Sunday, June 13, 2010

Off the windshield



Today, I'm writing in a different way than I used to. Instead of just taking one game and talking about it in a detailed, perhaps even prolonged way, I just picked three games I like and wrote about all of them in 30 words and some sidenotes for those who are interested in the title further described. This number may or may not vary depending on how well it'll work when writing about other games, but so far it seems to me as a good idea. So here's my first "Off the windshield" article, including following titles:

-Final Ninja Zero The prequel to Final Ninja keeps all the features from the first episode, such as a swinging rope or shurikens, and adds in a few new elements to improve it.

The previous Final Ninja game already enabled the player to make the protagonist Takeshi invisible as well, and the obligatory ninja skills, such as wall jumping and hanging from ceilings are included too. Some novelties that have been added also let you steer small flying robots and along the way you'll even need to apply disguise.

Screenshots: 1 2 3 4 5


-Dust Dust gives players the chance to take the term "sandbox gameplay" literally. You have the ability to spread all kinds of particles, for instance seeds, explosives, laser, clone or acid.

Furthermore, you can place two player controlled stick figures, which can create whatever they touch, along with enemies, or just load a level made by someone else saved online. Feel free to experiment, as there is no goal set, the whole game is about creating. Think of a 2d Minecraft, but with a whole lot of more explosions and chemical reactions.


Knytt Stories This is a minimalistic jump'n'run with collectible abilities, such as a floating umbrella, wall-climbing or ghost vision. What's so unusual about it? You can't kill any of your enemies.

Instead, you'll have to avoid them by either being faster than they are, or becoming invisible and placing a hologram of yourself which they will think is the real you. The best thing about the game is its atmosphere, that changes from scenario to scenario, just like the music does in this open-world game that comes with a level editor. The author also created a few installable add-on levels, which are also free to download and provide a few hours of gameplay more.

Screenshots: 1 2 3