Review: Nintendo 3Ds
Nintendo has done it again. After the huge success of the Wii, the company's new 3DS handheld looks set to be another game changer.
As I am sure you are all aware, Nintendo has recently launched a revolutionary new handheld games device, the 3DS. If you were not one of the hundreds of thousands who pre-ordered the highly anticipated gadget and you have yet to have a hands on experience with one, then you may be wondering how it differs from its predecessors and whether it is really worth the $249.99 (£220) price tag. Well here’s all you need to know...
Undoubtedly the most exciting thing about the 3DS is the glasses-free 3D technology that has been built into the device's upper screen (it has two screens, by the way). This is the first popularly available game system to feature this technology and you really need to experience it firsthand to appreciate it.
Published by Kat Cole on 7th April 2011
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New games round-up
Worried that you are running out of casual games to play? Don't fret, for we have just found another ten great new games to keep your gaming withdrawal symptoms at bay.
We're back once again with the best new games on the web that are free, free, FREE!!! So what have we got this week? Well, the question should really be what don't we have. And the answer would be nothing.
There's gems and bulls and bears and flappers and hamsters and robots and zombies and more robots and sushi. Lots of sushi. Oh and The Great Gatsby. That really is everything isn't it?
Published by Andy Jowett on 22nd March 2011
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Top Ten Platform Adventure Games
Turn off the TV, put down your book, stop whatever you are doing, and come play the ten best platform adventure games we could find on the web.
I love the platform adventure genre. It has thrown up so many great games over the years, from early classics such as Metroid and Castlevania to modern brilliancies like Braid and Shadow Complex.
Even for those with tight budgets the genre has a lot to offer. Some of the best platform adventure games are completely free, perhaps the two best examples being the unmissable Cave Story (which can be downloaded here) and the sublime Knytt and Knytt Stories (downloadable here and here). And that's before we come to the slew of platform adventure games that can be played in your browser, the ten best of which (at least in our opinion) we have listed below.
Published by Tasha on 13th March 2011
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Top 10 Dungeon Crawlers
Grab yourself a lantern, some health potions and a sturdy sword, and join us on our quest to play the top ten casual dungeon crawlers.
For today's list of games, we are going down, down into the dark rat-infested depths of the world. And what are we going to do when we get there? Well, we're going to crawl, crawl and then crawl some more, all the time entombed in some of the most dingy, dank and downright devilish dungeons casual gamers have had the misfortune to find themselves.
Yes, we have for you some of the best dungeon crawlers you can play for free on the web. These games might not have the depth or infuriating unfairness of classics of the genre like NetHack and the brilliant Dungeon Crawl Stone Soup (downloadable here) but that is probably a good thing. NetHack and DCSS will absorb your whole life. These games on the other hand should each only take an afternoon or two at most to complete. Happy crawling!
Published by Tasha on 6th March 2011
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Top 10 Puzzle Games
Puzzleophiles rejoice. We have collected together ten brilliant puzzle games - all of which you can play for free in your browser.
Fans of puzzles have never had it better. Go back a few years, and they did not have many options. There was chess, draughts, crosswords and Connect 4. That was about it. Okay, I might be exaggerating the paucity of puzzles a tad but back then the launch of a new puzzle was a major event - just witness the media attention lavished on the Rubik's Cube when it came out in the 1980s.
Nowadays, the launch of a new puzzle barely merits a mention. That is because - thanks to the massive growth in computer ownership and cheap readily-available games - we have at our fingertips an unbelievably huge number of puzzle games, everything from puzzle platfomers such as Shift and Continuity and physics puzzle titles like Fantastic Contraption and Wake up the Box to countless word, memory and card games.
Published by Tasha on 27th February 2011
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Elephant Quest
A joyous Elephant-themed adventure game that brilliantly combines RPG, action and platformer game-play. You won't want to miss this game.
John Cooney, head of development at Armor Games, has done it again. The creator of brilliant Flash games such as Exit Path, Corporation Inc and Treadmillasaurus Rex has come up with another game that is set to become an instant classic. I would even go as far as saying that Elephant Quest is John's best game yet.
Elephant Quest is John's first foray into the role-playing style of game. You will probably know this genre for its over-reliance on Lord of the Rings-inspired fantasy settings and characters. But don't expect to be playing as an elf, dwarf or human in this game. John loves nothing more than reinventing game genres (as testified by what he has done to the platform genre with games like Achievement Unlocked) and has foregone the traditional fantasy setting, opting instead for a world of cute elephants, one of whom you play.
Published by Tasha on 22nd February 2011
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Steambirds: Survival
The sequel to one of 2010's best strategy games is chock-a-block with dazzling new features and exciting new aerial combat missions.
Biggles. Maverick and Goose. Dastardly and Muttley. Erm, Icarus. How we love those magnificent men (and dogs) in their flying machines. And, from supercharged arcade stormers like Afterburner to the lost Amiga classic Wings and PC hits like Crimson Skies, it seems we also can't get enough of being just like them (without the hours of training, moustache wax and risk of death, obviously) by going up-diddly-up-up to blast the bejesus out of the bad guys.
Thankfully, Steambirds: Survival from Radial Games and Spry Fox gives us all another chance to dish out some damn good thrashings among the clouds. I say, top hole! It's the follow-up to - surprise, surprise - the 2010 Flash hit Steambirds, which picked up a gaggle of well-deserved awards for its interesting twist on aerial combat.
Published by Andy Jowett on 18th February 2011
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Pogo Swing!
Casual games do not get much more fun than this cute new launching game from the guys at Armor Games.
There is something ridiculously addictive about launch games. I have spent countless hours pointlessly blasting hedgehogs into outer space, shooting turtles into the sky and catapulting peasants across burning countryside in launch classics such as Hedgehog Launch, Toss the Turtle and Catapult Madness.
Every time I complete one of these games, I vow never to play another. They really are such time wasters. But each time a new launch game comes out, I can't resist and am soon in a happy trance endlessly launching things into the air. And there have been quite a few innovative launch games as of late, including such gems as Reachin' Pichin and my personal favourite Flight (for more such games, see our list of the Top 10 Launching Games).
Published by Tasha on 16th February 2011
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Top 10 Fighting Games
Unleash your combative alter ego with these ten beat 'em up games that can be played online for free.
I only had one fight at school. I was about five years old and the biggest kid in the class was getting on my nerves for being so big. So I went up to him and hit him in his midriff. Big mistake. I was very soon on my arse on the floor with a bloodied nose. I learnt something important that day. I am not a fighter. I am much better at learning, reading and playing games than beating the living daylights out of people. I never got into a fight with anyone again.
That is probably a good thing but it has left me with a slight sense of inadequacy - a feeling that I have missed out on something that is at the core of being a real man. Perhaps I watched too many John Wayne movies as a kid and have a distorted view of masculinity but I can't help thinking that to be a real man you have to be able to hold your own in a fist fight.
Published by Alex Kearns on 14th February 2011
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Amea
A nicely illustrated dash and slash RPG with an intriguing storyline, loads of weapons and spells and great locations. What more could you want?
Amea is going about her everyday business and the next thing she remembers is waking up in a strange bed unable to recall anything other than her name. Oh, and there is a strange man in the room. I know what you are thinking: Amea really should cut down on those vodka-whiskey-rum cocktails. You'd be wrong. As far as I know, Amea does not drink at all. She does have gruesome visions, however. And it is after one such vision that she finds herself in the strange bed with the strange man.
Thus begins this neat side-view slash-and-dash RPG game from Aussie developer Godlimations (who you might remember for his fun dragon-nurturing game Dragon Boy).
Published by Tasha on 12th February 2011
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