Other Great Freeware Games

Talk about other games (be they freeware, indie or commercial!)
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Ryan
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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

Post by Ryan »

Well, since nobody else has posted about it here, I thought I might as well do it... :)
...Nifflas has released the latest game in the series that began with Within A Deep Forest... It's called Knytt Stories, it's been out for some time now, and it's really rather good fun, so if you've played and enjoyed the first two, it's definitely a good recommendation. :)

Oh, and I've also recently played Peace Fighter, which is a very simple little game, and pretty hard, but also excellent and really rather addictive... I played it pretty obsessively until I completed it (yes, I do have a screen-shot to prove it!), and I enjoyed every moment, even all the many times I died very quickly! Definitely one to check out. :)

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Ryan
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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

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...I'm currently playing (and enjoying a great deal) A Tale Of Two Kingdoms from Crystal Shard. It's a very nice point-and-click adventure game with some RPG elements, comparable in quality to the excellent King's Quest remakes by AGD Interactive. Another one to have a look at if you're in need of something a little in-depth. :)

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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

Post by Dalboz »

Turn Dungeon Keeper into a roguelike, and Dwarf Fortress(http://www.bay12games.com/dwarves/) is probably what you'll get.

The game is incredibly complex, and simply generating a gameworld will take around half an hour.
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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

Post by Ryan »

For those of you who've not already noticed, Ben Croshaw has recently released the fifth game (loosely) in his Chzo Mythos... I say "loosely", because this one (Trilby: The Art Of Theft) is actually a prequel to the first game, and (as far as I've discovered so far) has no direct relation to the overall plot of the series. However, it's a superb game, somewhat in the vain of Croshaw's other classic, 1213, but focused on stealth and planning - so far, I've only completed the first four levels (with perfect scores for the first three!), but it's already got to be one of the most addictive and nicely presented games I've played for some time.

You can go get it from Fully Ramblomatic. B)

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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

Post by Aloshi »

Art of Theft is amazing. Really well done, best 2D Theft game I've played (of course theres probably only like 2 others).

I got to Heist 6, after a few hours of trying. Very fun and addicting.

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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

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A sequel to Trackmania Nations, Trackmania Nations Forever, has been released, featuring improved graphics, built out multiplayer features, a funky 3D mode for the notorious "glasses" with red and blue foil and quite some more nice stuff. As with the predecessor, you can easily configure the game to run on any half-way modern graphics hardware, so performance issues are unlikely. However, mid-high to high settings are noticeably more perfomance hungry than in the previous version, so if you want to enjoy all the eye candy such as dynamic colors, motion blur and complex shadows, recent performance- to high-end-hardware is required, even with IQ options such as Antialiasing and Anisotropy set to low levels.
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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

Post by Qabach »

Thanks Balloony. I really liked the first one, so I'm sure I'll love this too.
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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

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I'm currently playing through the massive action-platformer Iji, from Daniel's Base, which is simply superb. :)

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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

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Ryan wrote:I'm currently playing through the massive action-platformer Iji, from Daniel's Base, which is simply superb. :)
I found that game a while ago, it's very good.

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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

Post by Zio »

Do you remind Broken sword 1 & 2? do you wanna play a freeware sequel (a german one with eng subtitles)?

try it out here: http://www.brokensword25.com/

From the music composer of the game above there is another game, an innovative platform in two colors:

try it out there: http://www.4players.de/4players.php/dow ... White.html

there is also a youtube video showing the gameplay of Blake White: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ZCkjvK7dMM

Have a nice play!

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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

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Ryan wrote:I'm currently playing through the massive action-platformer Iji, from Daniel's Base, which is simply superb. :)
Thanks for pointing me towards this game, Ryan. I just finished it.

Well, what can I say? Probably a ton and some bonus ranting. But let's just say this is a very worthy (albeit unorthodoxly action-laden) addition to the catalog of cinematic/action-adventure hybrid platformers (à la Prince of Persia, Oddworld, Flashback, Another World, Heart of Darkness), a genre I've come to hold in very high regard since the day I stumbled across Yahtzees 1213.

Iji puts itself at the very top of casual indie games, having an elaborate (if a bit bumpy and not always convincing) backstory, lovely albeit amateurish cutscenes, a touch of puzzles, lots and lots of features including RPG-like skill stats, very immersive gameplay and of course all the other stuff every good game needs (most importantly passion for detail and soulful design), yet remaining very accessible. If you want a more capacious story or a larger selection of puzzles, well, you'll have to play an adventure. If you want a more elaborate skill system, you'll have to opt for a full-fledged RPG. If you want more moves and special features, you can but head to the hardcore beat-em-up and duelling department. All four rarely the kind of genres you can jump in and get an instant satisfactory experience from, especially if you're looking for some serious pacing (well, except from the hc b'em'up in some cases). That's why I hold this kind of platformer so dear, they give you so much in terms of experience, immersion and action, and ask you for so little in return, proportionally at least.
And as for the flaws, quirks and rough edges, I think they give the game that unmistakable and simply lovely "out of my garage, but hey, dynamite comes in small packages, doesn't it?" charm (though the term "garage" is somewhat insulting considering the quality of the music, visual design (not necessarily sprite quality) and some other features.)

My biggest gripe with the classic cinematic platformers was the sometimes ludicrous level of difficulty, entailing a frequent and large build-up of frustration. With very playable standard/normal difficulties nowadays, this high toll seems to have vanished since the reincarnation of the genre, tearing down the last(?) wall possibly preventing players from experiencing their intense, fully equipped goodness. I hope there's many more to come.




Err, yeah. Sorry for spamming. Had that tickle, y'know ;). Here's a dinky coffee break platformer: The Power
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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

Post by Zio »

Are you looking for a nice adventure game? just play a Jonas Kyratzes' adventure like this one:

http://www.jonas-kyratzes.net/?page_id=95

Good story, great music, original design.

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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

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I'd like to point out Spelunky, which is an awesome mix between platformer and roguelike, with randomly generated levels. I really like it and it's very addicting. It reminds me of some older games, and the music is pretty decent. There is a different area every five levels, but the farthest I've ever gotten is level seven.

Unfortunately, you do die quite often, and the only 'save system' is every five levels - give the "Tunnel Man" a ton of money and he'll dig a shortcut to the level he appears on. The money you have left to give him is persistent, which is good, because it's a rather large sum.

There is also a shop located in most levels, which you can either attempt to steal from or buy things from. And the shopkeeper has a shotgun, so I don't recommend stealing.

Two things to point out (valid at the time of writing):
1. There is no way to replay the tutorial if you die in it.
2. Excluding the tutorial, after two minutes in a cave, an unbeatable ghost will appear, and if it touches you, you die.

Warning: this game is very addicting after the first 10 plays or so (I've been playing for a day and I'm up to 90)!

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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

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And here's a thoroughly adorable, cute Mario clone with typically happy music, lots of smiling faces and, uhm... bit of a clever twist to it:

http://zarat.us/tra/offline-games/eversion.html

Direct download (8.1 MB): http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?nzh0mmyztmo

Enjoy ;)
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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

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Aloshi wrote:I'd like to point out Spelunky, which is an awesome mix between platformer and roguelike, with randomly generated levels.
Damn, there goes my free time.

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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

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Jumpman

So many strokes of genius in one little game that you'll be smiling all the way through. :)

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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

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This is great! :D
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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

Post by Ryan »

Glum Buster is a surreal and beautiful experience, and definitely worth checking out if you've not already.

I've also been spending some time recently playing the very cool Space Barnacle. :)

Ryan

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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

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Also, I would like to second this recommendation. Seriously, you have to play this game. :)

Ryan

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Aloshi wrote:O...K...Is WWP free??
As Cryo already responded, Team 17's Worms games are not freeware (and went severely downhill when they started messing about with 3D)...

However, I've just discovered Hedgewars, which is unfinished, but already shaping up to be about as near-as-damnit a clone of the Worms 2 engine (as used in Worms Armageddon and Worms World Party) as is probably possible, short of actually decompiling the original's sourcecode.

I've been saying for years that it's surprising there's a lack of freeware or indie Worms-style games, so I have to say I was quite excited to find this. Bear in mind that it's still in early development, and has a lot of work still to go, but even in its current state is already very playable, and scarily close to the Worms experience. Definitely worth checking out! :)

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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

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Hm, I'll look at that. I noticed you have an incorrect link...a quick search and I found it here.

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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

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Good spot - now fixed. ;)

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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

Post by Ryan »

If you were ever a fan of Sky Roads back in the day, you need to check out Tasty Static. :)

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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

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Tasty Static is pretty fun. I actually like it a lot better than SkyRoads. The relaxing atmosphere created by the music and abstract environments helps alleviate the impact of crashing for the 50th time, and there's a lot of variety in the worlds to keep things interesting. I managed to complete around 33 of the included tracks this evening.

I also tried Eversion and Glum Buster some weeks back, and they were both pretty cool. I completed Eversion, collecting all 240 gems, though I haven't finished Glum Buster yet.

Hedgewars looks like it could be fun, but from what I've seen on their site, it looks a bit too much like Worms World Party. Even many sprites look nearly identical to their Worms counterparts, yet they don't seem to mention their source of 'inspiration' anywhere on the site. : \

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Re: Other Great Freeware Games

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Harmony, from Rabotik

If you love classic FPSs like Doom and Quake, you'll enjoy this. There's no plot to speak of, but there's some great level design and a lot of old-school shotgun-toting fun. :)

Ryan

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