plasma pong

unlike some game lists we dont usually post links to pong games. unless they are really extra special in some innovative way. plasma poing is not only very special, it looks absolutely fantastic plus its fiendish and compelling.

you play pong either against the computer or with a friend, but you play inside a box of fluid with the turbulance within the liquid rendere as a plasma. your puck can make turbulance and you can use it in play. needs a meaty pc though you mist have a nice graphics card.

fly guy

i first found fly guy a few years back, and promptly lost the link. its best to ignore this and intstead give this "dream simulator" the reverence it deserves.

its not a game its a toy and a wonderfully artful one at that. by which i mean its not full of art so much as a work of art.

everyone i know who has played it had an emotional reaction. its a mood enhancer if you are happy it makes you happier. if you are sad it makes you melancholy. still sad but in a nice way. so relax and enjoy, listen to the sounds because they are part of the experience and simplify your interactive experience. i promise you will come back to fly guy.

suitable for all ages children and grandparents. and its capable of running on any machine that can do shockwave files, its not open source, but it will work on most platforms.

Dwice

Alexey Pajitnov was for those who dont know the inventor of tetris, and whilst you may not know his name I'm pretty sure you know his game. He has a new game out with a playable demo available for download.

if you like falling block stylee puzzle games, this will appeal, however it seems a mite easy to me. tetris was better but this is still playable, and free.

Tux Racer

the excellent tux racer has been with us for a few years now. I dont know why i didnt put it on the list earlier.

you play as a penguin who is collecting fish by belly sliding down the side of a mountain.

each challenge has a time limit and a minimum number of fish to collect for each run. tux racer has a finely tweaked difficulty level, with each race taking 2 or three tries to advance to the next.

you can do jumps, and slow down and accelerate, each of these actions has an effect on the handling, if you slowdown you can turn much more sharply, but there is an obvious time penalty.

its a professional game with polish. it looks great and it plays great its non violent and suitable for all the family.

tux is the mascot of linux and the game is hosted on source forge so you can get the code and take a look inside, which also means its available for multiple platforms.
yay!

samorost 2

Matt pointed out that the excellent Samorost by amanita design has a sequel. yay!

the original Samorost was a work of art. i dont want to spoil it too much but i'm currently playing it and expect this one will be too.

this time your dog has been kidnapped by aliens, and your off to rescue it. the samorost games take the form of a sequence of beautifully drawn single screen puzzles which build into a simlpe story.

play it online today.

kromka and chelba

kromka and chelba is a simple one screen at a timed rescue platformer. you play as one of the characters and have to navigate your way across the room to rescue your partner. each level has a switch which opens the cage in which your friend has been imprisoned, and there are jigsaw pieces to collect to build up a picture of cute characters as you go.

the abstract nature of the cartoon characters, that everything is simple and that it has a slightly slower pace may mean it suits younger players.

soldat

a large and vigorous community of players exists for this game mostly because its a multiplayer game. soldat brings the frantic shootem up gamplay of quake three arena to a 2d world.

because its a 2d game its no longer a 1st person shooter, but a 3rd person shooter. the reduction in dimention requires moving the point of view.

"quaint" i here you say. yes, but dont dismiss it, because it is really really good.

on spawning you get to choose from an array of primary and secondary weapons. rifles, miniguns, grenade launchers etc. this selection keeps the game interesting and adds more depth but can make learning the game challenging.

gameplay generally consists of running around a "side on" view jumping from platform to platform, using rocket boots to hover for short periods of time. the standard wasd kes move your around and like the old skool crack dot com's abuse game, the mouse aims your weapon.

as with all other first person shooters each player can give themselves a name and customise his or her appearance to stand out or blend in. start a server on your work LAN and play it at lunchtime.