Toronto Thumbs

FLASH FOCUS
Bubble Spinner

Over at DeadWhale.com (one of the most interesting URLs ever), there is a newish game called Bubble Spinner.  The basic concept is very similar to Bust-A-Move, where one shoots bubbles at a cluster and when a match of three or more bubbles occurs, they disappear (each bubble starts off as 1 point).  If the “popped” bubbles were acting as an anchor holding a group of bubbles to the main “hub,” you get points for each of those as well.

The difference with this game is that the whole cluster rotates about the center whenever contact is made.  Also, there are a certain number of shots the player is allowed to make without popping the bubbles before more bubbles are randomly added to the outside.

The game ends when one of the bubbles touches the side of the screen.

Bubble Spinner is horribly addictive.  So addictive that I wanted to write a review four days ago but end up playing the game every time I sit down to write about it.

Posted in Flash Focus | 4 Comments »

FLASH FOCUS
You Have To Burn The Rope

At the Fable II launch party in Toronto on Thursday, October 16, I caught up with Mathew Kumar since we hadn’t seen each other in a while. We discussed many different video games, and while talking about Flash games he recommended that I check out You Have To Burn The Rope because its end song was great.

A lot can be said about this game, and I’m sure there are write-ups about it elsewhere on the web. But I’d still like to say my piece. I think this game is pure brilliance. Everything from the level design, character design, music, sound effects, and concept are all top-notch. If you’re like me and get easily frustrated by incredibly difficult video games like Super Mario Bros., give You Have To Burn The Rope a chance. It’s addictive. I’ve played through it about four times today already. This should be on Xbox LIVE Arcade.

Posted in Awesome, Flash Focus, LIVE | 7 Comments »

Weewar: Turn-Based Strategy in Your Browser

I’ve recently started playing a game of Weewar over at weewar.com (where else?). It’s a browser-based war game written in JavaScript and HTML that you can play with both friends and strangers. There’s a tonne of maps to choose from, plus you can also make your own.

Like most turn-based games, the goal is to capture all the bases on the map and vanquish your enemies. To do this, you have a slew of different infantry units at your disposal, provided you have the funds to pay for them. Funds are attained at the start of each turn and that’s determined by how many bases you control.

The playing field is comprised of a series of hexagonal spaces, and infantry units can move in any of the six directions provided they have the range to do so and there’s nothing blocking their path (such as mountainous terrain).

When you start off playing Weewar, you’re given 1500 points. Depending on your win/loss record, these points will either go up or down. You can even check the online Leaderboard to see how your compare to the top players.

If you want to play a game against, me, invite Megashaun to a new battle.

And of course, since it’s browser-based, you can play it while at work. I’m looking at you, Goverment of Canada employees.

Check it out: http://weewar.com/

Posted in Awesome, Flash Focus, Links | 6 Comments »

FLASH FOCUS
Patapon In Your Browser

Intrigued by the world of Patapon but don’t have a PSP? Not a problem!

A few weeks ago, I played Patapon for the first and only time, and it was wonderful. So wonderful, in fact, that I’ve now put the PSP on my list of things that I need to get. Just for this game? No, but Patapon has pushed me of the fence.

While Bugsy did write a comprehensive review of the Patapon experience, there’s just some things that can’t be put into words. One of these things is the joy of actually playing the game and taking in the sights and sounds for yourself.

Sony Europe has put up a site promoting the game. Although this is just a simplified Flash version of the game with predetermined notes (as opposed to giving you the option of what chants to, er, chant), it does a good job of scraping the surface of what Patapon feels like. Check it out. It rocks.

LINK: patapon-game.com

Posted in Flash Focus, PSP | 2 Comments »

FLASH FOCUS
Off Road Velociraptor Safari

This image just about says it all.

While technically not a Flash game, Off Road Velociraptor Safari is a game you can choose to play in your browser (with the unity web player) or you can run it right from your desktop.

The game involves you playing as a velociraptor while driving around in a Jeep. The object? Do stunts and kill other velociraptors. Sounds ludicrous enough as it is, but there’s more to it. You can kill the poor dinos by running into them or you can pull out a giant spiked ball-and-chain melee weapon and drag their carcasses around after you’ve run through them with it.

For a web game, it certainly boasts some impressive PlayStation One-era graphics and some very cool physics effects, too. Parts of your vehicle fall off with the damage you take, and the raptor carcasses behave realistically enough to make you kind of feel bad for hitting them.

LINK: Off Road Velociraptor Safari

Posted in Flash Focus, Humour | No Comments »

FLASH FOCUS
The World’s Hardest Game

A screencap of the first level of The World’s Hardest Game. Seems easy enough.

While no one could ever really know which game is technically the “World’s Hardest,” this flash game is titled just that. Jorge sent me the link to this the other night and I had my sound system turned off. But when I checked it out today I was greeting by some sweet dance grooves while trying to navigate the delightfully simple red square through a room full of moving hazards.

The game has a cool premise: Tell players they will fail, enticing them to prove you wrong. But the game actually is pretty hard and requires a great deal of dexterity in addition to puzzle solving skills. Think of it as an action-puzzler.

For the record, Jorge is better at this game than I am. I’m stuck on the fifth stage but I don’t care. I’m just grooving along to the music.

LINK: The World’s Hardest Game

Posted in Flash Focus | 1 Comment »

FLASH FOCUS
Boxhead The Zombie Wars

Sean Cooper’s Boxhead series has always been awesome. The Zombie Wars is no exception.

If you’ve ever played any of the Boxhead zombie survival games, you’ll know that they’re absolutely awesome. If you haven’t played them, well, now you know they’re awesome. As far as Flash games go, Sean Cooper’s Boxhead series is about as good as you can expect in terms of gameplay and utter brutality.

In The Zombie Wars, you take on hordes of lurching, blocky zombies through a series of levels (each with different difficulty settings). Zombies fall and leave glorious trails of blood behind them. You’ll also come across helpful weapons upgrades to aid in your desperate fight.

LINK: Boxhead The Zombie Wars

Posted in Flash Focus | No Comments »

FLASH FOCUS
Retro Sabotage

Pac-Man tears it up in the Retro Sabotage feature “What’s Next?“

Retro Sabotage isn’t your typical Flash gaming site. Rather than provide Flash knock-offs of classic games, it instead focuses on using the games to tell a story. They games are basically movies that you can control to an extent. Once you reach a predetermined goal in the game, the movie parts kick in.

So far, there are playable movies based on Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Pong, and Tetris. They’re all good for a laugh, too. Some of them are even a little disturbing. Not to ruin anything, but the Pac-Man story “The Morning After” is a take on the game where the power pellets inebriate our little yellow protagonist. He eventually will black out because of this only to awake the morning after with a predictable yet funny predicament.

LINK: retrosabotage.com

Posted in Flash Focus | 1 Comment »

FLASH FOCUS
Kill The Dead

Kill The Dead has 1000 zombies at your doorstep.

A lot of my favourite Flash games involve zombies. Usually, they involve killing zombies. So when Shaun sent me a link to Kill The Dead, I was ecstatic. It’s a point-and-click, fast-paced shooter that has you defending your front door from a horde of zombies. In fact, the game’s instructions say there’s 1,000 of them.

I can’t get through the first 50, but it’s still a crazy amount of fun. The electronic musical score is very intense and adds to the already anxiety-inducing frenetic gameplay. And the gurgling sound effects are very creepy.

The approaching zombies use a random facial feature generator, so they often look different enough to not appear as being from a set sprite catalogue. You can even shoot their arms and heads off! Kill The Dead is definitely the goriest game on The Detour’s website.

LINK: Kill The Dead

Posted in Canada, Flash Focus | 1 Comment »

FLASH FOCUS
Religious Fighters

Jesus whacks Satan with the Cross.

Strange that we should find two religion-based games the same day, but I guess God really does work in mysterious ways! Far be it for me to go against His almighty will, so I am forced to post links to both of these great games out of fear for what He may otherwise do.

First up, we have Faith Fighter. It’s a game that pits Gods/prophets from various religions against each other. Even the Prophet Muhammad is in this game, despite it being a sin against Islam to depict him. In a hilarious twist, players who might find this offensive can choose to play a censored version where his face has been removed. Alternatively, they can choose to not play the game at all.

The second religion fighter is Bible Fight, a game from the creative forces over at adultswim.com, a website known for its funny content. Unlike Faith Fighter, the game features fighters from just the Christian faith. Overall, the game is a lot more polished. Players can pit God, Jesus, Satan, Moses, Eve, and Mary against each other in various biblical locations. Just check out Jesus’ wicked Cross-smash move pictured above.

Posted in Flash Focus | No Comments »