First things are first: graphics and sound. Everything is rendered in stark cel-shaded colors, making it easy to distinguish elements of the environment. You won't strain your eyes here. Unfortunately, it seems that even on a high-end computer that there can be some lag, sending your paint off mark when shooting a continuous stream. As for sound, it's all very utilitarian, with noises such as boings and dings as well as a gentle soundtrack. Very minimalist, but it fits.

The gameplay of Tag revolves around the use of three different kinds of colors and how they can interact with each other. There is nominally a fourth color, white, which erases the other three colors, but for all intents it is an eraser in the shape of paint.

• Green is the color of bouncing and jumping. You can't jump in Tag, so you must rely on smart application of green paint to surfaces to bounce around to higher ground. You can do all sorts of neat things such as wall-jumping (applying the paint to two walls and bouncing up between them) or diagonal leaping (applying to a diagonal surface, touching it to launch you diagonally).
• Red is the color of speedy speedy zoom zoom kabang. In truest of traditions, red makes you go faster as long as you are touching it. You can be against a wall that is red or walking on red paint, but you have to be touching it somehow. You can do neat tricks like applying red to a ramp and then running at it, launching yourself across a gap without green paint.
• Blue is the color of sticking to things. This power of sticking is regardless of orientation, allowing you to walk on ceilings and walls with impunity. Just be aware that when going over an edge you will actually jump a little upon leaving the blue paint. You retain your momentum when the paint effect wears off, which causes this effect.

The paints can all be used in conjunction with each other, but not overlapping. For example, you can put a little bit of green paint down, then make a red line to the green paint, causing a large, gap-spanning jump. Another useful example is putting down blue paint next to a wall, putting red paint on the wall, and dashing forwards. It's unfortunate that the paint can't be mixed to provide combined effects, but it is a showcase of concepts, not a full game.

Tag is easily one of the most interesting games to come out of Digipen in a while. A cool concept, crisp graphics, and smart level design make it worth the hour it takes to play. The only downside? There's no level editor! What a shame. You can download the game from the official Digipen site. Enjoy your painting!

For another look at freeware games, take a peek at Joystiq's Free Game Club weekly feature!