Gone Ashore

Noxious - Not Quite Dead Space

2012-01-30T20:16:00.000-07:00

Full Sail University, apparently another student-fuelled game haven waiting to be pillaged, have overseen a small group's idea to produced a rather nicely designed Dead Space-inspired freebie. Noxious has a somewhat familiar plot of a scientist being trapped in a facility that, for some reason or other, contains deadly test subjects that have naturally escaped and are on the loose. I can forgive a well-travelled plot line if the game can make up for it in other ways.

The game doesn't hide it's Dead Space affection and the devs have stated quite plainly that it is DS inspired but don't hold that against it. Noxious is a very professionally designed game with a proper menu, decent music, help popup, skippable cutscenes and other trimmings you expect from a triple A title. The voice acting is shite as can be expected and the character model is a little wonky with no standing rotational animations and a woozy camera but it gets so many other things right that you just give it a pass. The controls are tweaked well, respond accordingly and that core gameplay is not easily achieved - this is where many games fail and Noxious does it right. I will be keeping an eye on Full Sail and look forward to what new treasures await.

Renegade X: Black Dawn Released

2012-01-30T19:25:00.000-07:00

Renegade X has been in development for five years now (seems longer). Originally built as a an Unreal mod, it has since become a stand-alone project. Renegade X is meant to be the first person shooter Command & Conquer game that Renegade should have been with RTS elements and better multiplayer. Black Dawn is in fact only a 1-2 hour single player campaign clocking in at 3.9GB. Pretty hefty for what is essentially a demo, five years in the making.

4GB for 2 hours seems pretty unfair to the bandwidth restricted but what is there is damned impressive right from the opening cinematic - again, minus the voice work. More gametime would have been largely appreciated and the lack thereof may lead people to believe the project has some serious problems (cough, Black Mesa, cough). I can only imagine that the multiplayer is garnering the lions share of dev time, but I certainly hope that there is more singleplayer in the pipe as well.

You will currently have a hell of a time loading their site or getting a download started but a sister site has since been set up for posting fresh mirrors in the meantime. You can also find other download options on sites I can't mention, hell I'm afraid to even use the 'T' word in case someone reports me to the ~~mafia~~ MPAA or one of the other real Governing bodies of this planet, but persevere and you will be rewarded with some wow hammer for your eye sockets.

Half-Life: The Dreamcast Version

2012-01-20T21:21:00.000-07:00

I owned a Dreamcast, still own a Dreamcast - even functional and despite Half-Life never being released on the DC, I played it sir. Full disclosure here, yes I pirated it. Who wouldn't have when it was touted as an unreleased and unattainable version of Half-Life and Blue Shift for the Dreamcast console. At the time of release the DC was pretty much abandoned with only a handful of bad titles left on store shelves. This duo of titles would never see the light of day and I for one wanted this little piece of video game history in my collection.

Fast forward a (cough) year wait and you too can now experience what would have went down on that ill-fated console. Half-Life: Dreamcast is now a mod for the Steam version of Half-Life, painstakingly ported (and how pray tell did you do that without a copy?) by a trio of the Sega faithful. There are not huge differences between the DC and the vanilla versions, but you can now check it out without subjecting yourself to that god-awful DC gamepad.

I have a sneaking suspicion that this will get pulled before long, so grab it while you can.

Space Quest: Incinerations

2012-01-16T17:56:00.000-07:00

And the retro hits just keep on coming... Another Space Quest game is free and available right now: Space Quest: Incinerations by Box of Mystery looks to be the most ambitious of the three latest offerings. Apparently originally in development and aborted as an unofficial Space Quest 7, Box of Mystery went the safe route and created a wholly separate game to avoid those pesky lawsuit ninjas. To read more about the development, check out their FAQ or this ~~wall of text~~ press release over here, if you are into that sort of thing. Here is the full version of their stunningly fabulous Impress-O-Blurb™:

“Incinerations” is a non-commercial 2D adventure game from the mind of Chris Ushko, developed in Chris Jones’ AGS Engine and rendered with 3D software. In it, you must help Roger and his friends take on a legion of villains in his quest to rescue the woman he loves, stop the universe from going up in flames, and heroically recover his missing luggage!

Features:

Over 45 minutes of fully-animated cinematics!

Nearly 100 CG-rendered backgrounds!

More than an hour’s worth of original music!

Dozens of original new characters!

Tons of classic adventure puzzle solving!

Lots of comedy and drama set against an intergalactic thrill ride of a story!

Unlockable Achievements and Trophies!

Alternate endings!

Bam! Pretty impressive for a fan-made adventure game you've never heard of but the one thing they are lacking is voice acting (Wilhelm scream here). This will be coming in the future and could be a blessing based on what usually passes for VO work in fan games. Either way, I'm downloading and playing this sucker pronto...

Abobo's Big Adventure - Epic Nintendo Tribute

2012-01-12T18:37:00.000-07:00

I don't normally post on Flash games as they are full of ads and you can't (generally) download them for offline play - wonder if those two points are related? Abobo's Big Adventure is a huge exception and something that every self-respecting Nintendo 8-bit gamer needs to play. You will be generously rewarded with a fantastic trip, filled with comedy and nostalgia that should bring a tear of joy to your jaded little hearts.

Built by three people over the course of ten years, ABA deserves your attention. Self-described as The Ultimate Tribute to the NES, I'd be hard pressed to find a game more elaborate and well executed - Even the fantastic Super Mario Crossover loses it's lustre after playing ABA. For Comic Con, the team whipped together a fake arcade cabinet that was a huge success, it's a shame that the game is not available as a NES rom - that would truly have been amazing.

It may seem that I am gushing heavily on this but it's just that good. Having lived through that era and played everything on display within the game, I just couldn't put it down - or stop laughing for that matter. The website allows you to donate funds to the devs and for your hard-earned cash, you get a downloadable version of Aboboy's Little Adventure, a game that will only be available through the site, via donation.

Dead Meets Lead - Now Freeware

2012-01-09T19:47:00.000-07:00

This little overlooked title from the folks at Keldyn Interactive was originally available on GamersGate and can be added to your account for free as we speak. You can also go to the Dead Meets Lead website and use the free code for activation on their download page. It seems the company is no longer supporting the title and as a goodbye present is giving it away freely.

Here's the blurb:

Dead Meets Lead is every bit and piece of what a challenging zombie-slaying action game should be. Enter the role of the 18th century commander who’s on a mission to obliterate evil, by fighting your way through the island of El Mirando. A mystic plague has consumed the inhabitants of this island and you'll have to liberate their souls by sword, and travel deep into the island to find and stop the dark minds behind the cursed disease. You’ll have to act, think and move fast if you want to survive the horrors of these wicked parts of the world. And do not hope for any rescue or help, it’s all up to you and you alone!

The story is hokey but the gameplay looks frenetic, seeming like a twinstick shooter crossed with an action RPG. I had spotted the game on GG but with so many new games to play at the moment, I felt it would get completely ignored. Now I can play it at my leisure.

Nitronic Rush - Tron Meets Need for Speed

2012-01-09T19:09:00.000-07:00

DigiPen once again brings us some amazing free gameplay in the form of a racer, done the DigiPen way. Nitronic Rush is a sexy and sensationalistic take on racing with some pretty amazing visuals. It's a twitch racer, no simulations here my friend, just speed, flash and epileptic seizures. I continue to be amazed at the talent of the folks at DP and their ingenuity gives me hope for the future of gaming.

If you previously downloaded the game, it has now been given a second update which includes a Christmas themed level while the first update added an additional 5 levels of play.

Space Quest II: The Remake

2012-01-02T18:24:00.000-07:00

Infamous Adventures, creator of the Kings Quest III Remake, release yet another fantastic game - this time from the Space Quest series. Vohauls Revenge manages to keep the retro, yet updated look of the later Sierra Adventures, complete with voice, and gives us hope for a continuation of this fine trend. Space Quest I had an official VGA remake and Part IV (my personal favourite) also contained lavishly crafted 16 bit goodness but Part III: The Pirates of Pestulon still languishes in an 8 bit world. PoP has a special place in my heart as it was the first game in the series I bought, played and beat and I can only hope that it too will be treated to this treasured attention.

Fans may also want to check out Vohaul Strikes Back, a fan-based "feature-length" sequel.

Void - Time Travel the DigiPen Way

2011-12-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

The fantastic minds at the DigiPen Institute have concocted yet another fantastic gem, twisting an existing idea into some free fun. Void takes on the idea of Time Travel and places it into a binary state where using an optic lens, you see one "time" from the existing one you are in. Using a glove, you pull a section of the other "time" into yours to solve puzzles.

Process - 20 Minutes to Death

2011-12-13T19:38:00.000-07:00

Process is an adventure game that gives you 20 minutes to stop a railway train from destruction and thus, you. Unlike Source Code you will not be chatting up Michelle Monaghan or trying to get Russell Peters to be funny, in other words: no feats of impossibility. What you will be doing is travelling between rail cars in a steampunk universe, attempting to convince the onboard AI to abort. The game is fantastically atmospheric and originally Russian so you will need Google Translate to read all more interesting bits on their website.

Old School Sequels

2011-12-05T19:42:00.001-07:00

Saints be praised, a few classics got a well deserved (fan made) sequel. First up is a new campaign for the classic dos shooter Blood, a game which I love to quivering little pieces. Back in the day when this game first came out, a friend of mine called long distance across a 28.8 modem connection just so we could play together - yes, believe it or not kiddies, there once was a time without internet. It was a gaming polaroid moment for me and one that I will always cherish. Thirteen years later, in comes Death Wish with a 30 level sequel to the original. Yes there are many level packs in Blood's history but none that started in 2010, taking advantage of the many evolutionary nuances that the FPS genre have enjoyed. There is a story to this opus, really, complete with cutscenes and if there wasn't I would still play the crap out of it. Maybe I can con my friend into a a little IPX tunnel co-op after all this time, sans LD charges. You will need an actual copy of Blood to play this expansion as there is no updated engine to run it on, so head on over to GoG for some DRM-Free goodness.

Next up is a sequel to Rise of the Triad that requires only the Zdoom engine to play. No IWADS, no original content, just download and enjoy the crap out of. Return of the Triad, and you just know that's what it would have been called, contains no story - just like the original. What it does contain is a faithful recreation of the classic in graphics, sound and bloody gibs. Again, I have fond memories of playing this game all night and into half the next morning before giving up and passing out. Big, dumb, fun, download.

Freeware Gaming

2011-12-04T15:08:00.001-07:00

Treasure Adventure Game is an open-world platformer that would get more praise with an upgrade to the graphics department. They are almost forgettable but the breadth of the game makes up for it with varied locations and gameplay.

Dangerous World is a Japanese platformer with a little more graphic panache and a more direct approach to gameplay. The menus are in Japanese as is the website but there are no dialogue trees to parse here, just blasting, jumping and slashing.

Hyper Princess Pitch is a SmashTV, fast-paced action game with a Christmas-themed, cutesy graphic overlay. The gameplay is still fantastic though so jump in for the fun.

Continuing in the Christmas theme we have Johnny Platform Saves Christmas, a commercial endeavor on the 360 that is yours free because you own a PC - Merry Christmas.

Danger! Energy is a commercial-quality puzzle game originally only available in Russian but now translated into English. The game is a little hard to get into at first but gets enjoyable as you progress.

Finally we have an oddity that the old-school can truly appreciate, a remake of Canabalt on the C64 called C64anabalt. It can be downloaded right now or purchased as an actual 16k Cartridge for those of you who are still rocking the classics - read: OLD. The SID chip music conversion of this game is truly amazing, watch a video and hear for yourself.

Dark Ocean - Free Survival Horror

2011-11-27T15:15:00.001-07:00

Here is a decently-made, albeit short, third person survival horror game by the name of Dark Ocean. Entered into the 14th Annual IGF, the developers from Universidad Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona have released it as free for the masses.

The game is set on a ship with the standard zombie-apocalypse virus rampant and you as the protagonist, somehow completely immune. The level design is sparse and illogical in places, with the obligatory one foot high debris that cannot be traversed but occasionally shows merit such as the clearly Bioshock-inspired casino area. Models go from middling to amateur, characters and zombies being the most atrocious, but since most of the game is shrouded in darkness you have to look for it.

The gameplay design is the most redeeming part of the production, but implemented poorly. The main weapons are a flairgun, a squirtgun filled with gasoline and a camera, the value of first two should be obvious and the camera is to temporarily blind your attackers so you can run past. While good in theory, the control, movement and animation is so clumsy that it becomes more tedious than fun.

While short, it supports a checkpoint save system for the current game only - no load game feature. The resolution can only be changed through a config file, giving you higher in-game graphics but the menus do not adjust accordingly. A map is available but completely unnecessary at this point in the development - I say this point as the game states that more is to come.

Dark Ocean is a good effort but needs more polish, especially in the control area. It's hard to say if the series will continue, being a school project and all, but at the credits I was willing to continue on to the next chapter.

Kings Quest: The Silver Lining - Episode 4 Released

2011-11-07T13:13:00.000-07:00

Episode 4 of the fan-made Kings Quest sequel has made it to completion and is ready for download. Interestingly Roberta Williams, creator of the Kings Quest Series, is apparently also playing and enjoying this new incarnation - high praise indeed. Here is the episode blurb...

"When the source of an immense evil surfaces from the depths of an ancient artifact, Graham finds himself in a race against time to collect the final ingredients for the spell to save his children. Back in the castle, Valanice struggles with a destiny that is as dark as her own origins..."

You can download a la carte or the entire four-episode pack.

Titan: XCIX - Free Half-Life 2 Mod

2011-11-05T18:38:00.000-06:00

My mod search continues and once again I am wowed by a fantastic effort worthy of mention. Half-Life 2 has a metric &$#%-ton of mods available, mostly derivative garbage valued at zero, but occasionally some exceptional efforts surface. Titan: XCIX is one such creature.

Part one of an ongoing saga, Titan has some of the best usage of the HL2 engine I have ever seen - bar none. From dust particles to stellar lighting and texturing to subtitle display, your only indication of the engine in use is the unfortunate inclusion of the HL2 facial models and sound effects that are all too familiar. There are also some derailing usage of objects that pull you from immersion such as banging your wrench on an object to "fix" it. It's either engine or author shortcoming but it hurts the otherwise fantastic package.

While it's not terribly long and the voice talent is the standard indie-rific, the gameplay and the journey are great and I look forward to the next instalment.

White Night - Free Amnesia Mod

2011-11-05T18:14:00.000-06:00

Desura is a handy app for buying games and more importantly, installing mods. Having succumbed to creating yet another account for yet another service, I browsed the menu of free mods that can be quickly downloaded and installed. One of which is White Night, a mod for Amnesia: The Dark Descent that deserves your attention.

The voice over is rubbish but the gameplay is awesome and not just Amnesia with different rooms. You are a patient inside a mental institution with no memory of how you got there. A familiar premise but the scares and thrills make up for that. I've squealed like a little girl a few times during the game and that's a tall order.

Despite the "mostly story-telling" tagline, you will be "mostly puzzle-solving" but the game positively drips atmosphere so I will excuse it for the thrills I get in exchange. When even the Frictional developers are excited about the mod, it has to be good.

Freeware Gaming

2011-11-05T17:19:00.000-06:00

A little late to the party, but here are a few Halloween games. First up is Trick or Treat, a gore-infused platformer including shotguns and chainsaws.

Next up is a remake of the Atari classic that was, ok ho-hum but this version of Haunted House is much better and won't require that you download a rom to play it with.

Completely off the Halloween theme now is Stealth Bastard, a platforming stealth-em-up with online high scores, a level creator and a repository for user submitted levels to be downloaded in game.

One of my favourite Arcade games that I completely sucked at was Flying Shark (a.k.a Sky Shark), thanks to Kyana Prime I can now enjoy an updated version of that classic called Friking Shark. Currently in beta but I had zero problems playing it.

Finally we have Invaders Corruption, a procedurally generated twinstick shooter whose format will be immediately familiar. Procedurally generated means that the enemies appearance and behaviours are seed-generated by a keyword that can be changed at any time.

GTA Complete - $12.49, yes $12.49!!!

2011-10-17T16:09:00.000-06:00

What? You need more than that to check this out? Ok, it's GamersGate Rockstar Week and the entire GTA series for PC is a measly $12.49. That's GTA 1, 2, 3, Vice City, San Andreas, 4 and Episodes for 13 lousy bucks, t-h-i-r-t-e-e-n, thirteen! It's available for the whole week, that's 6 days and 9 hours left to cash in those beer bottles. Better yet, tell some ~~sucker~~ shopper at the local Abercrombie & Fitch that your mom took away the plastic for crashing the beamer and you're short $20 for some overpriced jeans - they can obviously spare it shopping there.

I'm going to buy the damn series again just on principle at that price.

Broken Sword Director's Cut Free! (for 48 Hours)

2011-09-29T17:44:00.000-06:00

If you don't own it already, Broken Sword: Shadow of the Templars - Director's Cut can be snapped up on GoG for Free for the next 48 hours! GoG's 6 millionth purchase was a cause for celebration and you can reap the benefits. Included also is the original version and the extras that GoG lavishes upon it's purchasers, so even if you have a copy from a different digital distributor - spoil yourself with the premium version.

While you are at it, grab Broken Sword 2: Remastered and have two of the best graphic adventures of yesteryear. Give Broken Sword: Sleeping Dragon a pass though, simply not of the same calibre.

2027 - A Free Deus Ex Prequel

2011-09-24T14:21:00.000-06:00

My continued love for the Deus Ex brand gets a free boost in the form of a user made prequel. 2027 takes place before the events of the original Deus Ex and aims to be even more open in level size and choice. Originally in Russian, it has now been converted to English with much anticipation from the devoted fans. The site contains a small review of the Alpha build that reveals a little more of what you can expect from the mod but I prefer to have a clean slate when I start a game.

Some video to whet your whistles

Soldner Secret Wars - Community Edition

2011-08-14T13:31:00.005-06:00

Soldner, a game that has been around for some time now, has just been updated and is now completely free. A multiplayer FPS, it contains many of the staples we take for granted today. Vehicles, lots of maps and dedicated servers await along with exploits and hacks a-plenty unfortunately. There is no anti-cheat implemented of any kind so you might just as well just jump on the bandwagon. Dedicated servers allow for people to kick cheaters so you still can find a less unfair game if you look, but you'll probably just want to throw up your own server and play with friends.

The graphics are painfully dated but it's free and the actual gameplay is decent enough for a few rounds. The new change log is extensive and it's great to see it still being worked on. Despite many naysayers stating that the game isn't being played any more, the available server list would say otherwise. Hell I have games that are still at a $50 price tag that don't have this many players.

Freeware Gaming

2011-08-14T13:10:00.002-06:00

Arcade retro goodness coming your way. First up we have Il Pugno Di Hokuto, an Italian side-scrolling beat-em-up in true arcade fashion. You will probably note the remarkable resemblance to Last Battle from the Sega Genesis. I for one liked that game so this is one I fancy. The violence is over the top and gratuitous, enjoy!

Defenders of Avalon is a bullet-hell shmup that is not so completely impossible to make it frustrating. Set in a medieval background, you play either Arthur or Merlin which is just a clever way to give you alternate shot types. No story, no reason for there to be one, fun to play.

Approaching Dawn, a purely platforming old schooler with some retro charm. The game essentially consists of timed rooms full of hazards but the only one you are competing with is yourself. It comes in a Lo-Fi and Hi-Fi version, but the differences are minimal.

Finally we have eXtermination is another Zombie-fest side-scroller, but an enjoyable one. Game play consists of platforming with mouse targeting and controls well. One problem on the site at the moment is the download link is broken, you can grab a slightly older version by changing the URL slightly ~~like so~~ (Now Fixed). I don't usually hard link, but until the download is fixed there is no other way to get it.

Dead Cyborg: New Old School Adventure

2011-07-26T19:17:00.002-06:00

A Linux gaming blog post that I have since lost track of alerted me to an indie game in development called Dead Cyborg. Being a devout System Shock fanboy, this name immediately piqued my interest and was lead by said blog post to a teaser trailer. What struck me first about the trailer was that it touted itself as a first-person, text-based, Sci-Fi adventure game. To my mind, this said an Infocom adventure set in a System Shock-type universe that moved like a first-person shooter.

That's an innovative concept and I could only assume that, like all interesting concepts, it would be: a) Dumbed down for the masses or b) Never be released. Well, episode one is now available for download but it's c) You misunderstood, that wins.

Dead Cyborg tries hard to be old school with it's keyboard-only driven interface, it's password-based save system and it's text-only narrative, but it's all superlative and comes across as lazy. Firstly the "text-based" is not parser, it simply means no voice acting. Secondly the keyboard-only interface is WASD movement and arrow keys to look with space as interaction, no mouse support whatsoever. Lastly, the password-based save system is simply a new password for each level, there is no carry over from previous levels either narratively or objectively. It all comes across like a quick out in development rather than design choice.

Text-only narrative is fine but good God man, make it interesting. Messages like "I'm a Robot, I'm Happy" is not narrative, atmospheric or even respectful. The text is large and the box to contain it will fit two lines at best, this is an adventure game and as such it needs story. Since there are no cutscenes or voice acting, one and a half lines of text is simply not going to cut it unless you are clever. "I'm a Robot, I'm Happy" is not clever.

Marginally better than, "It's not Important!" I guess.

The game is a pain to play in it's native state, the amount of searching required to advance the story is tedious and requiring that I use the keyboard to do so is inexcusable. Play-testing of any kind involving new players would have brought this to light. I ~~played~~ suffered through my first run of System Shock using only the keyboard but there is no excuse to punish people like that in this day and age. The author even acknowledges this via the FAQ by suggesting using a third-party app to employ a gamepad.

With such fastidious exploration, the level password save mechanic is further a kick in the gratuities requiring that I either write everything down, keep a walkthrough handy or play it again before my short-term memory expires. The amount of objects required for each level is not large, just hard to find and a save option should be simple enough to implement. Refusing to do so is not a nod to old school games as much as a reminder of how much better things are today.

The graphics engine performs pretty decently but will not play properly in full screen. Messing around with the batch file that runs the game will merit you some more graphic options but a config tool should have been present and would be quick to program. The art itself is serviceable but for a game with a name like Dead Cyborg, it's lacking ambiance and atmosphere. It would serve the game better to have had a darker, more serious graphical tone; require a flashlight, robots that don't look like kids toys, something that would pull you into the game like the story doesn't. I realize this is episode one and the next episode looks to improve on this, but that assumes that players will bother.

Outside and open... corridors.

The payment option is generous but obtuse, giving you the option to pay whatever you like and if enough is collected, the next installment will be released. There is a percentage bar indicating how close the amount collected is currently at, but no reference to how much 100% is. If I like the game and pay $10 towards the next installment, will it even be a drop in the bucket?

Based on the level of polish here, I would guess the developer doesn't expect this title to go anywhere and is therefore placing little effort into anything but the core of the project. If this is meant to be a jumping point to bigger and better things, the all-around quality and effort have to be pumped up. Something may be better than nothing but something done haphazard is something better to have not done at all.

Although I sound down on this game I really just want it to be more. Part of my discontent is that I was expecting something with innovation. A first-person text adventure sounded pretty amazing, engaging my imagination on how such a premise would work. This suggestion also coerced a much more interesting story to go with this innovative idea and thus far, Dead Cyborg has done little to appease.

I support indie developers whenever I can, but give me a reason to do so.

Freeware Gaming

2011-07-23T17:13:00.002-06:00

Station 37 is a short game created for the Toronto Game Jam with some fantastic pixel art and an, um, interesting story. I fear to mention anything as it will spoil what small narrative is there but suffice to say that it's unexpected.

Here is a one-two punch of metroid-vania goodness in the form of the Momadora series. Part two is a continuation of the story and a better looking game, but don't ignore Part One as it is also worth your attention.

From the ever-incredible DigiPen alumni, a fantastic looking shooter consisting of a single boss fight called Descension.

Daily Freeware

2011-07-23T16:56:00.003-06:00

More freebies coming your way.

BBFlashBack - is a screen to AVI or Flash recorder with some automated uploading.
PDFFritzator - creates PDF presentations with transitional effects.
ISO Workshop - burning, extracting and conversion of ISO's.
Inscriptio - is another easy-to-use freeware burning solution.
OFSMount - will mount CD images and more importantly, Passmark Forensics disk images.