Punch, Cry, Game.

Castaway, by Likwid games, takes you away to a tropical island, where survival is found at the tip of your sword, and from the help of a few combat critters along the way. For those that have a fondness for the old school console RPGs of the SNES and Genesis days, this game rings true to the style that you loved so much as a kid (or possibly an adult).

The setting is simple. You wake up to find that you've washed ashore of a mysterious island. Attempting to get your bearings, you stumble upon a strange creature that takes a liking to you for no reason what-so-ever. This little weirdo becomes the first, and most unique, of your new pets. Pets, in the game, act much like they do in your typical MMO. They follow you around and act as allies in battle. Pets level at the same rate you do, and receive the exact same amount of experience per kill as well. While pets are generally weaker than the main character (due to being unable to equip weapons and armor), their help is essential to survival in this strange new land. While your first pet happens to be the only kind of his species in game, you will eventually find yourself with a variety of pets, as each species of enemy creature on the island has the potential to drop eggs for you. Upon acquiring an egg, you can place them in a hatchery that will require a certain amount of time for them to mature into fully combat-ready status. The type of creature you are trying to raise will determine the amount of time required for hatching. For example, the first enemy you encounter in the game will drop and egg that requires 20-minutes to hatch, while the Scorpions from a later area will require a full hour to hatch. Plenty of eggs from each creature will drop during your travels, which leads me to one of the biggest nuisances in the game, pet death. When a pet dies (any pet), it's permanent, and extremely frustrating. You will often find yourself grinding a new pet for a good hour just to get them close enough to your level to be of any use, only to have them die after a few hits during an ambush. While you are able to hatch up to four different eggs at one time, the fact that you must still raise your pets level before it can truly help you during battle will push you away from an overall enjoyable experience.
The camera view if from an isometric angle, and as such, the standard gaming mechanics apply. You attack by clicking once to choose your target, and a second time to initiate combat. Once in combat, you and your pet will surround the enemy and dole out attacks until victory is assured. At this time you have the option of using skills based in either straight forward attacks or elemental based magic. Typical skills use up no MP or other source of energy, rather are only limited to the amount of time it takes to recharge after a single use. Magic skills, while being noticeably more powerful, require the use of elemental shards as well as the limitation of a cool down time. Pets will automatically attack the same enemy you do, but they do have limited control in which you can assign them to wait in one spot and avoid combat altogether, or you can set them to attack a specific enemy on their own. If your life gets too low, you can either use a potion to raise it, or you can remain stationary and it will replenish slowly over time. Pets, on the other hand, require wild berries to replenish life. This is a bit of a draw back, but there are plenty of wild berry drops from creatures.
Graphics are very similar to the SNES era of gaming. Simple yet colorful, they bring a nostalgic joy to your experience that was a special highlight. The isometric view adds a nice touch to the style of the game, giving it a very Diablo like feel, however, the combat is much too slow to compliment this aspect of the game. A great touch is the fact that armor, shields, and weapon upgrades change the look of your avatar throughout the game. Something that may seem small overall, but has a definite effect on your sense of growing power. Music is very mellow and perfect for the setting of the island. Unfortunately, there is only a single tune that plays for all areas. Understandable given the small size of the game, but still disappointing none the less.

Overall, the game is definitely a plus in my book. Not without its flaw, of course, but still an enjoyable throwback with modern elements.

Get the game at:

Likwid Games
Armor Games
Newgrounds
Kongregate

Adult Swim has been moving into the realm of flash-based games for some time now. Some are of outstanding quality, others are total crap. Today's game really just blew my mind. Give up, Robot by MattMakesGames is bringing some much needed challenge to the platformer genre of flash games. To put it simply, this is an old school remote basher. I have spent so many moments cursing out my screen and slamming my fist on the table because of this title that, I'm pretty sure, I'll be suing Matt for the damages. The game takes place in some sort of twisted, disco ball of hate. You are a robot that is constantly being taunted by a programmed voice that only loves you when you fail, and fail you shall. The mechanics are simple enough. Move left or right, jump, and the use of a grappling hook keep you progressing forward through obstacle courses of pain and misery. The level designs begin easy and work more complex, twitch based elements further on. Timing is a must as you find yourself dodging walls of death, grappling and swinging from falling blocks, and being spun in a whirlwind to be shot towards your goal at distorting speeds. Precision will be the only thing keeping you alive as the paths become narrow, the blocks move faster, and the lights and flashes become more disorienting.

Speaking of lights and flashes, the graphics of the game consist mostly of multi-colored flashing bricks. As I mentioned before, the world you exist in seems to be made up of a disco ball gone mad. While they begin as just a colorful addition to the atmosphere, all the blinking and flashing will soon become distracting and, in some cases, dizzying. I'm fairly certain the point was for them to affect you and in turn make the game that much more challenging, but I would be lying if I said the whole time I didn't feel as if a seizure was just around the corner. I should note that if you do actually suffer from seizures, I wouldn't recommend playing this game. That being said, the graphics also take on the wonderful pixel-based quality that I enjoy so much. Adding all the more to the retro feel.

The game will certainly take you back to the days when you would take a knife from the kitchen and use it to stab your controller over and over and over again, in a vain attempt to exact revenge on the one thing that taunts you so. You'll also remember those more recent times when you slammed your head against a wall, shed tears mixed with blood, and took a fading moment to realize you were in an abusive relationship that needs to end, but will go on for quite some time. Take in the possibility that playing this game will lead to more anger and tears, suck it in, and get it here:

Adult Swim

And if you like this game, be sure to check out MattMakesGames.com for more awesome platformers, including the very entertaining "Jumper" games.

I'm trying out something new here. Half-Ass Reviews will be a collection of recent flash games that I enjoyed playing but didn't feel like creating a full write up for. I'm new to video editing, so you'll notice a lack of production value here, but I'm learning as I go. Oh, and here are the links for the games in this weeks feature.

Hue Shift
Sydney Shark
Cursed Treasure

The Humble Bundle, a collection of 5 of the most well received indie games ever, is an effort to raise money for two very respected charities, and give you all an excuse to finally get your hands on some quality work. World of Goo, Aquaria, Gish, Lugaru HD, and Penumbra: Overture are all included in the bundle. The price? Whatever you feel like paying. That's right, for six more days you can pay whatever you want for these five wonderful games. Better still, when you pay for them, you can decide how the money is divided up. You can choose for the money to go straight to the developers, or straight to the charities, or a mix of both. The charities you'll be helping out are the highly popular ChildsPlay, which is well known among the gaming community, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. An organization out to protect your rights on the internet. To get your hands on the Humble Bundle, take a trip down to http://www.wolfire.com/humble, but hurry, the deal is only good for about six more days.

The fine folks down at Massively.com are putting together a group on Thursday nights at 9PM EDT. The grouping is an effort to expand on the success they've had with Nights of Eberron on Wednesdays in Dungeons & Dragons Online. If you have the core version of Guild Wars and the free time, drop in and join in the fun. For full contact details, read the full article HERE.

I typically don't post videos unless they have relevance to games in some way. The Mockingbird song by, Katy Towell, is a cautionary tale about never underestimating the bond between parent and child, despite the flaws our mothers and fathers may have. The story is exceptionally well written, told, and visualized in the animation style presented. It's also completely done in flash, which is why, I think, it fits on this site perfectly. You see, I don't just view flash as an accessible platform to indulge our old school gaming desires. It's a medium that allows the artist at hand to provide something that moves you in a way you didn't quite expect. So I hope you'll watch this wonderful short and feel something much like I did when I watched it myself.

If you enjoy this, then be sure to check out Katy's profile on Newgounds HERE as well as her official website, Childrin r Skary.

THIS JUST IN!

Jay Pavlina, creative genius behind the game, Super Mario Bros. Crossover, has just lost his mind. Apparently, the response to his hit sensation has been so overwhelming, Jay has broken down, sold all his possessions, moved into a one room apartment, and started his own dance studio. We have video proof.

When asked what brought on this sudden change of occupation, Jay simply remarked, "Yes, that is me dancing like an idiot. See, you all thought I was some genius game developer, but it turns out I’m just a crazy asshole. Have a good day and please remember to not take yourself or your life too seriously."

For more on this developing story, see the link. HERE.

While I've covered a "Mario Clone" recently with the game, Enough Plumbers, this recent addition into the market deserves special recognition for both being an awesome idea, and for being a rocket to notoriety for the author. Look anywhere on the internet and you'll see a review or commentary about this game. Jay Pavlina, creator of Exploding Rabbit, as well as the game in question, is overwhelmed by the response to a game that has only been on the internet a few days. That game? Super Mario Bros. Crossover, of course.

What's so special about another Mario game? I'm glad you asked, dear reader. Let's start with an obvious thing. This game, for all intents and purposes, is Super Mario Bros. The difference here is nothing short of brilliant. Jay has taken a cast of some pretty memorable characters from other classic NES games and put them in SMB as playable toons. Link, Mega Man, Simon Belmont, Samus, and even Bill R. from Contra, all make a staring appearance.

The game is more than just a sprite switch as you might expect. This is a hearty conversion between the mechanics of the original game with those of the characters crossing over. While not all of each character's original abilities could be brought into the world, the ones that were add plenty of excitement and new found appreciation for the classic NES platformer. Examples of each include:

Samus - Bringing her arm cannon as well as her ability to morph into a ball and plant bombs, she shines most when it comes to her exceptional jumping abilities. Acquiring mushroom and flower power-ups will extend the reach and power of her gun, along with granting her the look of her varia suit, as well as her suitless form from the original game.

Mega Man - Another King jumper, MM shares Samus' choice in weaponry with his trusted arm cannon. Adding to memorable actions, MM can also perform a familiar slide action that allows him access to tight squeezes, as well as a boost in speed. Power-ups will provide stronger attacks, allow him to charge up his famous Buster Shot, and grant him the cosmetic form of both his helmet and red suit.

Bill R. - Straight out of Contra, brings both his assault rifle and ability to shoot in eight different directions. Power-ups take him from a single shot up to the dreaded spread that will devastate anything in your path. I must say, out of all the characters available, Bill is easily the most destructive.

Simon Belmont - Already notorious for being the hardest to maneuver while jumping, Simon's jumps can't be controlled mid-air. He makes up for this by having a special double-jump ability, which not only gives you a slight of control while jumping, but also compensates during those moments when height is of importance. He also has a bonus ability to throw axes in a curved trajectory.

Link - He may be small, but don't let his size fool you. Link packs a lot of punch for a kid. Along with his sword, he has the unique ability to point it up or down while jumping. Great for smashing bricks and bouncing off enemies. Power-ups will eventually grant him the use of the magic sword, which will fire projectiles at enemies, making him one of only two characters to be both a melee as well as a distance fighter (the other being Mario himself). He also brings his boomerang to the party, helping him reach out of the way coins and keeping power-ups from getting away.

Mario - It should be noted that Mario is also a playable character. After all, it is his game; However, as someone pointed out in the comments section at newgrounds, "who the F*** is going to use Mario?"



The gameplay takes into account a lot of the little things that you would hope to see. Each character can jump to hit blocks, as well as land on enemies to kill them, keeping with the classic theme. In true crossover fashion, each character's weapons also can be used to smash blocks, trigger "?" blocks, and kill enemies as well. You can mix and match the styles of the game and the character to create something unique while never betraying the overall feel of the original. Even with that being said, some liberties were taken when Jay Pavlina put his hand to this project. The most notable being the new ability to back track a level. Something that was missing from the original SMB. When asked in a recent interview with GameXplain, Jay answered, "The only reason I did that is because I think it’s annoying in games when you can’t go backwards. I know it’s not like the original game, but I like it better this way. That is just a personal preference."

The other big change in the game is noticed during the underwater levels of SMB. Jay mentioned that he didn't have any swimming character models for stars of the game, so to compensate for this he took out the gravity of the levels. This allows each character to jump to incredible heights. There is also the addition of platforms in certain areas to allow access to coins during these same levels. Given the nature of these characters, it's certainly understandable why the changes were made, and in all honesty, they take away nothing from the fun you'll have playing this game.


Sound is a big highlight of this extraordinary game. Jay takes the themes of these beloved heroes and implements them flawlessly into each stage, further adding to the overall nostalgia that you'll experience while roaming through this familiar, yet altogether new experience. Check out the "final seconds" sounds for each character and just see what I mean.

It's really amazing how much Jay has accomplished with this simple idea. Too many people have tried to take SMB and copy, corrupt, and really just destroy what is considered the hallmark of console gaming. Jay, on the other hand, took a year of his life and used it to take something you only thought you knew, combine it with everything else you loved about the NES, and turned it into an internet sensation that is causing people to see things in a new light. A true artistic achievement, worthy of every bit of praise coming. When asked what was next for Jay and his newly formed studio, Exploding Rabbit, he had this to say:

"Actually, what I released is an unfinished version of the game, or sort of like a demo version. If everyone knew what I was really planning, I think they’d freak out even more. But I just released this version because I was going a bit insane from working on it for so long without anyone playing it, so it was sort of a necessity for me to let people play it and get some feedback. As long as I don’t get sued, you can expect more stuff like this from me. If I do get sued, you can still expect awesome stuff from me, but it will include my own original characters instead of already established characters.

I’ll be posting both my new and old movies to my website, exploding-rabbit.com, very soon. I have always wanted people to share my work with because the stuff I do is a lot of fun and very unique. I hope people consider subscribing to my blog or Twitter account to see some hilarious movies and other fun games very soon. I promise I will work extremely hard to make everything I do the same or better quality than “Super Mario Bros Crossover.”

And I could leave on that note, but I just want to say one more thing. To anyone that has a dream of something that you want: go for it. It doesn’t matter how many times you fail. It doesn’t matter how many people tell you you’re crazy. It doesn’t matter how many obstacles are in your way. All that matters is that you follow your heart and do what you truly love. If everyone did that, the world would be a very different place."

I look forward to seeing Jay's movies, as well as the games that this brilliant mind will produce next. I wish him nothing but further success in the years to come.

Jay was nice enough to direct me the interview with GameXplain, which is where I got the above quotes. You can find the full interview, HERE.

And, of course, don't forget to check out the game for yourself. Get it at:

Newgrounds