Sweet mother of double jeopardy backstroking in butterscotch! In celebration of Season Two of their critically acclaimed Sam & Max episodic game series, Telltale Games has released Episode 4 from last season, Abe Lincoln Must Die!, for free! That's right, FREE!
The game continues the adventures of the Freelance Police: Sam, a detective dog, and Max, a "hyperkinetic rabbity thing". This time, they must travel to Washington DC and take care of the President who is enacting federally mandated group hugs before sporting events, putting an embargo on pudding, and requiring mandatory gun registration! Along the way, you will encounter many hilarious situations, such as Max becoming president of the United States, an incredible musical number, and the Soda Poppers becoming the Governors of North Dakota, South Dakota, and West Dakota (newly formed).
This game is a must play for it's sharp writing and intelligent humor, both of which are very rare to find in gaming (or any other media) these days. You can download the game direct from Telltale Games for free. If you like this episode, be sure to buy Sam & Max Season One from Telltale ($30 for a download of all six episodes, plus a free bonus DVD with the episodes and a ton of bonus features) or the boxed retail version from The Adventure Company/Dreamcatcher Interactive ($30 as well, but you don't get as many extras). Also, remember to check out Season Two, which just started on both Gametap and Telltale's website.
Seriously guys. This is by far one of the best games out there right now. I urge each and every one of you to try it out and see what you think.
As a reminder that small, 17 person teams, can make a game that looks far better than anything ever seen in gaming, I present Project Offset from an independent developer named "Offset Software".
After looking at this video you'll say "Gears of What? Crysis? Killzone Who? Those are *SOOOOOOOOOOOO* last gen."
And the game itself doesn't look like just a gigantic graphicsfest. There seems to be some real substance to it. Check out Project Offset's site to learn more about the game.
Another week, another great set of free games for you to download! This week, I've got an addictive mathematical action puzzle game, a fun destructive game, and a platformer that will drive you insane.
First up this week is one of the most addictive puzzle games I've played in my entire life. It's called Blocksum and it's by a small studio based out of Japan named Circle Infotech. The premise is extremely simple, clear all of the numbered blocks by linking together blocks of the same sum. For example, if you have a block with the number 5 in it, you need to use the blocks adjacent to it to make a sum equal to 5. You could do this by using a 3 just to the right of the 5 and a 2 above the 5. That would make an L shaped block that is equivalent to 5. Now, you must find 4 other ways to make 5 adjacent to either the 5 block you started with or the L shaped one you just made. It's hard to describe in words, but once you try it, it's simple. The game starts out simple enough, however, it gets a lot more difficult when the numbers in the blocks get larger and come faster.
Here's a hint for you. Try and go for large combos of large numbers. For example, try and clear all the blocks by making sums of 4 or 5, you get a multiplier for each additional sequence you make.
Sound confusing? As I said, just go download it. A word of warning for those of you with slower connections, the download is 32 megabytes.
Next game up this week is Death Worm. The game is simple, but oh so fun. You play a killer worm, and all you have to do is eat humans, animals, and cause general destruction while not getting shot by soldiers or hitting mines. Very simple concept, but very addictive! Download it at the Game Maker Community forums (3.5 mb).
When you get done punishing humans and animals, punish yourself with the aptly titled platformer, Punishment. This is an extremely hard game but not because the jumps are hard, but because the game plays tricks with your mind. Levels rotate as you move, touching an eye icon will screw around with your mind, touching the Democrat/Republican will do something that will just make you scream in anger, and of course the pixilated backgrounds that become clear as you get to the top of the level are distracting as well. You will hate this game with every last ounce of your being...however, you won't be able to stop playing. Also, notice the special guest appearance in the second screen (the one you start on). I think many of you will recognize who it is.
If you think that's all the punishment there is, you'd be wrong...dead wrong, because Messhof Games just released the sequel, Punishment: The Punishing, last week. The sequel does not play as many tricks on your mind, but it has its fair share of mind trickery (just wait until you get to the third screen in the game). Oh, and this game has one added twist that drive you up the wall more than ANYTHING in the first game. I can't say what it is because I want you to scream out obscenities when you discover it. Again, this game will drive you insane, but it's so addictive.
So, that's it for this week. Comment on the article with your thoughts on the games, high scores you wish to share, or total frustration with Punishment.
One more thing before I go. Mark August 30 on your calendar because I have an extremely special article planned for that day, and you will not want to miss it. It's so special that I'm going to start working on it this week.
The internet. In addition to being a great resource for funny videos, email pyramid schemes, and pr0n, is a great place to find games. This series will feature the best in free and independent games from all over the web, and bring you up to date on indie studios who are bringing their work to consoles.
The first free game of the week is called 3D Logic by Alex Matveev, and can be found at this site. The object of the game is to link together every pair colored squares on the cube. For example, in the screenshot, you have to link orange to orange, purple to purple, blue to blue, and so on. Sounds simple right? WRONG! Later levels will require you to think outside of the box and use very indirect ways of linking them together. I've been able to reach level 18, but after that I get stumped. Thank God for the continue feature.
Our next game this week is Amberial by OddGoo, a rather fun platformer with very simplistic controls. All you need to do in this game is move left and right to reach the goal. However, you must use your ability to bounce to help you reach your destination and avoid obstacles. This is one of the most enjoyable Flash games I've played in a while. It's not entirely original since there are a billion platformers on the net, but this one is different because you must actually use your environment and the objects in it in order to reach the end of the level. There is also added challenge if you try and collect all the Ace symbols. I must caution you however, this game is addictive as crack, so make sure you have some time you can easily waste before playing this.
The internet is full of clones of other, more famous games. Flash Flash Revolution is one of the most well-known and well-regarded clones on the internet. As you could figure out, it is a clone of Konami's Dance Dance Revolution series, developed in flash. There are three different versions of FFR on the site, and all of them have something different to offer. Try fooling around with all three of them, and make an account if you want. With an account, you can keep track of the scores you get and buy songs using credits you earn in the FFR store. The only downside of the game is that many of the players have crazy skills, and a lot of the site is kind of geared towards them. However, for us who will never be as good as this guy, there are a bunch of easier songs to get you used to playing. Check out the Arcade section of songs in the first FFR version on the site for a bunch of fun game remixes to play. I'm signed up on the site as tondog38. If you sign up, shoot me a message there and we can set up challenges or something.
In honor of 300 coming out on DVD, Blu Ray, and HD DVD last week, the final game of the week is the aptly titled SPAAARTA!!! It's not the best game in the world, but it's cool if you're a fan of 300, mainly so you can kick some Persians into the hole and scream THIS IS SPAAAARRRTAAAA! The controls are simple, move around with the arrow keys, kick some ass with the S key, and do a little dance with the A key. All you need to do: kick the Persians into the hole and inform them that THIS IS SPAAAARTA all while not kicking your fellow Spartans.
Keep it on channel 3 for more fun, free games next week. Until next time, have fun.
Sweet mother of double jeopardy backstroking in butterscotch! In celebration of Season Two of their critically acclaimed Sam & Max episodic game series, Telltale Games has released Episode 4 from last season, 
