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

The Shift series

There are only a few flash games that prove good enough for
multiple sequels, and keep providing the same quality. In the game
series Shift, you take the role of a more or less average guy,
whose only objective is to escape the experimentational course he
somehow landed in.
That alone sounds unspectacular, but there's (literally) a twist in
the gameplay that will motivate you on your way to freedom. The very special
feature I'm talking about is the ability to invert platforms and space, changing the level to its exact opposite, or modifying gravity by touching little arrows.
So much said, let's go on to the reason why you're being captured
four times in a row, forced to escape over and over again.

Story

Shift 1: Similarly to the highly popular puzzle platformer game
Portal, you're playing as a subject, testing a new form of
movement. The biggest difference is that you don't teleport, but
change platforms to empty space and space into platforms by
changing your colour from black to white or the other way. Also, just like in Portal, you're promised some reward for completing the
"test", though the humorous comments you find in some levels should make
you suspicious about it.

Shift 2: Once again, you're left alone in a surreal black and white
test chamber, with the task of finding the exit. However, there
are some smaller changes to the storyline: this time you play as a
woman, and there's a not-so-secret alternative ending.

Shift 3: This time the alternative endings might reveal some
information about what happened to the previous test subjects,
and who's behind all this. In this episode you
get to play not only with your usual numbered subject, but there's
also an unlockable character. I don't want to spoil the surprise
though, so only highlight the following letters if you really want to
know who it is. The secret character is: Mel Gibson



Shift 4: After you successfully escape the experimenteer's lab,
you get attacked by a giant space squid and crash land on a
seemingly abandoned planet. To survive, you must not only find a
way out of every room, but also look for your companions who got
lost in the crash.

Gameplay

Shift 1: In the very first puzzle platformer adventure of the
series you get introduced to the game's core mechanics and learn
to control your character using his rather unusual ability.



Shift 2: Some major improvements have been made comparing to
the first game in both level design and gameplay elements. You
newly discover some strange arrows that make you able to change
the direction of the gravity. This proves very useful, since many
keys are placed quite inconveniently.



Shift 3: In addition to the new things in part two, in Shift 3 you
find a PDA that shows a minimap in the right lower corner. The
reason you need this is, that, unlike in previous episodes, this time
you have to make choices which way you want to go.



Shift 4: In the last installment of the series you get to control
multiple characters in the same level. You can switch between
them by pressing Ctrl. For some new puzzles you need to place
everyone just where they have to be, making getting out of a room
a lot more difficult than in any of the previous games. There are
only two things that can help you play this part through: lots of
patience, or a walkthrough.

Further info

-In Shift 2 you get an extra award for beating the evil title
screen.
-Shift 3 has an unlockable character that you get after beating
the story mode. The levels you play with this character are nearly
the same, but he has a different storyline.
-If you're stuck, look up one of these walkthrough videos:
-Already beaten the game but still want more? Try some of the
player made levels in Shift 2, 3 or 4, or a very similar game
called Yin Yang.

Conclusion

The Shift series has gone a long way to become what it is now, but
it always kept things as puzzling as possible. Especially the newer
episodes stay challenging in every and each level. Anyone who
wants to put their grey matter to a test of confusing hallways full
of spikes and gravity shifting devices will find at least some of
the Shift games appealing, and the crazy story comes as a reward
for those who patiently play the games through.

Play Shift

Play Shift 2

Play Shift 3

Play Shift 4

Japanese gameshow as flash game

Have you ever wanted to put on hilarious safety suits, run through mud and all kinds of humiliating obstacles, just to press a red button on time? No? Doesn't surprise me at all, but luckily, you don't have to, thanks to the new flash game Ching Chong Beautiful.

It's basically an interactive parody of those crazy japanese gameshows where the contestants have to make it through an even crazier obstacle course, while their time is running out, which is easier said than done. You'll most probably fall on your face a couple of times before collecting all fishhead-boxes and reaching the goal, but that's not all, every time you fall you'll hear the crowd laughing about you, or, in case you avoid being hit, they let you know how much they wanted to see you stumble over that rock with a loud "aawww...".

Story of Ching Chong Beautiful

Just like you'd expect from a game of this kind, the story isn't too relevant. All you have to know is that you enter this gameshow because bad people have kidnapped your brother and want a special kind of championship horse. Which, all by coincidence, happens to be the prize for the winner of the show.

Gameplay of Ching Chong Beautiful

The controls are simple, you use the arrow keys to move, S to jump and A to run, but there are some more complicated actions like wallruns or slides.

You can choose between three difficulties, though the hardest isn't recommended for anyone. At all. The game can be really frustrating, even on lower difficulties, simply because one mistake can cost you so much time that you have to start again. This happened to me frequently on levels where you can fall really deep and have to climb back to continue.

On the other hand, seeing your character's clumsy moves and how he crashes into walls is

sometimes actually funny, and hearing him scream with his high-pitched voice is just hilarious.

Enjoying your own character's mistakes is very rare in games thats objective is getting to the end of the level as fast as possible.

If I had to pick one thing in Ching Chong Beautiful that I liked the most, it would be its humor. It has a wonderfully weird atmosphere, combined with a protagonist that's the exact opposite of the usual cool-guy with big muscles. However, some might find certain things in the game offensive (or simply annoying) that was ment to be a joke.

Further info

-There are no real upgrades, but you can unlock different helmets and scarfs that you'll find in the trophies section.

-There are 6 areas, each containing 6 levels, except for the last one which consists of only one big tower.

-When almost falling down an edge press the other direction repeatedly to regain your balance.

Conclusion

Ching Chong Beautiful is a game not everyone will like, but I recommend everyone to try it and not to give up after the first level, because once you get the hang of it, it's a lot of fun, while

it stays challenging and diverse until the end.

Play Ching Chong Beautiful