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Multiplayer Game Reviews
March 16, 2010
Travels with Gulliver promises an adventure in the footsteps of the titular character in Jonathan Swift’s famous Gulliver’s Travels. You follow a book club on board their yacht as they travel around the world. Along the way, you not only have the opportunity to read portions of Gulliver’s Travels but you also get glimpses into the lives of the book club, including some romance, twists, and a mystery.
My experience with Travels with Gulliver got off to a rough start. The original install file I downloaded immediately downloaded more files. It then proceeded to install extra shortcuts onto my Desktop and Start Menu, added a Game Manager which then downloaded another 55 megabytes of files before actually installing the game.
Hint to Developers – Don’t clutter the Desktop with unwanted icons. It annoys me and I haven’t even had the chance to play the game.
That aside, Travels with Gulliver itself is a simple Match-3 game. Matching larger numbers of tokens earns more points, power-ups, etc. Completing a level earns you the chance to read a page or two of Gulliver’s Travels and completing chapters earns you Postcards, Passport Stamps, and additional Wallpaper. You also get to read portions of the narrator’s journal.
 Excerpts from Swift's Gulliver's Travel are a fun reward to completing levels. On the graphic front, I split it into two sections – the artwork and the game play. The artwork itself is excellent and fits the era very well. From the introduction to each cut scene, even the graphics behind the puzzles themselves, I enjoyed the visuals. Game play graphics are a different story. I had the sense I was playing a game several years old. There is some roughness to the graphics and nothing extravagant.
 Fishes and Wheels and Compasses As for the game play itself – there is nothing too special about this Match-3 game. Every puzzle has the same goal of clearing the Blue tiles. There are variations with Chain Select, Token Pop, and Gates thrown in to force a little strategy. Even with these variations, the levels do become repetitive after a while.
Sadly, the puzzles have nothing to do with the story that takes place in either Gulliver’s Travels or the Book Club’s adventures. I found those far more interesting than playing Match-3. To see what would happen next was the primary reason I kept playing.
What drew me to Travels with Gulliver was the concept. Journeying with Swift’s character, the artwork, and the added addition of the Book Club was intriguing. Unfortunately, I don’t think the game lived up to that potential. I can only recommend that you play through the demo (restricted to 60 minutes). If you like the game, spend the $7.00 to purchase it.
On the positive side, Travels is the first release from Blue Footed Games. With a bit of work, their next release might be even better. And that would be worth looking forward too.
Game: Travels with Gulliver | Developer: Blue Footed Games
March 15, 2010
Fast car frenzy is a web game that does exactly what it says on the tin. Fast paced and entertaining action, quickly and easily.
Like many web based racing games, there is a limit on just how good the graphics can actually be but this game is a keeper because of the simple fact it is so easy to control.
All you need to do is use your keyboard skills to beat other racers as you go through and complete various stages. This makes it quick and allows the game to load quickly so you can always go back and start again if you’re driving is a bit rubbish.
 Win more races to become the best! However, the only problem is that the depth of the game is very limited. It is easy to get into but once you have got the hang of the turns and the pace of the game, it can become quite boring pretty quickly.
The way this is counter acted is in the nature of the game itself. The developers clearly have not go for something that is going to rival the modern day examples of Formula One graphics and game play.
This is more the sort of game you will have a cheeky go on while you’re boss is not looking over your shoulder at work. Or a way of distracting yourself innocently when you have that important essay lingering in the back of your mind.
The game is hosted on a number of different web based game sites. This is because it seems to be very popular in terms of distraction and pace as opposed to having a deep story line and brilliant graphics.
 One of the best racing games around There are different settings on the latest versions of the game, which allow a slightly more difficult type of game play. Once you get the hang of it though, it will not be long until you are doing a Jenson Button and winning pretty much every race.
This is where the game falls. You will move on so quickly that it won’t be one that sticks in the memory for too long at all. Hopefully it will make you smile and open up the inner child inside yourself for a couple hours though.
You can’t go outside and put your foot down to drive like a mad person in real life but you can do it on your computer screen. So sit back, get into it, make yourself a coffee and enjoy.
Game: Fast Car Frenzy http://www.miniclip.com/games/fast-car-frenzy/en/ | Developer: Mini Clip http://www.miniclip.com
March 14, 2010
One of the very first things you’ll notice about Platform Racing 2 is that it is almost purely user created. That’s right. Instead of tucking away the design tools in a secret vault in Nevada, the game creator placed them right inside the game. Do you want a level that is super easy to help you hone your skills? Make it. Do you want a level that is so excruciatingly hard that it will make even hardcore gamers scream and toss their computers out the window? Go ahead, make it.
 Races sometimes offer extra body parts so you can customize your character. Most platformers have payers run, jump, and dodge their ways through a series of levels, trying only to get from start to finish. Platform Racing 2 doesn’t follow this formula. Instead, it pits you against up to 3 other people in a race to the finish. Along the way, you’ll find powerups to help you gain an edge over your competitors à la MarioKart. Grab a speed boost, a jetpack, or even a bolt of lightning that stops opponents dead in their tracks.
As a reward, players receive XP based on how many opponents they beat through the level. There’s a bit of consolation XP too, even if you come in last place. The more XP you gain, the higher you level. The higher you level, the more races will be available to you and the higher you can crank your stats.
On top of XP, sometimes races offer body parts for the player who comes in first place. These go into your inventory, and you can use them to customize the look of your character. And for further customization, you can sometimes earn hats that give you permanent bonuses. Players often have these hats knocked off by obstacles on the course, so watch out for those explosive blocks! If you beat your opponents to the fallen item, you can wear it on top of yours. So while you can’t go into a race wearing more than one hat, it is quite possible to finish wearing four. And yes, you would receive the bonuses from all four hats combined. (Hint: if you play Platform Racing 2 on Kongregate, you’ll be given an exclusive K hat that gives you 1.25x the XP gain.)
Platform Racing 2 has sort of a homemade look to it, but don’t let that distract you from the addictive gameplay. Build your own custom levels and add some friends for a truly wonderful gaming experience.
 The level editor allows you to create your own levels from scratch.
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Game: Platform Racing 2 | Developer: Jiggmin
March 13, 2010
There are many of us out there who enjoy the thrill of having a little gamble but without the financial risk of doing so.
Poker is a brilliant example of one such game, which has spurned the growth of many electronic and online versions of the card game. Safe gambling games allow us to enjoy the excitement without racking up huge debts.
If all you want is a little bit of fun to eat a few hours out of your long and busy day then Governor of Poker is just the game you have been looking for.
The game works around you traveling through the states of America, slowly winning more money through playing a large amount of poker games. You even have to win your transport to get to each state through the card game.
 Battle away to become the best It is quick paced and actually quite fun. You can alter settings, which will allow you to cancel out the annoying long trash talk speeches of other players as you sit around a table and make your next move.
The only problem is that there is only one free level on the demo game, which you can play on many flash game hosting websites. To get any further you will have to cough up a small fee, which will allow you to download the full version of the game.
For free you can dominate one state, for a fee you can dominate the entire country.
The graphics are simple but effective. You can see everything you need to see in clarity during game play and while you are moving between barns, gambling houses and states.
The only problem is that it is a fairly basic poker game, which many will find pretty limited. This is only the sort of thing that those looking for some lighthearted fun will enjoy.
 Work your way through towns and villages If you really do enjoy your poker and want to play seriously without any financial risk then feel free to sift through the hundreds upon hundreds of online poker games currently sitting around on the internet.
The price is pretty irrelevant and costs only in the region of around £15/$25 for the full version. If you get into the game and start to enjoy it then you will happily pay the price, which will let you battle away for hours building your reputation and becoming the governor of poker.
Game: Governor of Poker http://www.miniclip.com/games/governor-of-poker/en/ | Developer: Youda Games http://www.youdagames.com/
March 12, 2010
Bob Came In Pieces was absolutely delightful! It is a wonderful mixture of adventure and puzzle, a game where you try to rebuild the broken spaceship of  Bob, your stranded alien counterpart. In Bob Came In Pieces you fly around and use the bits and pieces you find through your journey you. Still, it’s more than simply a find and search game. It’s also a puzzle game in which you use the parts you find in order to cross barriers and boundaries that you run across as you attempt to continue your search.
 The mechanical aspect of Bob Came In Pieces is as simple as it gets. You use the arrow keys to fly around, directing yourself in order to catch these parts and are greatly affected by the force of gravity and the uneven weight distribution of your spaceship. Even so, there are times where you must suffer a little bit of imbalance in order to get where you need to. Bob Came In Pieces is a game that’s easy to learn and easier to work with. It’s not something that you’re going to have to slave over in order to figure out, but it’s still enough of a challenge that you won’t get bored of simply mashing buttons.
The music and art of Bob Came In Pieces is in one word: charming. It’s something that calm s and encourages, even when you’re confused and unsure of how you should continue. There isn’t so much as a hiccup that doesn’t seem as if it’s supposed to belong in the story itself.
All in all, I really enjoyed Bob Came In Pieces. It is a game that pulled me in and even made me laugh as I worked with Bob in order to get him back home. If you pay attention you are almost sure to figure out what you need to do. The game is trying but not impossible and there are plenty of clues when you are stuck. For the most part there is only one or two ways you can go anyway, so it’s not hard to figure out where to go and which way to move.
Bob Came In Pieces is the kind of game I would suggest you play if you’re one who enjoys puzzles and action. The game itself isn’t that far along the lines of either category but it still manages to fit snuggly within them. It was fun and enjoyable! Play it!
Game: Bob Came in Pieces http://ludosity.com/games/bob-came-in-pieces/ | Developer: Ludosity Interactive http://ludosity.com/
March 11, 2010
Now, if you happened to have read my Euflora review you know how I feel about these types of games. In Galcon you use speed and quick thinking to overcome an enemy by taking over vast voids of empty space with your limited number of recruits. You also spend time waiting for your voids (which look a lot like planets in this set up, especially because of the star background) to recover the number of troops you lose when you send them forth, thus conquering any void that has less inhabitants than what you send out.
Now, if you did read the Euflora review you know that I love this kind of strategy game enough to have bought Euflora. It was a laid back game that provided entertainment without being overly stressful.
That being said, the overall fundamental ideas are pretty much the only thing Euflora and Galcon Fusion have in common. You send your little pixels to take over another body of pixels. Period. However, that’s where the similarities end. While Eulfora was a laid back game with soft music and charming colors Galcon Fusion gave off the distinct impression of being more…manly.
Now I’m not sexist or anything, but the game itself definitely had a guy vibe. For starters the music is much faster. It’s almost pulsing through you as you play, edging you on. Then there is the fact that in this game the “bad guy” is much, much more aggressive. Basically, if you’re not paying attention hardcore you’re going to lose, pure and simple.
It’s the difference of having a salad: nice, crispy, easy to get down….and having chili: it’s good and salty but you have to chew a great deal more and your stomach is probably going to have to fight to get it all digested.
This is a good game, don’t get me wrong. It’s fast paced, challenging, and exciting, which is good if that’s what you’re looking for. For me it was a bit much but that’s because I’m a “softer” player. I would recommend this game to someone who likes to have his or her heart thumping while he plays. The multiplayer option takes that feeling up to a new degree, though as I said I was a little overwhelmed by that aspect alone. Anyway, I hope this gives you gamers out there a good feel for the game. Have fun!
Game: Galcon Fusion http://www.galcon.com/fusion/ | Developer: Hassey Enterprises, Inc., http://www.philhassey.com/blog/
March 10, 2010
I liked Cogs. It was a simple enough game that was challenging and trying. It’s a puzzle game in which you are supposed to basically rearrange blocks to line up bits and gadgets in order to make small machines work. In the beginning all you have to do is line up cogs so that the wheels all line up and push one another. After a while you get little gadgets that you have to force into working, much like a clock. You become the guiding force that makes the clocks (and various other gadgets) work properly.
Not only that but you are given ratings and awards based on how efficiently and quickly you can solve each of these. I personally played one puzzle at least ten times, just for the satisfaction of having the three gold medals.
The music in Cogs is as engaging and uplifting as the lovely artwork. There were times where I was so frustrated with my inability to work this virtual Rubix cube the music was all that kept me from punching a hole in my walls. Yes, I am still a terrible rager.
At any rate, I also loved the artwork in Cogs. There is a certain Steam punk quality that makes the art warm and sweet. I  liked the colors and felt that they were well chosen. They matched the tone of the game constantly and never distracted  from the overall point of playing Cogs.
Mostly I was quietly charmed by the ease in which Cogs can be played. It is obviously meant to be a strategy game, a puzzle meant to be worked through carefully and lovingly. Still, if you don’t actually want to think about how to work through the puzzle, enough clicking will doubtlessly get you where you want to go.
There’s a certain feeling of goodwill that goes with working through puzzles, even ones that you don’t really work through, mentally. Even so, even when you’re just pointing and clicking it feels good to get badges that mark your efforts. All in all, I would suggest Cogs for anyone who likes to cut the drama out of gaming. It’s really a low key kind of game, something relaxing as well as fun.
Game: Cogs http://www.cogsgame.com/ | Developer: Lazy 8 http://www.lazy8studios.com/
March 9, 2010
Some games are meant to challenge the reflexes. Some are meant to challenge the mind. Wildebeest Games opts to challenge both and they’ve done so with their latest release, Tricky Tracks 2010.
Tricky Tracks (TT2010) claims to be a precision driving game and right from the start, it lives up to that. The goal is to guide your car through a series of tracks and obstacles. Those who are keen on blowing through each level with a lead foot might want to steer clear. If you want to be challenged, TT2010 is right down your alley. The tracks and obstacles are clever and require a fine hand to complete.
 Whoops. Just a Hair too Far Right... On the graphics front, TT2010 is well-done with a focus on what matters – the car, the track, and the obstacles. Clouds and fog hide any exterior scenes (though it appears you’re driving several miles above the ground). The audio on the car motions is fairly good and the soundtrack is fair, though nothing to get excited over.
The controls for steering your car are touchy to a point of extreme. This is a boon and annoyance. The touchy controls are helpful in that they allow for the fine tuning necessary to complete each level. Quite often you’ll find yourself having to make minuscule changes to your car’s position in order to bypass an obstacle. It was annoying in the sense that I found using the Arrow Keys to be a pain. Thankfully, there is an option to connect a joystick/game pad.
One gripe – while playing the Demo version, Wildebeest opted to disable the controls after a set period of time and display a nag screen to purchase the full version. Having just navigated a tricky section and not yet made it to the next checkpoint, I was less than pleased. There are better ways to encourage folks to pick up the game.
That gripe aside, TT2010 is right on the ball where it counts – game play. The tracks are challenging and require thinking, rather than just brute force. You’ll also find it helpful to be able to adjust your car. There are options to adjust gears and brake balance, play with the springs or move weight from front to rear. All of these have an effect on how your car handles.
 Tweak Your Car for the Fatest Time Once you’ve completed a level, you can watch a Replay (with various camera views) or send out a Ghost Car and try to better your previous best time. You can also send your Replays to friends to compare how they managed to navigate the course.
With a game like TT2010 and the audience it attracts, there is no doubt that the players will want to go beyond the included tracks. Proving they know their audience, Wildebeest included the TrackMaker, the same tool used to create the tracks that came with the game. Creating tracks is simple and you can easily share them with friends.
Tricky Tracks 2010 was a fun and enjoyable game. I went into it not knowing what to expect and came out pleasantly surprised. The longer I played it, the more I enjoyed it. Wildebeest focused their efforts where it counts and it shows. For a price of only 5 Euros (roughly US$7), it’s a no brainer. Just save the brains to play the game.
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Game: Tricky Tracks 2010 | Developer: Wildebeest Games
March 8, 2010
Legends of Zork
You all remember Zork, right? The classic text-based computer game. ‘Walk North,’ ‘Swing sword,’ etc. And don’t forget Zork II and Zork III. Games that frustrated and exhilarated in equal measure.
Now there’s Legends of Zork, a browser-based MMORPG — though the developers prefer to call it a casual adventure game — developed by Jolt Online Gaming in agreement with Activision.
 Zorkilicious! It’s free to sign up and play, though there is also the option to purchase advantages with real cash.
Gameplay
The game plays very differently from your typical MMORPG. It’s been described by some critics as ‘barebones’ and ‘rudimentary.’ This is likely because the game visibly revolves around dice-rolling and stats and makes no attempt to hide it. When you explore an area a random generator determines what type of creature or puzzle you meet up with, and then dice rolls determine what the outcome is, with advantages and disadvantages added in based on your level and weapons and what skills you’ve chosen as you level up versus your opponent’s level and weapons and skills. At no point do you choose what type of attack to use, or otherwise control your character.
That is probably why the developer’s describe the game as a ‘casual adventure.’
 There shall be smiting This may suit some gamers, or it may not. Fans of more immersive RPG’s may quickly get bored, but there’s still plenty here to keep you interested.
You play a person who used to be a salesman for FrobozzCo International but is now laid off, and has decided to go adventuring instead. Adventuring includes killing monsters and looting them for zorkmoids and other valuable objects that can be sold for zorkmoids, and solving puzzles, which also provide zorkmoids if solved successfully.
Those zorkmoids can be used to buy weapons and armor and spells. Each monster defeated and each puzzle solved provides experience points. The more difficult (you can choose to explore above or below your current level too, if you wish) the monster or puzzle the more experience and loot. If you lose all your health points you drop the loot you’re carrying and have to scurry back to your current base to recover your health.
 Skills, skills and possibly a skillet or two Every time you level up you receive one skill point which can be used to train yourself in a skill pertaining to mind, body or spirit. As you go up levels new places to explore will become available, as well as bases. Bases are the places you go to store your loot, recover health and buy weapons and spells.
You will also find Fanucci cards as you travel. The use of these cards isn’t heavily explained, but there’s a whole lot of them and you can use them to enhance your body, mind, spirit and overall defence and attack. Beware: some cards work very well together, some averagely, and some don’t like each other at all.
Every fifth level, starting at level 5, a quest is opened up to you. This is as close as the game gets to an actual story. You will need to travel to the places given in the quest clues and then stumble around battling monsters until you come across the next clue, or finish the quest. There is no set number of encounters you need to go through to find each clue. You might stumble across it first time out, or it might take thirty explorations.
Your adventuring limit is determined by how many Action Points you have. You will receive thirty a day for free (for each character you have, and you can create as many as you want). These stack up over time, and you can also purchase more APs by parting with a little real cash. This cash will buy you coconuts, and coconuts can then be traded for potions, some of which will give you more action points. Once you run out of action points you can do no more adventuring until the next day (or the next purchase, though you are limited to how many potions you can purchase in a seven-day period).
Technical
There’s nothing technically wrong with the game. It plays the way it’s been designed to play and works well in most browsers, though Firefox 3+, IE 7 and Safari 3+ are recommended.
If you’re playing around the time when the next lot of Action Points are being divvied out you may find the game slow, or receive server errors. This is frustrating, but only lasts for a period of half an hour or so, and happens at a time when most gamers on the American side of the Atlantic will be fast asleep.
The game had a severe looks upgrade within the last two weeks (middle of Feb 2010) and now looks much sleeker and shinier than it did before.
Multiplayer
Multiplayer doesn’t appear to be a huge aspect within the game. You can create group adventures, join clans and chat with other players, but the biggest multiplayer aspect are PvP battles, determined in much the same way battles against monsters are determined. The benefits of these battles are fairly limited. You can wager zorkmoids, and take double the amount you wagered if you win the fight. And you either gain or lose fame dependent on the outcome. Fame has no real benefit apart from gloating rights.
Even with its limitations I’ve found myself playing this game every day. Perhaps it’s the casual experience that does it — you can play for an hour, use all your action points, go up a level or two, upgrade weapons and spells and feel satisfied that you’re enjoying the whole game and not missing out on anything — but whatever it is, it’s definitely enjoyable.
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Game: Legends of Zork | Developer: Jolt Online Gaming
March 7, 2010
Work, eat, repeat: such is the life of a Mogo. There is no time for fun; each day is a monotonous cycle. But one Mogo in particular believes life should not always be this way. Bogo is an inventor on the verge of a new discovery, something that will change life on the island of Mogo-Mogo forever. One day, like Isaac Newton, he is hit in the head with a piece of Mogo-fruit. He is knocked unconscious and enters a dreamworld full of wonder. Somewhere inside the maze of Bogo’s unconscious lies the key to this new invention. Will he find it?
 Match the symbols to those at the ends of the dotted lines. This is how Mogo-Mogo begins. Players are sent inside the dreamworld of Bogo and must navigate a series of puzzles in order to find the secret to Bogo’s newest invention: the wheel. The journey is riddled with puzzles to solve and zany dreamworld creatures to either circumvent or cooperate with. The whole playable portion of the game takes place inside Bozo’s twisted mind, so there are plenty of WTF moments. The strange music underscores this effect as well, making it a surreal sort of experience.
 On the back of the wild yellow whale. Mogo-Mogo is a prequel to the award-winning Little Wheel (well, sort of), which I have reviewed elsewhere. (Here’s the link!) Unlike its predecessor, Mogo-Mogo is chock full of color. The visuals are as pretty as those seen in Little Wheel, but in a different way. A weirder way. The controls are the same in both games (just point and click), but there are one or two places in Mogo-Mogo where they feel a little bit awkward. The level in which Bogo needs to jump over flying elephant-like creatures immediately comes to mind, where you have to time your jumps perfectly or Bogo will get knocked flat on his back.
 Distract the animals. Grab the blue orb. Mogo-Mogo is a bit longer and a bit more challenging than Little Wheel. There are a total of fifteen levels, ranging from facepalm easy to pound-on-the-desk-and-shout-four-letter-words frustrating. But if you can’t complete the game in one sitting, there are passwords for each level. When you play the game on FunFlow (connected to your FaceBook account) there is a bonus level, and you can compete with your friends. It’s not really a multiplayer option per se; it just keeps you updated on which levels your friends are on, encouraging you to try to get through it before they do.
 And hop, and hop, and hop... Mogo-Mogo is a beautiful game to look at, and a majority of the levels are entertaining to play. There are a few places where the point-and-click controls fall short, but those are easily forgivable. The story is light-hearted and may even make you laugh in a few places. It’s a bit longer and more challenging than Little Wheel, but not by much. The strange visuals and music make it an experience that is definitely worth your time.
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Game: Mogo-Mogo | Developer: OneClickDog
March 6, 2010
My Green Clay Tree
 You can almost see the thumbprints. This is an elegant puzzle game that tests your spatial awareness, your ability to plan ahead and your ability to believe that fairies can climb buildings. The premise of this game is simple, get the fairy to the tree. Yes, dear reader, there’s a catch. The fairy can’t touch the ground.
So how do you get around? The fairy moves around two ways. If there is an adjacent tower, you can move over to that. Or, if there is enough empty space next to the tower, you can knock it over, and then walk over the fallen building to another tower. Its pretty simple.
You get unlimited undoes, unlimited lives and you can revisit any level that you want. This game really goes over the top in its aesthetics. The game is done in claymation style, which gives it a feel that I have never experienced in other games.
 What are you supposed to yell when you are knocking a building over? In addition, there is Ragtime style music playing all the time, and it is not on a 3 minute loop. If you’re a fan of Scott Joplin and “Wallace and Grommit”, this game is for you. Plus, at the end of every level, you get a fun fact about trees.
Technical
Not going to lie, the controls take a little getting used to. However, you get unlimited do-overs, so in the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t really matter. Once you’re three levels in, the controls are second nature. The learning curve is very shallow, and the fun:complicated ratio is heavily in favour of fun.
Final Verdict
This is a well crafted game that uses its simple premise to allow great attention to detail in all of the X-factors. It took a unique idea, a fairy going after a tree by knocking down buildings, and made it a truly spectacular game by outsourcing its design.
Game: My Green Clay Tree | Developer: La Ventanita
March 5, 2010
 This is a menu where you build things. Don't worry, you'll figure it out. AstroEmpires is a text based, on-line Space MMOG where you battle for planets and credits in an immersive online environment. Finding the right guild and working well in it is the only path to success in this game.
A basic account for AstroEmpires is free; but you if you want to build certain structures, or expand beyond 9 planets, you have to pay for an account.
Gameplay
You start off with one planet. From there its up to you how you want to play the game. Like many online games there is no way to ‘win’, but you must build yourself up from nothing.
Developing your resources is the name of the game. You have metal, energy and crystals. You must balance your distribution of developing these. During this time you also have to look around for a guild. A guild is just a bunch of people who are united under one banner, who share resources and defend each other. I cannot stress the importance of finding a good guild. You cannot play this game well alone, you have to work with other people.
 This is your planet or 'astro'. Protect it. Do not let it fall into the wrong hands. You also have to build Outpost ships and fleets to protect your bases. Once you have built an Outpost ship, you get to poke around the star system and decide where to build your next colony. This is easily the most tedious part of the game, but searching for planets is an inevitable part of space colonization.
Once you’ve settled in, there’s a good chance you’ve made some enemies. Either that or you see a couple tasty planets that you want to take over. Yep, you get money for taking over other planets. Yes, there are sensible protections to keep the big players from beating up on the smaller ones. You’ll get the hang of the battle system fairly quickly, there are a ton of guides out there.
Technical
This game has but one fault in that it is not very pretty to look at. In my opinion it sacrifices visual aesthetics for quality gameplay.
The immersive environment means that you can log into any computer in the world, at any time and command your legions.
The interface is not the most intuitive that I have ever experienced, however the community is very strong, and there is a very active forum that will answer any questions you have. In fact, I consider the userbase to be the strongest part of this game. Yeah, you are going to get some idiots, but in all, there are a lot of people who are passionate about this game, and if you work hard will help you out.
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Game: AstroEmpires | Developer: Nuno Rosario
March 4, 2010
Every time a big budget American film is released, you can bet any amount of money there will be a snappy little game to follow in the path of success. Shutter Island is no different and a brilliant little game is available now for seven of your finest United States Dollars. You can even download a reasonably sized demo to try before you commit to a purchase.
If you know the film or the story line then you will know the game. It delivers a good few hours of escapism, which will allow you to leave reality behind and become embroiled in the story of Teddy Daniels trying to get off the island and make a break for freedom from literally mental patients.
Control of the game is very simple and straightforward. You have a number of tabs and options on the main screen, which allow you to interact with the environment that your character is in. You simply need to use a combination of mouse and keyboard skills to navigate your way around and slowly start getting through the story line of the game, which mirrors the story line of the film.
The one thing that I was fascinated by with this game is just how good the graphics actually are. For a web based game, which is easy to download, you could have expected a lot worse.
 Screenshot 1  Screenshot 2
Every piece of the game seems well thought out, original and good enough to check all the boxes, which most web based game lovers would demand. But one draw back of the game is that it is one of the hidden objects genre. Some of the character interaction can become frustrating as you go off in search of items, which will explain other things in greater detail.
Another is that many people would probably rather go and see the film and by doing so they will already know the game. However, it is still worth sticking with for an hour or two if you become interested in the story and characters in the cinema.
The game is very loyal to Dennis Shutter’s original book and the web developers have done a brilliant job of making it instantly accessible to millions. Download the game and play it if you have a lot of free space on your hard drive. If you enjoy it then buy it, if you don’t, well the game is what it is.
Game: Shutter Island | Developer: Merscom
March 3, 2010
Little Wheel tells the story of the rebirth of a world full of robots. This once-flourishing world has been shut down by an accident at the main reactor, putting all of the robots and their machines out of service permanently. Well, almost permanently. 10,000 years pass (yes, you read that correctly: 10,000 years!) before a random bolt of lightning strikes one of the robots. His battery is completely charged, and now he must bring power back to the rest of his mechanical world.
 Restore power to the robot world. Players take control of this lonely little robot, helping him perform various tasks across the steel landscape. The controls are very straightforward. Everything is done by pointing and clicking: pulling levers, riding elevators, operating cranes, etc. Items that can be clicked on are highlighted by a white circle, preventing players from having to search for these spots on their own.
 Lassie! The bridge is out! This game won the “Working Class Hero” category in the MTV Game Awards in 2009 (the category for best browser game.) It’s not hard to see why. The visuals are simple, yet gorgeous: the entire game is made up of stylized silhouettes placed against a tan background. It may sound a little dull, but Little Wheel pulls it off exceptionally well due to the insane amount of detail put into the mechanical structures. You could take any moment from this game and make it into desktop wallpaper; it’s that consistently pretty. The animations flow smoothly, yet remain consistent with the images. The jazzy background music may seem a bit out of place in a robot world, but it’s actually a perfect complement to the simplistic visual style. And if it doesn’t quite work for you, you can always disable it.
 Just another day on the job. The one major downside is that the game is short. And I mean very short. The whole game shouldn’t take longer than about twenty minutes or so, depending on how long the puzzles take to figure out. And the puzzles aren’t all that difficult; most of the solutions are fairly obvious. Gamers looking for a challenge will probably be disappointed.
 Power has been partially restored by the lightning bolt, but there is still plenty of work to do before everything is fully functional. Little Wheel is fun to play, and even more fun to look at, but then it just abruptly ends. More difficult puzzles and a larger world to explore would have made this an exceptional piece of work. It’s pretty darn cool as it is though, and definitely worth playing start-to-finish.
Game: Little Wheel | Developer: OneClickDog
March 2, 2010
Civilizations Wars is an interesting flash RTS/RPG, featuring an assortment of cuddly little infantrymen. Players command these less-than-intimidating warriors to attack outposts scattered across colorful landscapes. Like in Risk, the more outposts you control, the more soldiers you will have at your disposal. Besides pointing soldiers to which outposts to attack, players are able to use magic: throwing fireballs, calling in tornadoes, hurling lightning, and even summoning golems.
 3 separate races battle to expand their empires.
Players make their way from place to place across a world map, conquering one battlefield at a time. The world map links you to standard battles against one or two armies at a time, as well as challenging boss fights where an opposing faction must be wiped out and a boss defeated within a certain time limit. If the clock counts down to zero, the boss goes berserk, unleashing a devastating series of attacks that will wipe out an entire army within a matter of seconds.
 Command your troops to take on opposing factions and challenging bosses. Though the primary mission is to annihilate opposing factions and take control of their land, more gameplay modes open up once maps have been cleared. One mode has players try to survive swarms of mummies, each wave increasing in quantity. Handicaps can also be added to increase difficulty. Players can choose to disable their magic skills, remove the display that shows how many troops the enemy has at each outpost, and even play a sudden-death type mode in which losing a single outpost results in defeat.
 Mummy Survival mode pits your army against countless waves of mummies. I first logged on to Civilizations Wars, expecting to get maybe twenty minutes of entertainment from it. I was pleasantly surprised. The game offers a fresh niche in a somewhat tired genre, packing in a lot more depth than a first impression might suggest. The large selection of battlefields and various gameplay options will keep you coming back over and over again. Graphically, the cute and cartoonish visual style works very well, keeping long battles from feeling tedious since they are so much fun to look at. The controls are simple enough that young players won’t have any difficulty learning them, while the more difficult gameplay modes will offer a sufficient challenge to hardcore gamers. The only downside is the lack of multiplayer support. Facing off against real-life friends would have been the icing on a wonderful piece of cake. Next version maybe?
 A variety of levels and gameplay modes will keep you playing for longer than you might expect. Civilizations Wars is fast-paced, simple, and most importantly, a blast to play. And best of all, it’s completely free. Head over to BubbleBox.com to start building your personal empire today.
Game: Civilizations Wars | Developer: BubbleBox.com
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