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Multiplayer Game Reviews
September 2, 2010
Max Damage is a great little game that might remind you quite a bit of your curious and mischievous childhood. All you have to do is complete various levels with a set amount of ammunition.
Your mission each time is to cause as much damage and chaos as possible based on the obstacles in front of you. You must use the terrain around your character in order to get rebounds and to knock random items into each other.
 Destroy as much as you can You have a counter in the bottom right hand corner of the screen which tells you how much damage you need to cause each level. Once you reach or go over that amount you proceed onto the next level of destruction.
The controls for this game are very simple. All you have to do is use your mouse to move the cursor and draw the arrow in or out for power. It does not take long at all to get the hang of, and once you have played for a couple of levels you will soon be flying through.
There are problems with this game despite its innocent appearance. The music will do your head in because it sounds like some weird European rave as opposed to background music for a game.
 Tackle challenging levels Furthermore there are 49 levels to this game and there isn’t an auto save option. Some of the early levels can even be quite tricky so the later ones are really, really tough.
The graphics are pretty simple and mean the game should appeal to everyone. They also mean that the game isn’t confined to a set audience or age. The game appears child like, but allows adults to have a bit of fun and can also keep the kids occupied for an extended period of time.
All in all Max Damage is a decent little shooting based game. It is playing on a format that has appeared in many other web based games before it and to be honest the game does this format pretty well.
Game: Max Damage http://www.addictinggames.com/maxdamage.html | Developer: Addicting Games http://www.addictinggames.com/index.html
August 29, 2010
Motorush FMX is one of the better stunt based bike games you will find to play on the internet.
The format and point of the game is very simple and although the controls are a little tricky, it’s an extremely addictive game to play once you’ve mastered a few levels. This game plays to your inner child and allows you to live a virtual life on the edge.
The controls of the game can be quite challenging at first but you’ll be pulling off a variety of tricks once you’ve mastered them. The keyboard arrows control the movement of the bike while the numbers allow you to perform different tricks.
 Perform tricks in mid-air You have to build up your speed before flying forwards and up and over various obstacles. However, be careful because if you go too quickly too early your bike will fly over and you will end up sitting on your backside.
The graphics for the game are very simple and the two dimensional aspect means the game engine can work very quickly. The terrain is very simple as are the backgrounds but the developers have been clever in the respect that you focus on the foreground and virtually ignore these aspects.
There are many control friendly user options, which allow you to enjoy the game more. These come in standard form such as turning the sound off as well as more personal options such as allowing you to choose the color of your own bike.
 Staying on the bike usually helps The early levels are pretty simple but this is a good thing because you may struggle initially to get through them. You get to learn the controls while tackling simple obstructions such as a few logs or a truck.
Once you get through these the terrain starts to get more difficult and the obstacles are even harder to get over. However, once you master them you start to wrack up the points, which will bump you up the leader board.
Unfortunately there is no auto save option, which is standard on many internet based games. Therefore you have to blitz the game and do as much as you can do initially, because if you want to play it again, you’ll have to go right back to the beginning and start again.
Game: Motorush FMX http://www.addictinggames.com/motorush-fmx-cheetos-game.html | Developer: Addicting Games http://www.addictinggames.com/index.html
August 28, 2010
 RAWR Dofus
Dofus is one of the undiscovered gems of the internet. It is a free MMORPG with over 25 million players. It is outstanding because of its battle system and its graphics. I am only going to scratch the surface with this review.
Gameplay
This is a pretty straightforward MMORPG. You have multiple character classes to choose from, of which there are 12 (from warrior to animal trainer). Then you assign your skill points and you wander around. Yes, they will train you how to move around and stuff. That’s not important. If you have started, by now you will notice how incredible the graphics are.
I have quite honestly never played a multiplayer game that is as visually appealing as this one. The creators obviously took an incredible amount of time on this, and it shows. With the blend of American rhapsody and Japanese attention to detail, you will have fun simply walking around.
 Home Sweet Home Yes, I suppose you’ll have to battle someone at some point. This leads me to the second part of what makes this an exemplary game, the battle system. It is turn based. Yes, you read that correctly. You can form a team and have 8 person turn by turn battles. It’s awesome, and it’s a thinking man’s RPG.
Technical
What is also striking is the size of the world this game inhabits. 7 continents with over a thousand monsters to battle. This is an incredibly complex game. On top of character class, you can choose a profession for your guy or gal. Maxing out is a barely attainable goal, you have to get to 200.
I’m sure you’re wondering where the word Dofus comes from. Well, a dofus is a dragon egg that you collect by finishing huge quests or beating certain dungeons. I won’t go into details, but they are very powerful.
This game is very accessible. There is not the ‘hardcore’ element that is present in most online RPGs. You can have fun battling or selling your profession. I wouldn’t say that it is a combination of Second Life and WOW, but that would be a useful way to think about it.
Final Verdict
You know what’s the best part? It’s free. WORD. Play this game. You will find it to be much more than a pleasant experience.
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Game: Dofus | Developer: Ankama
August 22, 2010
Red Storm
 Upgrade screen. Yeah, that's your mech. First off, yes I am aware that there is a Red Storm 2. I am going to play through this version, then I’ll play the newer one. Moving on. Red Storm is top-view 3rd person shooter where you inhabit a mech suit and blow things up.
Gameplay
The controls for this game are about as good as it gets. Arrow keys move the mech around. Mouse aims. Pressing the mouse button unleashes the fury from whatever you have equipped in your 3 weapon slots. You can have any combination of lasers, rockets and machine guns in there. On top of that, you have 4 more slots where you can place extra armor, healing patches or things that up your hit points.
 Blue & Green = Bad. Your mech is where the explosion is. Oops. You buy these things at stores which are conveniently located around the level. Regardless, when you kill things or blow up boxes and pickup green things, you build up points, which you can exchange for guns. On top of this, you also get XP, which allows you to level up. There are certain weapons that can only be carried if you are above a certain level.
Technical
This is a marvelous game technically. I love the pacing of it. You move from room to room. When you enter a new room, it is going to be filled with all kinds of bad guys. No question. The thing is, you can’t leave until you have killed all of them. Yeah, so no guerrilla tactics. You hold your breath, get your cursor where you want it, and then blast away.
The upside to this is that you can just leave it going. Yeah sure, you could sit down and play a couple hours of this game, but that’s not really the point of flash games, now is it? Deal with it episodically. Great fun.
The best part? There are practically no repercussions if you die. Some rooms will be repopulated with bad guys, but you don’t lose any XP or Upgrades, which, in a manner of thinking, could mean that it is a GOOD thing to die. Go figure.
Final Verdict
Great game. Can’t wait to try Red Storm 2. This is one of those games where I feel like I should have paid for it. But I didn’t. It was free. Thanks internet!
Game: Red Storm | Developer: 24/7 Webgames
August 11, 2010
 It's curtains for you red!!!! Blobble Wars
I have a huge affinity for games where you try to take over towers which then produce more guys. Blobble Wars is one of those games, with a twist.
Gameplay
In most of these games, your towers replenish guys until you drag them towards another tower. Well, in this game you shoot balls at towers, and then aim those towers at other towers. The difference is subtle. I prefer it this way because it is a lot more passive than the others.
In the other type of game, there are a lot more ‘mouse strokes’ given in order to launch an attack. In this case, you can just set a cannon blasting at another turret, and go eat some lunch. Not really, but you get my point.
In addition, if you shoot your turret at a turret that you own, the other turret fires in ‘rapid fire’. Pretty cool, and pretty useful.
 Pew Pew Pew Each turret can take 3 hits before it turns over to the other side. Of course, if you blast it with the same color, it will take it back up to ‘normal’ mode, and it will take 3 more hits to take it down.This may not seem like many, but there is another subtle difference between this game and others that makes it possible. See, in other games, for every guy that you sent towards another turret, you could guarantee that it would get there. Not so in Blobble Wars. Here, your turrets fire balls, which can bounce off of each other. Also your turrets are not 100% accurate too. This makes things VERY interesting.
Technical
A very fluid and balanced game. There are 4 levels of difficulty (the last one is called impossible, and that is pretty close to being correct). Difficulty levels don’t always lend themselves to replayability, but in this game it really does.
You use your mouse almost exclusively for this game. Trackpads need not apply. One thing that is really cool is that you can speed up time. I like playing it slowly though, because I can really think out my moves. Planning ahead is key. Always keep in mind the next turret you will take.
Final Verdict
This is a tough game, but I loved it. I also have an affinity for this type of game. You really have to combine strategy and tactics. Reaction time doesn’t factor into this all that much. One of my favorite things to laugh about is when you are playing on a symmetrical level, and you and your opponent do the exact same thing for 4 moves.
Game: Blobble Wars | Developer: Played Online
August 9, 2010
 MAN THE MORTARS!!!! Creeper World Training Sim
In Creeper World Training Sim you are preparing to colonize some sort of foreign planet. However, this planet just happens to be occupied by a foreign creature, Creeper, which, you will take care of the human way, by killing it with guns.
Gameplay
You start off with a base, Odin City. Do not lose this city at all costs. You then expand outwards with solar collectors. However, while you are expanding, so is the Creeper. The Creeper is so named because it creeps across the screen.
The way you stop the Creeper is by building blasters, mortars and all that jazz. The end goal is to get to some hyperlinks or something like that, and then once you have connected them to your energy grid you finish the level.
Everything you build has to be connected, and if any of the Creeper touches your buildings, it starts to damage your area. This is no good. Your city sends out packets of energy, which is constrained by the amount of solar collectors you have built and how much energy is being taken up by other things like shooting.
 What is this? School? There’s not really an upgrade system, but you get access to different technologies over the course of the game. The Creeper evolves in ways that don’t make sense, but overall it’s the same beast.
What I really like about this game is that it has a lot of the things that I like about Tower Defense Games. You have to defend against an amorphous enemy by building towers. However, there is an offensive part about it. It also does one of my favorite things which is combining strategy and tactics, feeling like a turn by turn strategy game, but still relying on your own reflexes to get the job done.
Final Verdict
Easily one of my favorite flash games. There are no weak points to it in my opinion. I guess the only problem I have with it is that it does not have enough levels (only 5). Great game. Playable in an afternoon.
Game: Creeper World Training Sim | Developer: Armor Games
August 6, 2010
Hit squad is a brilliantly upbeat action game where you have to complete a variety of tasks within set time limits in order to move onto the next level or mission.
Your role is as a sniper who has to take out a variety of different enemies. However, this game is much different from many other action sniper shooters. You don’t just have to shoot in each level, you have to complete other missions such as getting passports ready in order to get yourself out of the country.
There is not a lot happening on screen, which makes the game very simple and easy to understand. The controls work with you just having to use a mouse to complete each level and task. One annoying aspect to the game is that the scope on the sniper rifle is very small. This makes it difficult in later rounds to protect your assets and kill off multiple enemies within a set amount of time.
 Annoyingly small scope You can change your identity from time to time, which will bring with it added features. Some characters move the scope faster than others while some are better at sorting out passports quickly.
The graphics are pretty good and the developers have stuck with the cartoon look, which works well for this game. This adds to the simplicity, so the game is much faster which helps when you have to move the scope around rapidly in the later missions.
This game will never be on the same level as some great web sniper shooters because it lacks the depth and detail with each level. But it is well worth a look and will keep you entertained for a good half an hour or so.
 Get those passports ready Give this game a chance because it’s a refreshing twist on the sniper genre that was becoming bogged down by two or three popular series.
This game does not try too hard to become more than it is. It keeps it fun and if you’re looking for a sniper game with more depth and story than a series like Sniper Assassin, it may provide what you’re looking for.
Game: Hit Squad http://www.addictinggames.com/hitsquad-game.html | Developer: Addicting Games http://www.addictinggames.com/index.html
August 4, 2010
 Yes. You will by flying Porta Potties on the LOST island. Potty Racers 2
Part of creating a quality flash game is breaking barriers, to borrow a phrase, to boldly go where no one has gone before. Potty Racer is one of those games. Erring on the scatological, this is by no means a game that should be taken lightly. Your job, should you choose to accept it, is to fly and upgrade a port-a-potty.
Gameplay
One area that Potty Racers 2 does not break barriers is in the actual gameplay. This is one of those push your cart off a hill and then try to land safely games. Then you earn money based off of how high and how far you go. It’s better than some, because you actually have to do things in the air and motor control is the better part of it.
You also have to be aware of your landing gear, because you have to land. However, it literally doesn’t matter how fast you are moving. I was moving down so fast that the clouds were a blur, but because my wheels lined up with the ground, I made it out to fly another day.
Technical
 Hooray for safe landings! Technically, this was a pretty great game. The graphics were neat. The whole concept is pretty great. Unfortunately, the whole thing gets pretty repeditive. Although you move from stage to stage, you literally are buying the same upgrades, just a little bit faster.
On top of that, you can buy tricks, but I never really understood why you would want to use them. Sure you get points, but in the grand scheme of the game, they are worth a pittance compared to how much you earn from playing the game as is.
Final Verdict
Fun game. It has a lot of simple touches. For example there is always feces flying out of the back of your portapotty. Also, when you are upgrading it, even after you have made a jet fighter, you are very clearly still pushing a porta potty down a hill.
It’s in stages, which means that it is easy, but addicting to play at work.
Game: Potty Racers 2| Developer: Addicting Games dot com
August 1, 2010
 Curse those Persians! If there’s one thing I’ve learned from my time with flash video games, you can usually tell what the game is going to be about from the title. That is, of course, what the title is all about. Anyways, in this one you replay the exploits of Alexander the Great. Kind of…
Gameplay
This is one of those games where you click on the kind of guy you want to make, and then you send it off towards the other side. The similarity ends there. Usually in these games you just throw them all at your opponent in one line. In this game there are 10 different slots where you can send your troops.
On top of that, when you start each invasion, you have a limited supply of troops. When one of your guys dies, you are SOL. If one makes it to the other end, then you keep him and you can send him in to possibly die for his country.
Then there is a very involved money raising and upgrade system. It took me a while to figure out what I just told you. So consider yourself lucky, loyal reader.
You also have to worry about something called command, which is how much ‘mana’ you have to ’summon’ guys on the battlefield. I still haven’t really figured that out yet.
Technical
 I really admire the complexity of this game. Seriously I got really bored with the whole ‘queue guys and throw them at the enemy’ games. This one is big. Not only is it tactically complex. You have to manage money and still worry about the Persians knocking on your door upstairs. That’s right, the Persians are in this too.
You won’t get this in 10 minutes. This is one of those games that I feel like I should have payed for, but I cheated the system and played it for free in my browser.
Technically, this game is flawless. Very balanced. You will not win every battle.
Final Verdict
If you are a fan of fun games, definitely play this game. It is one of those that will tax your strategic and tactical skills as well as sometimes testing your ability to beat the computer to the click of the mouse.
Game: Alexander | Developer: MaxGames.com
July 29, 2010
July 28, 2010
 Do subs go 'pew pew pew' underwater? ‘Man up and face the dangers of Deepolis’ is the way this MMO browser game sells itself. In this game you pilot a submarine in a game of underwater adventure.
Gameplay
What separates this browser game from the others is the graphics. Most browser games you don’t even get to pilot your ships or armies or what have you. In this, you float around, blowing things up and fighting the other factions. The environment is in 3D, but you only get to see in 2 dimensions for the better part of the time.
You only control one submarine at a time. In this case, the action is much more PVP based than many other browser games. Yes, most are PVP, but this one you have direct battles with other players.
Technical
 Technically this is a fabulous game. There is an intricate trading system and the action is much more player driven than other ones. The action is smooth and I continually find myself surprised by the quality of the graphics that are running in my browser.
The controls are brilliant, and the ability to dive on the ‘z – axis’ really gives this game a depth that is lacking in most browser MMOs.
Multiplayer
This game is very much driven by PVP interactions. In most browser games, your opponents are places that you simply send a bunch of ships to blast into oblivion. In this case you trade with everyone. Despite the fact that there are 3 specific clans, there are multiple groups within each of these. If you are more interested in multiplayer games because of the politics, this may not be the game for you. However, if you are interested in piloting a ship around and blasting people without downloading any new programs, then this is the game for you.
Final Verdict
A very easy game to jump into. It’s no surprise that this has been nominated for a number of awards. Unlike most browser games, you have to be actively involved with the action. So it’s a little bit harder to have it on a tab and play while you are working.
It’s free to play. But you can also purchase upgrades with real money or money you earn in game. Cool.
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Game: Deepolis | Developer: BigPoint
July 27, 2010
 There's a monkey in the kitchen. Isn't that a Health Code violation? Café World allows you to become a world-class chef and run a restaurant. You decide what your café should look like, what to cook, and even what to wear. You are given a cookbook with recipes that you can make, and every item you cook grants you Café Points (Café World’s version of XP.) As you level up, you earn more stoves and buffet-style serving tables, and more of the items in your cookbook are available to you.
Your café also has a buzz rating, which is affected by how well your customers enjoy their meals. A good experience will boost your buzz rating by 0.1, but a bad experience will drop it a full point. (The maximum rating is 105.) In order to keep your guests coming back, make sure they have a clean table to sit at when they arrive and a hot meal within a fair amount of time. If guests wait too long for their food, they will storm out and lower your buzz rating. The higher your rating is, the faster customers will spill in.
It takes a little bit of foresight to keep your café running smoothly, since most of the items in your cookbook have a fairly long cook time. (Times range anywhere from 3 minutes to 4 days.) And if you let something sit too long, it will spoil. An item’s cook time will determine how long it can sit before it spoils, so items with longer cook times last longer than those with short ones.
Since it is a Facebook application, Café World rewards the highly sociable. You can add your friends as neighbors, earning medals as your neighborhood grows. There are many actions that you will need help from your friends to complete, like building a spice rack, baking a wedding cake, obtaining a super stove that allows one-click cooking, or opening a crate that contains a coffee maker. And your friends can send you free gifts every day, usually bonus servings of your favorite dishes. You can even hire your friends for extra help around the kitchen.
There are also weekly themes, such as the Stone Age and Sci-Fi, which are celebrated by adding brand new decorations for your café as well as new menu items. This provides great incentive to keep coming back.
Café World is highly addictive. You’ll have a blast decorating your restaurant and unlocking new menu items. And with that, I must be off. I think my quiche is done!
 A page from the menu. Yes, there are dinosaur eggs on it.
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Game: Café World | Developer: Zynga
July 26, 2010
Red Driver 2 is the perfect game for, well, anyone who may want to just drive like a complete and utter idiot.
High paced action and excitement are two guarantees with this little racer. The graphics have been kept very simple to keep the pace of the game high, as there is less for the server to load. However, the game would benefit a little more if there were some extra tracks and bendy racecourses to take on.
 Try not to wreck your own car Controls are very easy. All you do is move the car left or right with your side arrows, use the down arrow to break and the up arrow for your nitro boost. Also bare in mind that your nitro boost will get you more points if you use it correctly.
The career mode is actually very enjoyable and has the auto save function. This way you don’t have to try and be king of the road all in one sitting.It’s very addictive and you’ll want to go back and play it at a later date. It also means if you are quick enough, you can close the browser window and load the game back up without losing any points. That does kind of defeat the object a little bit though.
 Dodge, dodge and dodge some more The only real drawback though is the music. It’s not good enough for this sort of game and well worth a heavy guitar rift or two along the way.
That’s pretty much all there is to it. Just driving fast, like an idiot, and getting paid for not wrecking your own car or killing anyone else.
Game: Red Driver 2 http://www.addictinggames.com/red-driver-2-game.html | Developer: Addicting Games http://www.addictinggames.com/index.html
July 23, 2010
The aim of this game is very simple. You control one plane and must complete the on screen instructions that come with each level without crashing or being killed by the enemy.
 Get them before they get you There are many weapons you can use to help you along the way, including a rapid fire machine gun and bombs you can cleverly drop. You can even hide in the clouds and completely surprise your enemies.
However, the controls are very tricky to get used to. You have to use the keyboard arrows to move and other key combinations to attack.
This can be very frustrating if you are playing the game for the first time. Using the mouse to control your plane and fire your weapons would be much more practical and easy for the user to control.
 They will stick to you like glue The second issue with this game is the speed at which enemy planes move. Obviously you do not want them to fly around at a snail’s pace to make the game interesting. But right from the start they will stay on your tail if you make one mistake, which can get pretty frustrating if you can’t manage to shake them.
You would expect a couple of easy levels to help you ease into the game before encountering much tougher obstacles in later levels, but that isn’t the case. Furthermore, the bombs you use will take out a random number of enemy planes, from one up to three or four.
This game is pretty good fun overall but it’s clear that there are issues that need to be resolved. If these issues can be resolved then there is nothing to hold this game back; because it is addictive, the graphics are good, the story is historic, and the speed of play is pretty fast and entertaining.
Game: Dog Fight 2 http://www.addictinggames.com/dogfight2.html | Developer: Rock Solid Arcade http://www.rocksolidarcade.com/
July 21, 2010
 Here we see a truck smashing through some buildings. Destructo Truck
Do you like smashing things and driving a truck? Do you like that one type of level from that game where normally you race around the city, but in this one level you have to cause as much destruction as possible? Well then this game may be for you. Because this is basically a 2-D version of that level.
Gameplay
Gameplay is very, very simple. Your truck starts at the top of a ramp. You have countdown lights and it is your job to press the go button when the line hits the green lights. Then your truck zooms down the ramp. If you have a rocket, you can also fire these at this point. That, really, is the extent to which you play the game.
Your truck zooms down the ramp, gets launched into oblivion, and then starts smashing into houses, propane tanks and barns. It gets ugly. There are bugs and detritus flying everywhere. Luckily for you, though, you get money for smashing all of those things. Money which you can use to upgrade your truck so you can smash things even better.
 Here we see a truck going down the ramp. Good for you truck. Technical
I screwed up my first two launches because the game skipped right when it was time for me to press the go button at launch time. So, that kind of sucked. But other than that, the game is very well put together. I am a dude, so I may be predisposed to liking things that explode. Seriously, I knew I was going to like it even when I read the title.
One thing that kind of bugs me is that you have to wait until the end of the run to find out how much damage you have caused. Yeah, that’s something you really shouldn’t complain about, but at the very least they give you the option to just skip over it all and find out the final tally.
Final Verdict
Fun Game. I like to launch the truck, and then do some work, only to alt-tab back to the Destructo Truck screen to find out how many buildings I smooshed. Neat graphics, they make excellent use of scale. And the physics, as far as trucks bouncing off of houses goes, was pretty straightforward.
Game: Destructo Truck | Developer: Mochi Media
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