So the other day I was browsing through the latest issue of ‘Games for Windows’ that was delivered to my mailbox. No idea how I got a subscription, but they have a section called ‘52 free games’ and while flipping through the pages looking at the games I wanted to try out I came across GunLimb. The url they pointed to was at Great Games Experiment for GunLimb. Pretty cool I thought. So you may want to check out the game and if you are looking for some other free games that you haven’t found on GGE check out the latest issue of ‘Games for Windows’. Neat stuff.

I’ve included the cover so you know what to look for.

-Dr Wiley

The long awaited unnamed FPS now has one.  Fallen Empire: Legions will be available exclusively on InstantAction. 

Tim Aste, Project Director, sat down with IGN for an interview about the game.  The interview posted yesterday gives some insight into what the game will be about and how it’ll play.

"With Legions, we set out to create a fast and furious online shooter.
Now imagine that same game, but with a big freaking rocket strapped to
your back. Freedom of movement is an integral part of the game concept;
we wanted players to feel unrestrained by the world. If a player can
see a spot where they wanted to go, we want them to get there easily."

Full interview with IGN

Head to www.instantaction.com to sign up for the beta and get a look at some of the screenshots for the game.

-Dr Wiley

The people over at HermitWorks Entertainment have announced a playable preview of Space Trader. Because I’m tired and its getting later in the day I’ll just post some snippets from the Press Release below:

“HermitWorks Entertainment Announces playable preview of Space Trader™

Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada (August 8, 2007) - HermitWorks Entertainment, an independent game developer, has announced today the playable preview of their action-trading game Space Trader is now available to the public. Space Trader’s innovative game design lets players experience fast paced trading with intense combat.

About Space Trader
Players assume the role of Space Trader in an alternate future universe. Their goal is to make as much money possible within a time limit. Players make money by leasing cargo ships, traveling to planets and trading with merchants. Merchants trade anything from iron ore to organs, finding successful trade routes between these merchants is the skill of the Space Trader. On the planets surface shady informants reveal the location of black markets while legitimate merchants are extorted by underground gangs. Players can turn a blind eye to these transgressions or hunt down the gangs for rewards and return stability to the markets.

Pricing And Availability
The playable preview of Space Trader for Windows is available at http://www.playspacetrader.com .

The full version of Space Trader is available for Windows and can be purchased at http://www.playspacetrader.com for $19.95 (USD).”

Now that you all know, you should play the demo. Strange, I don’t have anything else witty or funny (at least in my mind) to add to this post. Guess it’ll just be informative.

I’m sure that many of you would love to add a game or two, but might not know which games to add. As the number of games on the site grows it gets harder and harder to find those games that have yet to be submitted. So, I thought I would help those of you who are looking to submit some games with a little old school inspiration: NES.

Currently, there are only around 70 NES games in the catalog. There are over 800 NES games that exist. If you do the math you will realize that we are missing a couple. That’s where you come in. Submit some of those classics that haven’t been seen here yet. Here are a couple that you might be interested in submitting:

The Karate Kid, T&C Surf Designs, and BombermanII are just 3 of the NES games you could submit. So all you die-hard NES fans and retro gamers, this is your chance to fill out the site with some of those titles that might have been overlooked thus far.

Classic games have been imitated since Pong. Asteroids came only a few years later, but is constantly being retrofitted for new audiences. Look up Asteroids on GGE and you will receive no less than 25 results, from RoidRage to Rock Dodger. The following are just 2 unique adaptions of the classic space blaster:

Asteroid’s Revenge is played with literally the same graphics and art as the original. So what’s new about it? This time around you play as an asteroid, smashing into the evil spaceships that have decimated generations of innocent space rock. The idea alone makes this game worth playing. Combined with the tried and true gameplay (reversed, of course) of the original, there really is no reason to not spend a few minutes with this game.

Echoes certainly does echo the look and gameplay of the original Asteroids, but the adrenaline infusion of fast-paced confusion that this iteration inflicts on the player is something entirely new. Step 1 of the instructions let you know that the game is as straightforward as the original: “Shoot Stuff.” It’s step 2 of the instructions that makes you worry: “Die.” And that’s exactly what you’ll do; but not before you blast away and hordes of space debris is what can only be described as survival, rather than attack.

A veritable bevy of new Play Now games have been added to GGE in recent days. Two of which–Indestructo Tank and Dolphin Olympics–have been gnawing away more of our time than their simplistic gameplay would suggest possible.

How do these games pull this off? Some of it has to do with the simplicity of course: the arrow keys are all you need for either game. In Indestructo Tank, your Tank doesn’t actually have any weapons. Instead you use your tank to crash into and destroy as many enemies as possible, stringing together huge airborne combos along the way. Much like a Hummer, your only weakness is your fuel consumption. Run out of fuel before you pass on to the next level and you’re finished.

Coincidently, Dolphin Olympics contains no weaponry either, and the gameplay is essentially the same. In fact, you can almost use the same sentence to describe both games: You use your [dolphin] to [launch] into [the air] and [pull off] as many [sick tricks] as possible, stringing together huge airborne combos along the way. There’s a time limit instead of a fuel gauge in Dolphin Olympics, but you get the picture.

Another factor that keeps us four-keying our way to massive scores is the inclusion of online high score tables with multiply categories. Well, we could never be skilled enough (or have enough spare time) to even attempt to approach the Everestian heights of the current high scores, but it does allow us to compete against each other at work. And seeing frustration contorting a coworker’s face as they fall just short of besting one of the (very few) record I currently hold is like manna for my soul.

I could go on about the similarities between the games, and why they’re so addictive; unrealistic, but consistent and satisfying physics; simple, but difficult to master gameplay; instantly accessible and recognizable controls… but maybe you should just try them for yourself–Mark just beat my combo score on Indestructo Tank, so I gotta get on that.

Or, to be more kid friendly: really, really clumsy sumo wrestling. Sumotori Dreams is really just a demoscene, consisting of two self-balancing physics rigs facing off against one another in a sumo ring.

The game itself is very simple, but the true beauty lies in watching the rock ‘em sock ‘em-esque wrestlers as they attempt to get to their feet and bow to each other. If they’re not on solid ground, they’ll stumble around with their arms flailing until they regain their balance or take a hard spill. Adding to the already enormous pleasure of watching the AI look like Charlie Chaplin in a room full of banana peels is the breakable barriers surrounding the ring. A wrestler, in an attempt to regain its upward mobility, will fly off the ring and crash through one of these barriers, only to vainly try again to stand and instead stumble on the rubble recently created underfoot. Sometimes it takes over a minute for the wrestlers to regain their composure and bow respectfully.

The realism of the bumbling bots looks real enough at times to remind one of America’s Funniest Home Videos. Someone should hire Bob Sagat to narrate. The controls are simple, the matches are quickly over, and the self-balancing bipedal warriors are a hilarious and impressive technical feat that may lend themselves well to serious research in robotics.