Indie

Welcome to Freeware Friday, a weekly column showcasing excellent games that you can play free of charge!

Back in the day, PC gamers had two great shareware shoot-em-ups to choose from: Raptor and Tyrian. While many chose Raptor (whose full name is Raptor: Call of the Shadows), the clear winner in terms of care and quality is Tyrian. Oozing professionalism from every pore, Tyrian sports some excellent pixel art, music, and gameplay elements. It was also the launching pad for Alex Brandon, whose may be better known for his work on Unreal Tournament or Deus Ex. However, the original programmer, in a fit of generosity, decided to release the games as freeware, and the game engine as open source. Thus, new generations can be exposed to the genius shmup gameplay of Tyrian... for free!

The Underside, Arthur "Podunkian" Lee's magnum opus, has finally released... its second demo. While The Underside has long been in development, the amount of polish and care going into the game is obvious even in the first demo. Now, to tease us some more, Arthur Lee has released the second teaser to his game, vastly expanding upon the previous area players could explore.

Those familiar with games such as Iji or Cave Story will be instantly at home in The Underside. You jump around, move between screens, and attack enemies through an exploratory, semi-non-linear adventure. While the first demo had maybe 5-10 minutes of gameplay, the second has drastically increased the amount, with the new elements seen in the gameplay trailer from last August all present. You can download the second demo from Arthur Lee's official website. You can find new levels as well as give developer feedback on the official forums.

[Via IndieGames]

We do love a good same-screen multiplayer game, and Flock U, from TOJam #4, is definitely one of these. A simple game, Flock U has you competing against other players for the control of little flu viruses to attack each other. These flu viruses flock around you, hence the name of the game. While there's not much more to it than running around, collecting power-ups, and shooting your buddies, it's definitely a fun-filled, fast-paced arcade-style game that anybody can pick up and play.

You control your little guy through an Xbox 360 controller. You must have one, as it does not work otherwise. You then move around, collect the little purple flu people, and shoot them at the other players. The viruses also act as a shield against the fire from other players. Simple! This is perhaps the most rigorous install in the whole TOJam #4 competition, as it requires DirectX 9.0c+, Microsoft .net Framework 3.5, and the XNA Game Studio 3.0 Redistributable. You can find all of these, as well as the game itself, on the TOJam competition website.

Strategy games, especially those of the 4X kind (eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, eXterminate) tend to be extremely difficult for new players to get into. Part of the reason for this is the incredible amount of depth, with a focus on every element of gameplay, not just combat. Things such as diplomacy, culture, and economics are just as important as warfare. This level of detail can cripple new players to the genre, which makes great interfaces and gameplay systems more essential than any level of depth. Light of Altair is a game of this genre, but interestingly enough, it doesn't follow the typical difficult norm of the 4X stereotype. No, Light of Altair is accessible through a good interface and a vast simplification of many gameplay mechanics seen in other 4X games. In a way, it is one of the first "casual" 4X games, and it is a great entry point for anybody looking to try their hand at complex strategy games.

Back in 2005, game developer Greg Costikyan founded Manifesto Games. At the time the outspoken Costikyan wanted to create a company where independent game company could find a way to distribute their titles via download. The company was co-founded by Johnny Wilson, who previously was the co-founder and editor-in-chief of the now defunct Computer Gaming World magazine.

This past week, Costikyan announced that Manifesto Games was shutting down its operations. He cited several reasons for the decision (the recession, lack of venture capital funds, and "perhaps we were simply too early." Of course independent PC game developers now have a number of outlets to release their work so it's also possible that Manifesto Games simply wasn't as attractive a place for dev teams to spotlight their work.

Welcome to Freeware Friday, a weekly column showcasing excellent games that you can play free of charge!

Joakim Sandberg, otherwise known as konjak, is perhaps better known for his sublime (and fantastic) Noitu Love series. But what about his other outings? Some, like Legend of Princess, are one-level affairs. Others, like Tripline, are engrossing but in a purely simplistic way, much like crosswords or Sudoku. He also has a bunch of short, on-off alphas and demos for players to jump into. However, his best freeware game is, without a doubt, the innovative and interesting shmup Chalk. With some interesting game mechanics and delightful visuals, it's a must have for any freeware fan.

P.U.R.E. (Purify, Unify, Reclaim, Exterminate) is a real-time strategy game set in an apocalyptic future after the Fall of Mankind. It has been recently updated with new features and is now available for Linux. The updated demo can be download now. Continue reading after the jump for a list of new features. Visit the official website for more information or to purchase the full version of the game.

In P.U.R.E.: "Wage war in huge cities that are completely interactive, as you attempt to wrest control of another world for either the Human Resistance or the robotic Overmind. Build huge armies of mecha, tanks and aircraft as you fight to control the terrain. Finish off your enemies with spectacular super-units amid thousands of explosions."
Download P.U.R.E. v1.2 Demo (341 MB)
Download P.U.R.E. Linux Demo (329 MB)

To satisfy the inner brawler in all of us, Ace Team - the developers of Zeno Clash - is releasing a free downloadable content pack that includes brand-new challenge levels. In it, players will have to battle their way through arena tournaments through deep pit and a giant tower.

Download HD Zeno Clash Tower DLC Trailer (53 MB)
Check out all Zeno Clash Downloads

The theme of games at TOJam is always "prototypes". It's rare for a game to reach anywhere resembling a completed state in such a short amount of time, but some are reasonably well-finished. Alpinist is not one of those games. An incredibly short prototype, Alpinist is more of an art game to show off some truly amazing pixel work. And man, it really does. You might be disappointed by the lack of much of anything at all, but you could sit and stare at this game for hours...

Where were we? Oh yes. Alpinist revolves around a mountain climber as he scales a mountain. You can control his movement, how he runs, and his jumps. Not much else! The game lasts literally less than a minute, but acts as a showcase for some incredibly detailed sprite work. Flags wave in the wind, snow slowly blows across the landscape, and doors creak open and shut. The world seems alive, even for the minute or so that you actually play. Now that's impressive. We look forward to the continuations that the ending screen hints at!

There's a never-ending glut of puzzle games, thanks to the human mind's natural tendency to drift towards things that challenge it. Not only that, but it is a limitless field of potential. This is no less true in any game competition, and for TOJam 4, one of the excellent entries was the short, but sweet, Bloat. Requiring fast reflexes and fast thinking, it has a ton of potential thanks to its simple but rewarding gameplay.

Bloat revolves around little guys that wander back and forth. You can change their size, and even their position, by clicking on them and dragging up and down. Bigger bloats will eat smaller bloats, and if done right, the big bloat will poop the small bloat as money. If done incorrectly, however (IE the wrong color bloat eats another bloat), then you lose money. All you must do is reach the specified ending amount, and you pass on to the next level. With multiple platforms, teleporters that change the size of your bloats, and tubes that only small bloats can use, things rapidly become complex and frantic. It's incredibly fun, and worth the ten minutes or so it takes to finish.

The patch updates Light of Altair to v1.01. The independently developed game involves creating and protecting interplanetary colonies. Patch notes are shown after the jump, and the demo can be downloaded here.

"Light of Altair is a sci-fi colony building game with a deep plot. Grow colonies from landing pod to metropolis, while sending off new spaceships to expand your territory to other worlds. You are not alone in space, 8 factions from different parts of the world are all following their own agendas in the solar system; diplomacy and orbital-combat are essential to learn."

Download Light of Altair v1.01 Patch (643 KB)
Download Light of Altair Demo (98 MB)

Welcome to Freeware Friday, a weekly column showcasing excellent games that you can play free of charge!

We do love rogue-likes. They've been featured a few times here on Freeware Friday, and they definitely inspired the hack-'n-slash games we know and love like Diablo. What happens, though, when you mix the in-depth sensibilities of a rogue-like with the fast-paced action of an arena shooter? Well, you get Triangle Wizard, a trippy and excellent freeware game that straddles the line between simulation and action. If you are the sort to get caught up in things like spell levels and resistances, then this is the game for you. If not? Well, give it a try anyway. It certainly wouldn't hurt, and it's quite newbie friendly!

"Instead of extracting part of The Path and releasing it as a free trial, this is a brand new chapter, similar to parts of the game, but not the same. It gives you a free taste of the atmosphere of The Path.

In The Path - Prologue, you control the mysterious Girl in White. There's not a lot of gameplay in this demo. It's just about exploring the forest and pondering the sights. A prologue should show what happened before the events in the story... But in this case, it may seem like it's showing things that happened after. A mystery that will make more sense after playing the full game." The full game may be purchased for 10 dollars via the official website or through Steam.

Download The Path - Prologue Demo (53 MB)
Download The Path - Prologue Mac Demo (102 MB)
Check out all The Path downloads

Tower defense games. Chances are you have played one, two, or a dozen, especially if you frequent browser game portals like Newgrounds or Kongregate. Most of them revolve around the simple concept of enemies going for a goal along a set path, and you have to kill them. Some even make use of mazing, which forces enemies to take different paths that you determine. But what if the enemy placement is random? And want if your towers actually attracted enemies before killing them? Well, you'd have No Home For Gnomes.

The gameplay behind No Home For Gnomes is so simple, yet completely untried elsewhere, that it truly impresses. Gnomes will approach your house from any angle, up to 180 degrees in front of the house. You must stop them by placing flowers, which gnomes can't resist! These flowers pull in the gnomes, and after a short while, damage them. If the flower damaged them enough, they die. If not, the gnome continues, the flower depleted for a short while. It's such an easy system to get used to, but trust us: it's hard to master. The game is short (you can beat it in 5-10 minutes) but really oozes quality of design and art. It's easily one of the best concepts to emerge from TOJam 4.

Shoot-'em-ups, or shmups, are a perennial classic for any arcade fan. They provide distinct challenges, such as huge waves of bullets or a unique mechanic, for players to overcome and show their skill. It's no wonder that some developers at TOJam 4 took some inspiration from classics like Ikaruga and incorporated some of the color-changing mechanics into their games. What is more interesting, though, is just how this bullet-type mechanic was implemented. Roshamblaster is the product of this thought process.

If you couldn't guess by the name, Roshamblaster is about the classic game of Roshambo, or Rock Paper Scissors. A horizontal shmup, you progress through the stages defeating enemies based on their color: yellow is weak to blue, blue to red, and red to yellow. These colors (yellow, blue, red) correspond to rock, paper, and scissors, respectively. Where it differs from other color-changing games, however, is that the bullets actually change with each color. Rock bullets sort of fling forward randomly, paper bullets fly forward in a straight line, and scissor bullets create a dual zig-zag pattern. It's a neat concept, and with some more refinement, could be a landmark indie shmup.