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Puzzle it out in coign of vantage

Posted Aug 21st 2008 7:00PM by James Murff
Filed under: Browser, Puzzle

Some games incorporate such simplistic gameplay and aesthetics that they become addicting classics in an instant. coign of vantage is one of those games. An extremely simple puzzle game, you must rotate a clouds of 3D pixels to form a 2D image. You do this by moving your moves to any side, which rotates the image to that side. It's an excellent casual game and a great example of how a simple mechanic can be so engaging. There's also several tricks you begin to learn to speed up your time, which is awesome. A game with that sort of complexity is always welcome.

[Via TIGSource]

Play around with physics in Ragdoll Cannon 2

Posted Aug 21st 2008 5:00PM by James Murff
Filed under: Browser, Casual, Puzzle

There's nothing like some fun physics gameplay. Combined with playing it through your browser, you have a recipe for lots of procrastination at work. Ragdoll Cannon 2, a flash game on Armor Games, has addicting physics gameplay by the truckload. Controlling only a cannon that shoots ragdolls, you must hit a target, either by shooting your man deftly through obstacles or by moving said obstacles out of the way with bodies and then hitting the target. It's very relaxed and simple, which is great for a browser game, and as you can access it anywhere, it's doubly awesome.

[Via IndieGames]

Destroy your opponents with the undead in Corpse Craft

Posted Aug 12th 2008 8:00PM by James Murff
Filed under: Browser, Puzzle, RTS

For those of you familiar with Puzzle Quest, you will take to Corpse Craft like a boat to water. Both games take the puzzle genre and then mix in another genre to make something monstrously addicting. Where with Puzzle Quest is was the RPG genre, with Corpse Craft it's strategy games. And it's loads of fun. Click on blocks of 3 or more to destroy them, adding resources to your pool. You may then use those resources to summon undead creatures to eliminate your opponent. It's addicting (as all puzzle games are), simple, and well executed.

[Via IndieGames]

Fallen Empire: Legions gets new (and large) map

Posted Aug 12th 2008 2:30PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Downloads, Browser, FPS

We haven't heard much about the status of Fallen Empire: Legions, the multiplayer shooter from developer GarageGames that's very much like the classic Tribes series of games. Today, however, we got word that the title just got a new map, titled Zenith Cauldron, that is about four times the size of the first two maps released for the game.

The new map, as you can see in the included screenshots, has a desert theme to it and will offer a number of dunes that will give players who love to "ski' down hills a chance to strut their stuff. You can play the game by heading to the Instantaction.com web site and sign onto the ongoing beta test for the title.

Gallery: Fallen Empire: Legions

Scrabulous morphs into Wordscraper

Posted Jul 31st 2008 10:30AM by John Callaham
Filed under: Browser, Casual

The fight between Scrabble and Scrabulous continues to unfold. As we have reported earlier, Scrabble owners Hasbro filed a lawsuit claiming the developers of the Facebook word game application Scrabulous violated their copyrights because their game was too similar to the real Scrabble game. Later Facebook decided to take down Scrabulous.

Now the Scrabulous creators, Rajat and Jayant Agarwalla, have returned with a new Facebook word game, Wordscraper, that looks and feels much different than their first effort. Will this new alteration keep the Hasbro folks from any more legal action? Stay tuned. Meanwhile the official Scrabble Facebook game, developed by Electronic Arts, has come back online after hack attacks forced its shutdown on Tuesday.

Scrabble Facebook app hacked

Posted Jul 30th 2008 2:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Browser, Casual

Things are apparently getting nasty in the ongoing Scrabble-Scrabulous Facebook fight. Hasbro sent out a lawsuit against the creators of Scrabulous last week, stating that the popular Facebook game application was a copyright infringement on their own Scrabble game. In response, Facebook announced it was taking down the Scrabulous app from its social networking site.

However on Tuesday hackers decided to attack Hasbro's recently launched Scrabble Facebook app (developed by Electronic Arts) and as a result that game had to be taken down as well. Our sister site Game Daily reports that EA hopes to "resolve this issue and have Scrabble back online and ready to play as soon as possible."

Defeat the hordes in Protector: Reclaiming the Throne

Posted Jul 28th 2008 9:00PM by James Murff
Filed under: Browser, Strategy

Tower Defense games are a dime a dozen. This game genre, originally spawned from a custom map in Starcraft, has exploded across the entire industry, creating such classics as Gem TD and Desktop Tower Defense. We have to say, though, that we've never played a tower defense game where your towers actually gain experience. Protector: Reclaiming the Throne is such a game. A flash-based TD on Kongregate, you must place troops to attack enemies. As they rack up kills, they gain experience, which allows you to upgrade them to be more destructive. It's a nice, if minor, twist on the traditional TD formula.

Be the Manspider!

Posted Jul 28th 2008 8:00PM by James Murff
Filed under: Browser, Indie, Arcade

Do you have what it takes to swing from leaf pod to leaf pod, consuming flies in your wake in a desperate attempt to stay alive. Manspider is the game for you, if you can. An entry in the Third 3 Hours poppenkast competition, it's a game that can be played entirely with the mouse. Click on a leaf pod to atach to it, click in the open to detach. Your goal is to grab as many flies as you can before time runs out. Thankfully, grabbing flies extends your time. With springy, stretchy physics and one-click gameplay, it's a great casual physics game that happens to be more fast-paced than your average browser game. You can play it online or download it, depending on your whims.

Build a bridge in FWG Bridge 2

Posted Jul 28th 2008 6:00PM by James Murff
Filed under: Browser, Indie, Puzzle

There's nothing like a good physics puzzle game to relax when you are stressed. FWG Bridge 2 is that game. A Flash game on Kongregate, you must build bridges for little critters to get across. You can either opt to play it in puzzle mode, where you only have a certain amount of cash to use, or sandbox mode, where you can experiment without worrying about money concerns. There's no real rewards for finishing and all levels are available from the start, but sometimes it's just fun to experiment with designing something. In this case, it happens to be bridges.

Hasbro sues creators of online Scrabble-like game

Posted Jul 24th 2008 8:00PM by John Callaham
Filed under: Browser, Casual

Once upon a time a few game programmers created an online word game called Scrabulous. That game was made specifically for Facebook and became tremendously popular among the social network's users. Now Hasbro has finally decided to step in. As expected the owners of the Scrabble word game have filed a lawsuit against Scrabulous's creators, accusing them of copyright infringement.

Hasbro just launched their own online Scrabble game via publisher Electronic Arts so a lawsuit going after the creators of Scrabulous was inevitable. Hasbro also served Facebook with their own copyright infringment lawsuit, asking that they remove the Scrabulous game immediately from the network. So far there's been no response from the game's creators or Facebook.

Simple, one-click gameplay in Pulse Track

Posted Jul 22nd 2008 7:30PM by James Murff
Filed under: Browser, Driving

Sometimes the most interesting games are the ones that aren't on your radar. Pulse Track, a recent release on Kongregate, hasn't gotten much attention from the community. It's interesting control scheme and hypnotic graphics definitely make it worth your while, though. Click to steer to the left, and don't click to steer to the right. You must try to stay on the track as much as possible, for if you are off it too long, you lose. As you stay alive longer, the track gets darker and darker. That's the entirety of the gameplay. It's a simple game, but definitely fun and definitely worth checking out.

Protect the world from droids in Elite Forces: Conquest

Posted Jul 22nd 2008 6:30PM by James Murff
Filed under: Browser, Strategy

Nothing like a good TD to take your mind off of your work. Elite Forces: Conquest is a flash-based TD that was released just recently on Kongregate. Taking control of a soldier, you must place towers along the path in order to eliminate oncoming enemies. Standard fare. However, you can also move around the soldier, who then attacks any enemies that are close enough. Some towers even give your hero bonuses. It's a fun addition to the Tower Defense genre, and the crisp graphics and refined gameplay make this one a keeper. Make sure to check out both campaign and skirmish mode.

Invade enemy bases in intrusion

Posted Jul 22nd 2008 5:30PM by James Murff
Filed under: Action, Browser

We do love a good side-scrolling game. intrusion, a new release on Kongregate, satisfies our lust for side-scrolling ragdoll mayhem. Taking control of an operative with a rather long headband, you must inflitrate each base in 5 expansive levels and pretty much annihilate everything on your way. The ragdoll physics, combined with the scoring system, makes for an incredibly entertaining experience. If we had to gripe at all, it would be that the environments feel sort of barren. There's not much going on in the background behind the characters. The sounds are also recycled from other games. Overall, though, it's a great pick for any action fan.

Pandemic 2 released on Kongregate

Posted Jul 22nd 2008 4:30PM by James Murff
Filed under: Browser, Simulation, Strategy

The disease simulation that everybody is having fun playing (if the comics are any indication), Pandemic 2 is a flash game developed by Dark Realm Studios. It was released on Kongregate just recently, and if you enjoy the sort of simple strategy mixed with more realistic simulation, this might be your thing. Your goal is to infect all of humanity with a disease that will completely exterminate them. You can control things such as infectivity, lethality, and visibility. It's very fun and incredibly humorous, especially considering how Madagascar closes down their one port at the slightest sign of trouble (leading to no end of hilarious comics).

Make that Fantastic Contraption

Posted Jul 21st 2008 7:30PM by James Murff
Filed under: Browser, Indie

Talk about a name that reminds us of one of the best puzzle games to ever be released for PC. Fantastic Contraption (which is also a synonym of Incredible Machine) is a physics-based game in the same sort of genre as Crayon Physics, Armadillo Run, and Tower of Goo. Your goal is to get a block to the goal. You do so by placing various wheels and rods to make a contraption that can propel your block into the goal. It's elegant, well done, and best of all, can be played anywhere with an internet connection, as it is a browser game. If you love physics games, you'll adore Fantastic Contraption.

[Via TIGSource]