entire game is controlled with that one button.

How does that work? Letting go of the space bar moves you toward the center of the track, and pushing it moves you away. Because you don’t want to hit either side of the track, you will continuously tap the space bar throughout the races, avoiding obstacles and targeting speed boost arrows.

Every race is a perfect circle, orbiting some center of gravity. After you get used to the controls it’s rather simple and gets tedious (there are 10 laps for each track, and the tracks are all circles so they don’t vary very much), but the idea of a single-button game alone made it worth playing.

Name: Orbit Racers
Developer: Pug Fugly Games
Category: Racing
Type: Freeware
Size: 3MB
Posted at 1:18 AM by miyamoto-SAN
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Chocolate Castle
Chocolate Castle is one of the better puzzle games I've ever played, and I would recommend it to anyone who is into logic puzzles to give it a go. Don't let the casual look or the cute animals and chocolate theme fool you, this takes some very serious thinking to play well, and you get a great sense of satisfaction when you solve some of the more difficult puzzles.

The controls are intuitive, the graphics are sharp, the level design is superb, I really have no complaints except the lack of an option for music during gameplay -- some people can do without it, but it doesn't feel right to me without background music. But you can always play your own music.

The gameplay is hard to describe. You drag chocolate pieces; if two pieces of the same type touch they merge. The object of the game is to clear the level of all chocolate, which you do by dragging the cute animals to the chocolate of their type. However, they disappear after one use, so you need to get all the chocolate of similar types bunched up before you drag the animal that can eat that type into it. There are 120 levels, 12 in the demo.

Name: Chocolate Castle
Developer: Lexaloffle Software
Category: Puzzle
Type: Shareware
Size: Less than 1MB
Posted at 1:08 AM by miyamoto-SAN
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Thursday, April 05, 2007
Copic Fighter
My new project now has a name: Copic Fighter. It's a top down scrolling shooter, with a (hopefully) unique art twist. Official announcement can be found here, and a boss battle update here [Mentisworks, Thruster].

A preliminary demo should be ready soon. Your feedback is, as always, welcome and appreciated.

Labels: , ,

Posted at 7:08 AM by Michal
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News
Pictured on the right, a screenshot from Bernie's latest project. [Darkside Adventures, A Game with a Kitty, Reactor 09, Cedric and the Revolution]

Engage to Jabberwock mapped. [Shoot the Core article, Inverted Castle's download mirrors, Engage to Jabberwock review]

Here's another teaser screenshot from rEIZUs3. [click to open in new window, Crazy Patterns, Clean Asia review, past projects by cactus]

PEKPOK has at least two games in development. [PEKPOK's games]

9th Night has a new action game in production. A preview video was also released. [Blood Over review]

Another screenshot from NotKnytt (Knytt sequel) leaked. [Interview, Knytt, Within a Deep Forest, other games by Nifflas]

Posted at 2:18 AM by Tim
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Bernard and Hank: Springtime Again
Hank makes some pocket money by selling eggs, and plans to win the yearly egg contest with a huge egg. NationalLiberal, on the prowl for revenge, steals the big eggs and sends out his minions to paint and hide the rest of the eggs. Hank, along with his old pal Bernard, has to go through twenty-seven levels, meet around twenty different enemies and search for hidden bonus levels to defeat NationalLiberal once again and get his egg back.

Bernard and Hank: Springtime Again is a straightforward platform game. The graphics are as simple as in the first game, but the gameplay, sound effects and music tracks have seen improvements. Also included is the minigame Liberball and a jukebox to listen to all music tracks.

Name: Bernard and Hank: Springtime Again
Developer: The Peasants
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
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Vs Snake
Vs Snake is a decent two player implementation of the classic time waster, with a configurable A.I. thrown in for good measure. There are even four different skins to choose from, though the gameplay is a little too basic and won't sustain interest for more than a couple of minutes.

Name: Vs Snake
Developer: Unknown
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Posted at 1:18 AM by Tim
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Conformity
Conformity is an experimental game in which the player has to cast a multicolored net by holding down the left mouse button and capture every single green circle on screen to progress. Catching a red circle will incur a health penalty. Restore a small percentage of health by grabbing the white ones.

Name: Conformity
Developer: Scott Anderson
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Posted at 1:08 AM by Tim
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Tuesday, April 03, 2007
News
L.A.2 updated to ver 0.2. The blue turrets have been made much more visible now. [L.A.2 play instructions]

Acidbomb 2: Rearmed is out. [Acidbomb 2 preview]

Fun-Motion.com updated with news about an editor for Ski Stunt Extreme.

An interview with Amanda Fitch (Aveyond) can be found here.

The Fourth PyWeek Challenge will end in four days.

Gaism complete run added. [Gaism review]

Space Aggressor is currently undergoing beta testing.

There's a new release from Babarageo entitled Drill Boost Missile.

Cave Jumper could be released for free, again. [Cave Jumper review, hints, thanks to Sandcrab for the correction!]

Space Quest II Remake has been officially announced by the Infamous Adventures team. The released demo is rather shoddy though. [Scott Murphy interview, earlier mention]

Galshell 2 Bullet Rain recently updated to version 0.26. [Warning: Contains nudity! Galshell 2 Bullet Rain review]

New pixel art posted by buloght. Anonymous also pointed out a recent interview, thanks! [Knightsquire/The Family Treasure review, buloght's past projects]

Posted at 2:18 AM by Tim
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News
The 40MB demo link for DROD: The City Beneath can be acquired from this page. [direct download links: Windows, Mac, Linux, purchase]

There's a couple of new posts over at the Softlanding development journal.

GameDesign has a new game out, a surprisingly average puzzler entitled Porolith Flash.

Another Rozen Diadem gameplay video posted.

Prominence is a new point-and-click science-fiction adventure game scheduled for release in 2008. [Adventure Gamers' article]

Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
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Ballz
Ballz is a rather nifty platformer which involves getting your main character to the teleporter located somewhere at the end of each stage. Horizontal movement is constant, with Ballz doing a complete turn only after hitting a wall. To jump, simply press the space key.

Levels can be attempted several times, since collecting stars is vital to unlock the rest of the game. Made in under seventy-two hours.

Name: Ballz
Developer: Team Darkbits
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Posted at 1:18 AM by Tim
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Can Can Crusher
Can Can Crusher is a rather average mini game by GRC, the creators of Mission Missyo. Press the space key to crush the cans, but avoid stepping on bombs or face the consequences.

Name: Can Can Crusher
Developer: GRC
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Posted at 1:08 AM by Tim
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Monday, April 02, 2007
Cosmic Invaders
The objective of Cosmic Invaders is to prevent the invaders from reaching the bottom of the screen. This is done by deploying defensive structures, accessible from the bottom right. Once deployed, towers will automatically fire on your enemies. Each costs money, which along with your remaining life is displayed in the bottom left. Towers can be sold, giving you back half of their original cost plus potentially valuable real estate, by selecting them with the left mouse button and clicking the demolish button. Right click cancels selection and placement. Pressing the escape key exits the game.

Laser turrets fire straight up every few seconds, dealing damage to the first invader the shot hits. Missile batteries fire seeking missiles at a slower rate, but they deal heavier damage, plus splash damage around them. The missiles explode if they fail to hit anything within a few seconds, although they still deal splash damage if they're close enough to anything when they do. Spark towers will deal heavy damage to a single invader, but have much shorter range.

There are planned features not yet in the game, such as the ability to upgrade towers once placed, more types of towers, more enemy types, and boss waves. Click on the paper clip icon to initiate download.

Name: Cosmic Invaders
Developer: X-G
Category: Strategy
Type: Freeware
Size: 1MB
Posted at 8:18 AM by Tim
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Thruster
Thruster is a caveflier, originally released for the Tapwave Zodiac, then ported to the GP2X, and now Windows. The game's concept is based on an older black and white title called Spout, by Kuni. Here are some of the features of Thruster.
  • Three different game modes.
  • Two difficulty levels.
  • High score tables with replay.
  • Beautiful backgrounds.
  • Original Soundtrack.
  • Ability to add your own music.
  • More than 2K particles in play at once.
Art and music in Thruster was inspired a good deal by Rez, resulting in background images and sounds that will be familiar to fans of the latter.



Use X to select menu items and active your ships thrust. Space will pause the game, as well as going back in menus. Using the arrow keys to steer your ship, propel yourself upwards and erode the landscape with the thrust particles.

(Thruster wallpapers can be found here, via Mentisworks)

Name: Thruster 1.3
Developer: Andrew Kearns
Category: Arcade
Type: Freeware
Size: 18MB

Labels: ,

Posted at 8:08 AM by Michal
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Binary Land
Binary Land is a remake of an old NES action game, created with Clickteam's MultiMedia Fusion 2. The goal is to guide two penguins to opposite sides of a heartcage. The trick is that you control both penguins at once and one of the penguins movements are mirrored.

Differences from the original includes updated graphics, thirty stages of puzzle action, brand new levels, circling flames as a new enemy type, the nifty level editor and an oldschool ending.

Use the arrow keys to move both penguins around, and hold the left control key to shoot bugspray. Handy for freeing your partner, removing webs and spiders. Press the escape key to quit game at any time. Game is saved automatically when each stage is cleared.

A gamepad can be configured by changing the control type at the options screen, with the control key mapped to the first button on the joypad.

Name: Binary Land
Developer: Magnus Nilsson
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Posted at 7:18 AM by Tim
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Penumbra: Overture
Penumbra: Overture is an innovative first person survival horror game using advanced physics interaction. Instead of relying on combat as the main gameplay element Penumbra focuses on puzzles, exploration and enemies have to be dealt with by using wits rather than brute strength. This creates a unique experience in an atmospheric game world.

Penumbra tells the story of Philip, who in search of his presumed dead father uncovers more than he could ever had imagined. Trapped in an underground complex below the icy wastelands of Greenland, Philip needs to not only fight for his survival, but for his sanity as well.

Penumbra: Overture is to be released in two more episodes during 2007-2008. More information can be found at: http://www.penumbra-overture.com/

Frictional Games has also released a quick tour of their 'office' which briefly describes the conditions under which Penumbra: Overture was developed. The tour can be found at: http://tour.frictionalgames.com/
Posted at 7:08 AM by Tim
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News
Adventure

Charlie Foxtrot is set for a release this month. [The Winter Rose review]

New screenshot from Indiana Jones and the Fountain of Youth added. [Fountain of Youth review]

The creator of Spooks will release a new game this month.

Screenshots from other upcoming AGS releases can be found in this forum thread.

Here's an interview with Al Lowe which lasts over an entire hour. [direct download link]

The CD-ROM version of Freddy Pharkas, Frontier Pharmacist has been made available as a web download for quite a while now. [500MB download link]
Posted at 2:18 AM by Tim
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News
Gesundheit updated to version 1.1, with new keyboard controls introduced and an optional aiming crosshair. A replacement index file can also be downloaded to unlock all levels. [Underwater Base, Gesundheit review]

Bullet Candy Update 7 now available.

DHC announced a new shooter entitled Vulkaiser as an April 1st event.

Chris' blog is situated here. [A Mini Falafel Adventure]

RTSoft gets a new look.

Paul Robertson's new short film will be out this month.

Posted at 2:08 AM by Tim
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Leisure Suit Larry: Lost in Love
Leisure Suit Larry: Lost in Love sets our favorite character on a new adventure, with gorgeous pixel graphics by the talented ProgZmax and the sort of humor that Al Lowe is most famous for replicated with incredible accuracy. Only a demo for now but what a tasty appetizer for things to come.

Name: Leisure Suit Larry: Lost in Love
Developer: Shane Stevens
Category: Adventure
Type: Freeware
Size: 10MB
Posted at 1:18 AM by Tim
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Sunday, April 01, 2007
Pogo Fred: Chapter 1
Pogo Fred: Chapter 1 is a platform adventure featuring blue pyjama wearing Fred and his friend Adrian the Pogostick. Fred has no idea where he is, or what has gone on, but eventually with your help, he will learn the truth.

Pogo Fred is coded in Blitzmax with music written in MilkyTracker and most of the graphics drawn in Macromedia Flash, then edited in Paintshop Pro X. Just like Within a Deep Forest, your character is always in a perpetual vertical motion throughout the entire game. Hold the down arrow key to lower your bounce height, or use the up arrow key to jump higher. Press the S key to stomp on enemies.

There's quite a number of stuff to collect and even secret areas to discover in this one.

Name: Pogo Fred: Chapter 1
Developer: Chris Raz
Category: Platform
Type: Freeware
Size: 20MB
Posted at 7:18 AM by Tim
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Super Obliteration
Cross Pang, Asteroids, Turrican and Plasma, and you get TCK’s Super Obliteration.

This is a simple game, destroy all the rocks on each level before the timer runs out. Collect powerups or avoid bad ones for different weapons, faster or slower shots, and even shields.

There are four control methods to choose from. To send your highscores to the online board, go to the high scores screen and click on the sync button. Please ensure that you allow the program access through any firewall you may have in place.

Name: Super Obliteration
Developer: TCK
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 2MB
Posted at 7:08 AM by Tim
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XYZZY Awards 2006
This actually happened a month ago, but the winners of the 2006 XYZZY Awards for interactive fiction have been announced! Top honors went to Eric Eve's science fiction story The Elysium Enigma, while Andrew Plotkin's Edward Gorey homage Delightful Wallpaper and Emily Short's Floatpoint were among winners in several other categories.

The Elysium Enigma casts you as an Imperial officer charged with contacting a mysteriously technophobic settlement on a remote planet. I've only had a chance to play the first five minutes of it, but the premise seems intriguing so far.

For elegant multi-platform interpreters that should be able to run most or all of the nominated titles, I recommend Gargoyle for Windows or Spatterlight for Macintosh systems.

(XYZZY Awards 2006 summarized at Baf's Guide and ifwiki.org)

Labels:

Posted at 2:18 AM by Shih Tzu
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The Path (preview)
The Path by Tale-of-Tales, makers of The Endless Forest, is a single-player horror game currently in production that I've been following for awhile. It's hard to describe, so I'll quote from its website:
  • play six different characters with distinct personalities
  • interact with autonomous characters driven by Drama Princess technology
  • unique free-form gameplay: do what you want when you want it
  • mix the music in realtime through in-game activity
  • lose yourself in an endless forest filled with attractions and atrocities
The Path has no goals, and although it might sound like an adventure game, it really isn't like that either, as there are no puzzles to solve and no predefined progression, and no plot. I imagine it like Silent Hill, but without the gameplay or gore, but retaining the frightening atmosphere, a game that you'd wander around in a forest, not to do anything, but just to feel a bit eerie.

There's currently no download, but you can see a trailer on its website.
Posted at 2:08 AM by miyamoto-SAN
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L.A.2
L.A.2 is a Flash experiment by Kenta Cho which involves destroying blue turrets with the use of gliders.

Hold the Z key to fire a glider. When the glider touches a green cell, it will turn brown and spread out. Release the Z key to destroy all brown cells on screen.

Name: L.A.2
Developer: Kenta Cho
Category: Shooter
Type: Browser
Posted at 1:18 AM by Tim
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Chirality
Chirality is a one-switch game of reflexes and perception. The menu cycles through four choices - three different modes of play which are increasingly tougher, and the exit command. Press the space key to select a play mode, the game will begin.

There will be two sets of vanes in the play area. These look somewhat like fans rotating. There is a white set of vanes rotating in one direction, and a blue set rotating in the other direction. On both sets of vanes are yellow symbols. There are six different symbols in all.

As the vanes rotate they will eventually overlap each other. If you hit the button when a match overlap is happening, you score one point for each matching pair. If there is a match and you don't press the button before the overlap ends, the match pairs turn red and disappear. They are also replaced by new symbols, but you lose one try in the process. If you press the button when there is no match, you also lose one try.

There are three different play levels in this game, each of which is harder than the previous one. You start each game with five tries, which are shown at the bottom of the game screen as blue circles.

Name: Chirality
Developer: Dream Codex
Category: Action
Type: Freeware
Size: 5MB
Posted at 1:08 AM by Tim
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Posted at 12:18 AM by Tim