When I first bought VVVVVV, I was a bit skeptical. I had enjoyed the demo (which is free to play on Kongregate, or to download on Steam), but I couldn’t see the lasting appeal. However, it was only $5, and I’d heard so many good things, so I decided to buy it.

I’m so happy that I was wrong about that “lasting appeal” thing. One of my favourite things in VVVVVV is the level design — every screen makes you think in a different way, and it gets progressively more difficult, sometimes to the point of being frustrating, but overall satisfying as hell.
The puzzles in this game never get old. I was constantly amazed at how “fresh” each section was… Some of it was so difficult that I can only imagine how big a pain it must have been to playtest this game, making it only just possible to succeed.

I’m sure that, if you’ve looked into this game at all, you’ve heard about the “Veni, Vidi, Vinci!” sequence of screens. Everything that you’ve heard is correct — it’s incredibly difficult. Hands-down the hardest part of the game, and developer Terry Cavanagh knew it. I’d venture almost as far as to call it torture, if it weren’t for how great it felt to finally overcome the challenge.
And, while that is the hardest part of this game, that’s not the only time you’ll get that feeling.

Let me get into the general gist of the game… In the beginning, you and your crew are all happy on your spaceship — but then you hit interference and the threat of a crash is imminent, forcing you to evacuate. You all go into the nearest portal room and teleport out. The only problem is that everybody teleports to different areas, and the whole place is huge. It’s up to you to find everybody, going through traps that somebody for some reason installed in the ship and other parts of the game world.

VVVVVV is a 2D sidescroller with a twist — you can essentially “flip” gravity, causing you to float to the ceiling and come back down to the ground on command. You use this power to overcome obstacles and weave your way through traps and complex deathly happenings. It’s somewhat of a free-roaming sidescroller, in that you have a goal — to save everybody — but you can go about it however you please, for the most part. You can find challenges at different parts of the game than other players, which is pretty interesting.
As you travel, you’ll come across teleporters. These allow you to travel to previously found teleporters, getting around the map very quickly if you realize you’ve missed something or need to backtrack to find trinkets. (We’ll get to them in just a bit…)

Every challenge is incredibly well designed. A few of them are simple, many are not, requiring cat-like reflexes and sometimes superhuman patience and toleration for failure. It’s not an easy journey, but it’s one very much worth experiencing.

Aside from the main goal of saving all of your coworkers, you can also collect aforementioned “trinkets” — there are twenty in all, scattered about the world. They have special sections of the world, special challenges of their own, leading up to them. In fact, the “Veni, Vidi, Vici!” sequence that I mentioned earlier is for nothing but one trinket. The hardest part in the entire game is for a collectible item that is completely optional. Although, they’re not useless — through collecting the trinkets, you unlock other ways to extend VVVVVV’s playtime. Believe me, it will hold your attention for quite some time if you’re a dedicated completionist.

There’s a certain charm to VVVVVV, as well. It’s an audio-visual joy, with humour in both dialogue, terminal messages, and, most prominently, screen names. Each and every screen has a name to it, and some of them are quite funny. I’ve gone through and read almost all of them, and that’s one part of the game that I’ve really enjoyed.
Back to the audio-visual aspect… The graphics in this game are simple but effective. Okay, VERY simple, and equally as effective. Each screen has its own colour, which is pretty neat. It’s a nice break from the all-brown-and-gray world of first-person shooters, and definitely gives the game a nice quality.
Sound-wise, this game is fantastic. It’s got one of the best chiptune soundtracks that I’ve ever heard. You can actually buy the soundtrack, titled PPPPPP, for only $4. (Very near future purchase for myself.) Collecting trinkets in-game also allows you to unlock new songs, which is a big reason I went around collecting them.
The sound effects are about as simple as the graphics. In fact, there are probably only five or six sound effects in all, but they all fit the simplistic theme of VVVVVV very well. No complaints there.

In fact, the only complaints that I do have about this game are that it’s pretty short (took me but two hours to beat) and the story isn’t great. (It’s sufficient, but nothing special.) I would pay another $5 just to get a level pack DLC, but as it is, this game’s pretty short-lived if you just play through once, and don’t play the other game-modes you can unlock.

All in all, it’s a pretty fantastic game. One of the more popular games on the indie front, and not without good reason — it’s charming, intuitive, fun, and has amazing music. The music alone is worth the purchase price.
This game is purely sadistic, but you won’t be able to put it down.

I give it a

9.5/10

Buy it on Steam or on the official website.

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Plants vs. Zombies currently is the most popular download at the Itunes store and for good reason. The game was released in February of this year, and in this short period of time became the number one downloaded App in the App store, the number one downloaded game at the Itunes store and is the number one paid application on average. In other words; the game is Apple’s top item and bestseller all around! This being said, I think the popular game is going to take a shot at becoming the most popular zombie arcade game in history.

The game itself is simple enough to get the hang of, but it’s addictive qualities are quite amazing, in fact, since its proven success, lots and lots of new games are coming out, copying the game’s gaming system, adapting it to their own variant of the game. It is starting to look very much like Tetris all over again! Strictly speaking, the Zombie game can be categorized as a Tower defense game. There are plenty of those to play already, but the twist Plants vs. Zombies uses to set the game apart from the rest is that instead of using all kinds of missiles, arrows, or other projectile shooting weaponry, the Zombie survival game uses plants to accomplish the same task, which is; keeping the waves of zombies at bay. There are several types of plants(49 to be precise), each with their own unique capabilities either for defensive or offensive purposes. Like other Tower defense games, the plants have to be placed strategically in order to provide protection from the undead creatures, who will invade your house if they break through. Upon being successful in keeping the bloodthirsty zombies at bay, sunshine points are gained, with which more and different types of plants can be purchased.

Game play – Rating: 9/10

As the game advances, it will become harder and harder to stop the Zombies in their tracks, and a player will need all of his strategic skills for keeping the zombies from breaking through. Using the right plants in a good defense/offence combination, will do that job. There are 49 types of plants to choose from, which are shaped to make it easy to remember which plant does what in terms of offensive or defensive capabilities, and because the level of difficulty increases very slowly, players will have plenty of time to master the basics and enable themselves to maximize the usage of the plants.

Despite its unique features, Plants vs. Zombies has all the advantages arcade games have over regular games. Rounds play within minutes, and after a round is played the game can be left alone, and picked up at a later time, making it a perfect game for all intends and purposes, whether you want to play a few quick rounds during a break, or sit down with a cup of java and put in a few hours of quality gaming. Plants vs. Zombies will deliver.

As the player enters the higher levels, the game gets harder, and the playing fields will also become more complicated, making it harder to defend.

Graphics and Sound – Rating: 7/10

Technically Plants vs. Zombies is a zombie killing game, but the style it uses, to do this is funny, cartoonish and there is no blood at all. Watching zombies get dismembers, arms fall, without the accompanying blood that is almost mandatory in a zombie game, works more for making the zombies cute, rather than frightening. Perhaps the youngest should refrain from playing, but overall the game is pretty much harmless, and suitable for all audiences.

The plants are functionally shaped and colored, making it easy to remember their uses, and all the different zombies are easy to recognize. Shielded zombies are tough to kill, those without are easy. It’s all very functional, though never graphically challenging. In other words the graphics are adequate and serve their purpose, but no more than that. A game like this, does not rely on being graphically attractive, it relies on sheer addictiveness, because it is simply a lot of fun, to test your strategical abilities and find out if you are smart enough to keep the zombies from your doorstep.

As with the graphics, the sounds of the game are the same way. Functional, adequate, but nothing to write home about.

Overall – Rating: 9/10

Overall the game has turned out to be a very entertaining Zombie arcade game in the Tower defense category, with highly addictive qualities, that are typical for games in the genre. The version I tested was made for the Ipod and Iphone, but the game is available for free on most platforms like PC, handheld and Ereaders. It basically plays on anything capable of making an Internet connection. Judging by its popularity I think it is safe to assume that many of you already played a few round of the game, but if this is not the case I highly recommend for you to do so, because you are missing out on some good old fashioned arcade fun!

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2. 13 More days in Hell Game Review
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Where the first 13 days of Hell was only a shooting game, that would only require you to aim shoot and reload, the new  installment entails much more and is a full fletched first person shooter, that  looks and sounds every bit as uncanny as the famous Doom PC games.  In 13 more days of  Hell you will walk through a maze of corridors and hallways, guided by a guardian who also doubles as the store sales man, where you can buy ammo, weapons and health potions during the game(And you will need them!).  weapons and ammo can also be found through the levels, and like with the first game the number keys allow you to select the various weapons, provided that you have them in your arsenal.

Sound – Rating: 8/10

The sounds in 13 more days of Hell are minimal, yet very effective. The sounds are simply integrated into the atmosphere adding to the tension, which is the same kind that provided so much excitement in the early Doom games. Throughout every step of the way a player will have the same eerie feeling that an undead creature may jump him at every corner, and usually they will. While the maze of corridors and hallways is large, the sounds and looks will at times make a player feel slightly claustrophobic, which is exactly the feeling one should have when walking through an area, knowing creatures can and will pop up from anywhere. The sounds of the different guns are well done also. A gun sounds like a gun and a gun with silencer will sound as such.  Overall, the sound effects are very well done, without overdoing it.  For example, when a player uses a health potion, you hear him sigh in relief, as the bar becomes full again. 13 more days of Hell definitely is not a game, with your average sound effects, that plague so many other flash games.

Graphics – Rating: 7/10

The graphics are well designed, especially the surroundings. Like with the sounds, much thought has gone into designing the hallways and corridors, creating the perfect atmosphere for a Doom like first person shooter game. The creatures themselves are adequate, but in that area there is room for improvement, as they often look a little blurred. Of course one cannot expect graphics like Far Cry yet from a flash game, but they still can be a little better than they are in 13 more days of Hell. Looking at the game in general one can’t escape the impression that most of the thought and detail has gone in to  the surroundings, and the lost souls were simply ported in from the original game. The guardian looks crisp and very detailed, but does not move, which is another minor drawback from the game. It’s not a big thing, and certainly does not take away from the game, but it is one more detail, that could be improved upon to make the game feel just that little bit more realistic. One little detail I also was sorry to see go, was the eerie reddish mist they used in the original game, where the undead creatures would emerge from. Adding that to the new game would in my opinion be the crown on the project, and would have given the whole game that finishing touch. Perhaps this will be a good suggestion for part 3.

Game Play – Rating: 8/10

The game plays, looks and feels very much like the first two Doom games, or Castle Wolfenstein for that matter. The controls are similar, just like the well known current FPS games, like Counterstrike, Far Cry and the others.  “W” to walk forward, “A” for walking to the left, “D” to go right and “Z” to walk backwards. The mouse is used to turn, aim and shoot. The number keys are used to switch weapons. And the space-bar is used to reload. To anyone that has ever played a first person shooter game, this should be very familiar territory. In addition to the well known keys there is the “H” key that obviously stands for health, and if in possession of a health position is used to restore the hero’s health.
It’s all very intuitive and will take the average gamer less than 2 seconds to master.

So, have we got a perfect game here, game play wise? No, like with everything else in this game the game play is good but there certainly is room for improvement. A player is able to turn to all sides, using the mouse, but cannot look up or down, something that is very common in other first person shooter games. This is something  13 more days in Hell also has in common with the first Doom and Wolfenstein games. The first versions of the FPS gaming genre, also lacked that feature. Again this is nothing major, and won’t  keep you from having loads of fun with this game, but having the feature, makes it just this much more realistic, while playing. The same goes for the inability to jump or crawl. It is not necessary for this  game, but being able to do so, makes movements that much more natural and real. Also the limits of the small flash screen take away from the game play, as it makes movement not as natural and swift like we are used to while playing Doom full screen. This can be easily solved by playing the game full screen, provided the arcade site you are playing on offers this feature.

Re-Playability – Rating 7/10

As far as replay value goes on flash arcade games, it is usually the addictiveness that holds the attraction, but once all levels have been conquered, the game loses its attraction, and it’s off to another game, to kill some time with. This is certainly not the case with 13 more days in Hell. This game is a whole different beast, and with its Easy, Medium and Hard settings, it will keep you coming back for at least 3 more rounds, after you have finished the last level. In fact it will be hard to compare this game with most arcade games, as it looks, feels and plays like a fully fledged first person shooter, that does not have to shy away, next to famous titles like Doom I and II, Castle Wolfenstein and even next to the ground breaking Quake I. Of course, it lacks features especially Quake I already possessed, but it comes close, so close, FPS developers, should start getting worried, as Flash games are catching up at an amazing rate.

Conclusion

13 more days in Hell, has turned out to be an excellent sequel to a game that was great, but no more than that. With this latest installment the creators truly show what they can do when they set their mind to it, and though there is room for improvement, one cannot help but be amazed about what they managed to do with a flash game, that requires no lengthy installs, downloads but simply plays from your browser. 13 more days is a fun game that will provide you with hours of good clean gaming fun, bringing back the days we played doom on our 386 personal computers, preferably with the lights turned off in order to gain a greater shock effect. Currently, 13 more days in Hell is one of the best zombie games available on flash arcade sites. Looking at the way the game has evolved, I for one cannot wait until the third installment will be released, and hopefully they will manage to amaze us once again with an FPS game that comes even closer to the ones we are used to playing today.  From the looks of it, I think it won’t be long now, until we see the first flash FPS multi player game.

Overall – Rating 8/10

13 more days in Hell, has turned out to be quite a surprise. After having played the original game, I expected more of the same, perhaps with other characters thrown in the mix, but nothing could have prepared me for this sequel, that is more like a recreation of the game, and this time the way it should have been. All the elements that make for a great FPS are there, and save from a few minor factors that do not take away from the gaming fun, they have come close to releasing a perfect game as far as I am concerned.  I rate it 8 out of 10, and if they continue developing down this road I expect to be able to rate even higher when the next installment will be released.

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Sound – Rating: 4/10

The sound in this game isn’t exactly nails on chalkboard, but the lack of variation really makes the music annoying.  You hear the same 15 second or so loop of music through out the entire game, and maybe 10 different sound effects are implemented.  This is the first inkling you get that this game was created rather hastily and not a lot of time was put into making it one of the great Sniper Games, which it could have been.

Graphics – Rating: 5/10

The graphics follow one of the largely used “stickman flash game” memes.  This is widely popular for creators, as it makes it easier for them to draw their graphics and animation for flash games.  Just like in the artistic world, some people can only draw stickmen.  However, seeing as stick games are widely popular also as a meme, the score isn’t quite so low because of it.  One of the things that bugged me was the lack of precision that could easily be incorporated into such a low quality graphic game.

Game Play – Rating: 6/10

The actual game itself is worth a play through.  As a fan of puzzle games, it’s not all that lacking in that department.  Some of the levels had me hitting my head on how to beat it, while others were as simple as they come.  If you know the solutions and play through the game, it would only take you about 2-3 minutes total.  However, if you don’t know the solutions, it could take you 10 – 15 minutes.  Not a long investment for a quick series of puzzles.  Although the game play didn’t get a high rating, it is still worth a few minutes of your time.

Re-Playability – Rating 2/10

As with any puzzle game, re-playability is almost non existent.  Unless you just enjoy sniping things mindlessly, once you have solved the level, there is no challenge to it anymore.  And with only 8 levels, it’s not hard to remember each one.

=Sidenote=

Another note, which I usually don’t mention on flash games, is the story.  I don’t expect great stories, and I don’t expect the creators to try and implement one.  Though in this game they tried, and it was bad, I mean laughable bad.  But just like with bad horror movies, sometimes laughable bad can improve what would otherwise be a disaster.

Overall – Rating 4/10

Alright, so the game seems like it was made very hastily.  Not a lot of time seems to be invested in the creation, and as a result we get a rather poorly made game with a good idea.  As far as Sniper Games go it isn’t one of the best, but as a puzzle game it’s alright.  You may get stuck on some levels, or you may not.  If you do you will enjoy trying to figure it out, if you don’t and the entire game is a breeze you won’t have spent a whole lot of time.   This wouldn’t be the first game I would recommend to someone, however I still say it’s worth a play through, especially if you are into sniper games.

You can play Save The Witness and other cool sniper games at freesnipergames.net

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Sound – Rating: 7/10

The sound in The Last Stand 2 fits, it’s nothing spectacular but its also not something the creators took too much time on. You have the typical gun sounds, explosions and that horror genre music. Again, nothing amazing, but it’s not bad.

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3. Super Mafia Land

Sound – Rating: 8/10

Super Mafia Land has a great music selection, taking into account the mood of the game and intensifying the comedic overtone of the entire game through it. The sound effects of the game also have a certain charm to them as well. If I had no other reason, I would still recommend this game for the music.

Graphics – Rating: 7/10

The graphics in this game are pretty well done. It’s rare for flash games to get even remotely close to the original that they are spoofing, and in most cases you can’t even tell if something is supposed to be a cat or an elevator. However Super Mafia Land lands most every enemy dead on. Shyguys and even those eggs shooting dinosaurs are in it, though the dinosaurs do look like they are going through chemotherapy. But Super Mafia Land does well in making the look fit the game.

Game Play – Rating: 5/10

The game play in Super Mafia Land is what holds this game down a bit, and the only thing dragging this score down is the control scheme it uses. It’s not unplayable, but it can get a little frustrating at times. The mechanics could use a bit of work as well, some glitches offer fast shortcuts while others offer quick deaths, nothing you aren’t used to in a flash game however. Even with the previous complaints Super Mafia Land still excels in fun. Every game has it’s problems, but if it’s fun it’s easy to look past, and this game is definitely fun.

Re-playability – Rating: 7/10

Super Mario has been re-playable since the first one hit the store shelves, and clones are no different. There is something about the simplicity of jumping on heads, avoiding things and getting to the end of a level that never wears down; at least not for long.

Difficulty – Rating: 6/10

Super Mafia Land is certainly not the easiest game I have happened across, and it certainly isn’t the hardest. It hits a difficulty level that makes you want to beat it, but when you do you won’t be bragging to your friends about it.

Overall – Rating: 7/10

So what do all the above conclude? Super Mafia Land is a simple and fun game, just like the game that it spoofs. Overlooking a few slight technical issues Super Mafia Land is something to enjoy and pass a few hours with. If you were a fan of the classic Mario games, especially Super Mario World 2, you will definitely want to give this game a try. It’s fun for a flash side-scroller, and it’s even more fun if you can appreciate the intricacies of the spoof. Among the enormous amount of Mario Games that exist across the internet Super Mafia Land is one of the better.

Click here to play Super Mafia Land

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You must support your creeps and lay siege to enemy towers while protecting your own towers from destruction. I would highly recommend that you first level up your hero and buy him some better gear. You can purchase various gear at one of the four shops located at the market. There is also a fifth shop elsewhere where you can purchase recipes on how to make more powerful weapons, armor and magic items such as the Mask of Eternal Hunger which grants a 35% life steal to the wearer.

There are various strategies you can use to defeat your enemy while playing The Etternal Battle game. One strategy would be to build up your towers on both sides, destroy his side towers and then attack the enemies center towers from both fronts. Another good strategy is to support the middle attack column as it is the fastest way to advance on the enemy base. After destroying the enemies middle towers, you can then concentrate on the sides. You may lose a tower or two during the battles but don’t worry as you can build new towers.

Don’t let your hero die as you will lose experience and possibly levels. If your hero is badly hurt, run away from the battle and give him a chance to heal. For newbies, I would suggest playing a mage at first as having a ranged attack is significantly easier to play than a melee attack where you are right in the middle of battle. Most importantly, make sure that your barracks do not get destroyed or you are going to lose as the barracks are needed to create more troops and you cannot rebuild once they are destroyed. Try playing the game on the easy setting at first before moving up difficulties and make sure to buy tomes and weapons to improve your stats.

This game is very addicting as I found myself playing it until I was able to achieve victory.

I highly recomend playing this great free flash game, click here to play The Etternal Battle

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Pandemic 2 is an extremely addicting strategy game. Don’t say we didn’t warn you. In this awesome game you play as a new strain of either a bacteria,virus or parasite. It is your job to spread throughout the world infecting humanity and eventually wipe out all human life on Earth. Keep in mind that once the authorities become aware of the threat they will begin trying to develop a vaccine, so it a race against time for both you and humanity. The more people you manage to infect the more evolution points you receive. Use the evolution points to evolve by developing new immunities, symptoms and ways of spreading and mutate into a more powerful strain. By evolving enough you should be able to wipe out all of humanity.

The Pandemic 2 game is far from easy and is extremely addicting. I found myself playing if for more than two hours when I first started writing this review.

You should definately try this great game, click here to play Pandemic 2.

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