Rolling Coaster

A catchy arcade game

It's not that hard to come across a freeware 3D game these days. Yet, some of them are just not that what you wanted. To be honest, I had absolutely no expectations about the present game. Yet, it left me with a very positive feeling.

The idea of controlling a ball and going through complex levels has actually been used in the game industry (I can remember of Switchball, Ballance and one or two more) and probably there was a free game using that concept, but I doubt it could be a match for Rolling Coaster. Today's game has a simple concept - use the ball to get through obstacles and finish the level in time. Yet, it's practically flawless.

Let's start with the graphics. Beautiful and exquisite. It's obvious that the developer has put a lot of effort to make both the levels and the ball highly detailed. The included graphical effects, such as anti-aliasing, also contribute immensely.

The excellent graphical result has been very wisely used. The level design is simply perfect. There are different obstacles, such as going underwater and gliding on icy or a glassy surface. Which leads us to the physics. Simply brilliant. The more continuously you press the boost button, the faster the ball moves. As I mentioned before, there are different surfaces, such as asphalt (the usual and most easy to control the ball on), ice and glass (makes the ball very unstable when moving with a high speed), planks, dust, snow (slowing the ball a bit).

Throughout the levels you'll have to collect some objects or arrive on time. Try not to get out of the track, since it will cost you some precious seconds and it will return you to the last checkpoint. And this can make things quite difficult if you're playing one of the be-on-time levels.

Verdict? Download it. Play it. I'm sure you'll like it.

Burn The Trash

A minimallistic arcade shooter

Burn The Trash is a stunning game. Coded in just about 36 hours (according to its creator), it combines some of the best features of the arcade shooter genre.

Let's start that way. There is no story. There are no cutscenes as well. Everything you'll get is a set of instructions and a little rectangle placed on a black surface that can navigate and shoot. Yes, this is your ship. Sorry, if you're into stunning graphics, I'd have to disappoint you. This game is focused on gameplay. Neat, fast, challenging gameplay.

Your little rectangle proves to be quite powerful, though. With the X and Z buttons you can conjure two powerful streams - the orange one annihilates the enemies and the blue one destroys their bullets. Your opponents come in numbers and their quantity is more respectful that their intellect. The huge amount of your enemies has obviously led the developer to an interesting decision that ballances the gameplay to a serious extent.

Instead of letting the player turn this game into a boring, yet powerful technical massacre, focused upon the extinction of everything bigger than our own rectangular ship, the developer has approved the use of those two streams to a certain point. If one does try the previously mentioned situation with two of his fingers pressing Z and X all the time, this will result into imminent death. Rectangular self-destruction is the technical term, I believe :)

As you can see, graphics are not a necessity when it comes to some real entertainment. Especially when the musical background is so good. Yes, it's some hardcore electronic music that helps building some atmosphere. Moreover, the game is very well built - I've experienced no bugs whatsoever. I recommend you giving it a try, it is smaller than many Java games. If you're a fan of arcade shooters or just want to try something different, don't hesitate and download!