Fun With Flash Games (October)!

OK, kiddies! It's time for another round of fun with flash games! I've realised after the response to my last flash games post that there are so many out there, I can do this every month until I die. The platform will be well obsolete by the time that happens, barring some tragic accident involving a speeding bus or a hail of police gunfire. So while we have it, let's celebrate these pixelated beauties!

10. Speed Warrior Now racing games may be the product of supposed "gearhead wannabes" who just happened to get a hold of a prgramming suite and a physics engine, but some of them are really quite addicting. Speed Warrior is one of them. It's an overhead driving/racing sim that takes more than a few hints from Need for Speed. I can't criticize it much, though. It's a good way to sink a couple mindless hours.

9. There's Two Wires?! There are a few games out there with this premise, and by no means is this the original or even best. It looks like crap, but I wasted three hours of what should have been cuddle time with my wife on it, so that should say something. You swing around, dodge obstacles, and pretend to be Spider Man as portrayed by a five-year-old via Microsoft Paint.

8. Magic Pen I love creativity games. It awakens the child in me, and this game is the worst sort of trigger for that phenomenon. Draw shapes and pieces to complete one-dimensional puzzles which get surprisingly difficult near the end. The look is very child-like and when you draw the shapes into reality with a crayon, it elicits near squeals of glee.

7. You Have to Burn the Rope You can't cut the rope. You can't break the rope. You can't reason with the rope. The rope only responds to one thing; purging flame. You have to burn the rope. You may have axes, but trust me. Burn the rope. There's even an achievement for it if you have a profile with Kongregate.

6. Super Mario World What? This isn't a flash game! Super Mario World is a classic SNES title featuring one of the first appearances of the Yoshis! Well guess what; It's a flash game now too! Remarkably well done, this translation is faithful enough to keep even the most insatiable and rabid Mario fanboy happily entertained anywhere with an internet connection.

5. Skies of War Fun top-down flight sim with a WWII twist i not historically accurate, nor does it pretend to be, but it is a lot of fun to play, and if you can get over that the designer thinks the C-47 is a bomber and somehow on the same side as what he claims to be a focke-wulf (despite it clearly being an ME-109), you'll have a few hours of fun with this well polished (if not horribly, horribly incorrect) game.

4. 1066 Following on the historical bent, 1066 follows the events leading up to and including the battle of Hastings. Play as the English (Anglo-Saxons, to be precise, as after 1066 a Norman king ruled the nation), the Normans and the Vikings. The Vikings have a fun little cameo in this game, and I would have liked to see more of them, but the game is very, very involved, so I understand. The three factions are all unique and gameplay, despite being turn-based, is very fluid. Figuring out how to use the archers was a bit of a pain, but the realism is the selling point here. The best laid plans...

3. Gravity Pods What would the list be without one of my beloved physics games? Gravity Wells is creative to the point that really sticks in my mind as the type of game I want to continue playing even after I've finished it. Shoot little misiles around gravity wells, using their pull to hit your target. Simple controls, but complex and difficult puzzles await. Try it!

2. N Game This one falls under a few categories. Running, climbing, jumping action indicates ninja game (as does the ninja protagonist, but the puzzles, traps and obstacles are all very reminiscent of a puzzle game. Boiled down, it's everything we loved about Prince of Persia: Sands of Time encapsulated into this tight, entertaining package.

1. Vox Populi Vox Dei Amazingness. Complete spectacularity. I can't even make up words awesome enough to describe this game. Just follow along and hang on to your minds, lest they be blown beyond recovery. You are a ninja. You kill werewolves. Machine-gun-toting werewolves. I just... I know. I don't have the words either. Just go check it out. Play it and comment with the words you would use to describe this game. (NSFW for blood/gore and louder noises)

So there it is for October. It's been brought to my attention that I've already done one for this months, but I haven't got anything else prepared, so... there. Yes. Next one in late November. Do the right thing people. Play indie games. Feed upon the souls of the still living.