Harpooned by Conor O’Kane

Links: Original Site, Free Online Games

I'm not big when it comes to activists (the phrase 'uppity hippies' comes to mind) but when the cause is right I can get behind it.  Whaling is banned by most countries, including Japan.  However, they have a work-around called 'lethal-sampling' in the name of research.  In order to 'study' whales, they kill them.  They aren't fooling anyone.  Enter Conor O'Kane.

Conor has created a Cetacean Research Simulator in the form of a vertical shooter.  Play the part of a Japanese 'Research' vessel (gosh I'm using a lot of quotes) and hunt whales in the Antarctic.  Harpoon them and collect their meat for research (and cat food apparently) while avoiding icebergs and Greenpeace.  Each level ends with your vessel unloading its meat onto a barge in blood soaked waters: subtle.

The first time I played 'Harpooned' I felt uneasy about shooting the whales, but that's the point.  You are the bad guy in this and the outcome is certain and final; and is unfortunately quite realistic.

You will have fun playing Harpooned, and you will probably feel guilty while doing so.

Torus Trooper by ABA Games (Kenta Cho)

Links: Original Site, EMH Software, Softonic

Torus Trooper is an older game, but remains one of the top shooters on the internet.  Why?  Because it's good, that's why.  Based on the classic Tempest design, Torus Trooper is a fast based action packed tube shooter like none other.  Fly down ever changing tunnels at 2000 kph and blast away to your hearts content; the feeling of speed is incredible.  There is no life counter.  Instead a countdown clock sets when the game will end.  Reach certain scores or destroy Bosses to earn extra time but get killed and you will lose time.  You can adjust your speed to go as slow or as fast as you want to, but you'll find out quickly speed is essential to reach the enemies and gain more time.  It just adds to the frantic pace of the whole experience.

 

Knytt Stories by Nifflas's Games

Links: Original Site, Indie Game Database

Knytt Stories seems at first a common side scrolling platform, but the unique graphics and game play give it a feel all of of it's own.  Play as Juni, the main character, through different stories (hence the title) that either come with the game, or can be downloaded from the original site, Niffla's Games, for even more game play.

In Knytt Stories, Juni must stop a machine from decimating the environment.  To do this you'll have to guide her through several different areas and collect power-ups to aide her on her way; from double jump, to wall climb and even holographic projection.  The tutorial level shows you all the power ups so there's no guessing. There are no separate levels; it's all one big world and you are free to go wherever you want, so long as you have the correct power-up.

Knytt stories won't take you long to play, a couple of hours at most, but it's well worth it and the additional downloadable content as well as the level editor will keep you coming back time and time again.

 

Lighthouse by Orbic Entertainment

Links: Yoyo Games

Lighthouse is the only game I've seen involving, well, a lighthouse.  And it's done very well.  Control the lighthouse to not only warn away friendly vessels from crashing, but burn away enemies such as pirates and mines (I thought they were animals at first).  You burn by focusing your light using the 'E' and 'W' keys or you can simply lay down mines using the right mouse button to blow away enemies and make big combos.  I have yet to achieve the 1000 points needed to have a Steamer vessel appear on screen, but I will keep trying.

 

Illusion Trails Eternal by Crimzure Games

Link: Yoyo Games

Illusion Trails Eternal is an interesting puzzle game.  Roll a Smiley face ball around various courses, collect all the crystals, then head for the exit.  Various additions such as an inventory and the ability to eat things to give temporary advantages helps to keep the game interesting and helps to set it apart from other, more static puzzle games.  A simple password function makes it easy to start your game right where you left off.

 

Iji by Daniel Remar (Remar Games)

Links: Original Site, Caiman

Every once in while a game will come along that leaves you breathless and wanting more. Iji is just such a game. At its basic level it is a shoot-em-up side scrolling platformer, but Iji has been programmed with far more than that. Along with a thoroughly engaging story line, inventive enemies and Boss battles, Iji also has many unique touches to it that add much to the game and to it's replay value. At the start choose to either complete the game as a pacifist, bypassing as many battles as possible, or as a berserker, slaughtering everything in your way. How you choose to play will alter how the game plays out. Also includes bonuses, secret weapons, and the ability to either upgrade or combine weapons to make new ones. With hours of game play you'll be enthralled for a good long time.

 

Star Wars: Battle of Yavin / Battle of Endor by Bruno R. Marcos

Links: Original Site, Caiman (Yavin), Caiman (Endor) 

I'll admit it; as a kid, and like every other kid out there, I wanted to see what it was like being in the climatic final battles of the Star Wars movies. Well, now you can with two games by the same author. Battle of Yavin recreates the final fight of the original Star Wars movie while Battle of Endor recreates the final fight of the third film. Both place you in the cockpit of an X-Wing in full 3D epic space battles, complete with Star Wars music. I couldn't have asked for more. Well, except for full ship skinning as the original games were programmed with shaded gray models. Luckily there are full Mods available on the author’s site to add detail to both games. The controls themselves are kept simple; the mouse to move, the left mouse button to fire, 'Q' and 'A' to speed up and slow down, 'Z' to change to torpedoes and 'X' to change firing style.

 

Hovertank 3D by Martin Crownover Games

Links:  Original Site, Game Maker Games, Yoyo Games

Hover Tank was voted as one of the best games to be made with Game Maker at the official forums and it's not hard to see why. The 3D capabilities in Game Maker are limited, resulting in tonnes of bad 3D games, but Hover Tank uses those limitations to make a truly great game; simple shapes are used to create a pleasing atmosphere. HT3D itself is a straight forward shooter: control a tank and blast away at enemies in different 3D environments. Multiple ways to play, including missions and single arena games, means high replay factor. When starting out, practice quite a bit and set the accuracy of the enemies to '0' in the options, otherwise you'll find yourself blasted out of existence fairly quickly.

 

Cosmic by Virtanen Games

Links: Original Site,  Yoyo Games

Cosmic is an entertaining game as it combines side scrolling action with RPG in a good way. Plus, despite the fact that the main player is equipped with a gun, violence is kept to a minimum; it's used more as a tool than a weapon. Fly between worlds to collect stars by performing different tasks, completing riddles, and playing mini-games. Great fun all around. It's worth it to check the other games on the site as well.

 

Space Oddity by Bouncing Fox Productions

Links:  Original Site, Softpedia , Caiman Free Games

Space Oddity is, in it's simplest form, a Space Invaders clone, but it's so much more than that.  Intriguing enemies, fantastic orchestral music, varying and engaging levels and a unique Boss helps to put Space Oddity above the usual Space Invaders knock-offs.  Truth be told, it didn't even feel like I was playing Space Invaders when I played this game. The game is presented as two player but a single player can play by themselves, though I wish the key controls reverted to more traditional layout during the single player mode.