Burning Thirst

Zombies. Zombies everywhere. The world has changed immensely after the zombie Apocalypse. There is nothing left. No healthy people, no sun, no ordinary life. And no whisky.

Our protagonist in this excellent hack'n'slash game bears the name Joe Blades. He's being presented to us in the first seconds of the intro - a stylish monologue that comes to unfold an important question. It seems that Joe has no problem with the zombies at all, but has a passion, a burning thirst for a gulp of whisky. He heads to a city where rumour has it that the last bottle of whisky is being kept. It is our job to guide Joe through hordes of zombies and to acquire the valuable bottle. As you can see, despite the somewhat depressing setting, the game carries a high amount of humour, only coming to prove that one can find a reason to be positive in every situation.

From a technical point of view, the game is FLAWLESS. The abandoned city, inhabited with zombies that leave a trail of destruction ... As you'll notice, there is a distinctive 50s style implemented in the city - look at the signs and especially the old casino. The graphics are top-notch as well. As for the hack'n'slash - I have no words to desribe it. I've never played a free game before that features such a quick and smooth motion capturing, variety of combos and spectacular moves that make you feel as if you're playing God of War. A round of applause for the developers! There are no problems with controlling Joe and fighting the hordes of zombies is really fun. The game features a boss fight, after which Joe gets his bottle.

The game has its ... I can't use the word "flaws" because there aren't any at all. There are two things that in my opinion could be better. Optimization is the first. My machine, being an average one, had difficulties with the Graphic Details being set on High. The second thing - the length. I'd really like to see some more levels in the same style. Though, I'm sure there won't be any. The developers didn't include a save option and I don't think they are planning to expand the game.

Don't be mistaken, though. This is an excellent hack'n'slash game and probably one of the best free games I've ever played. You can download it here.

GoldenEye Doom 2

Nobody who has even a slight knowledge of gaming history can deny the significant role of the DOOM games. Released back in 1993, DOOM caused a revolution in first-person shooters and became one of the most popular action games. Some of the implemented ideas, such as the graphics, the level design and the steady working multiplayer possibilities, made a vast impact upon the genre and the gaming culture as a whole.

James Bond hardly needs words of description. GoldenEye, released in 1995, was the first film to feature Pierce Brosnan as the famous fictional British spy and received mostly positive opinions. In 1997, GoldenEye 007 made its way to the console game shelves - as an arcade FPS, released for Nintendo 64.

So much for the history. What I present today is not a free game in a strict sense - it is a DOOM 2 modification never seen an official release. Yet, it is distributed freely and can be played without owning any of the DOOM games.

The story sticks as close as possible to the film. The Bond atmosphere has been meticuluously transfered. The intro is well-known and the musical theme comes in the typical Doom-ish style.You will see the treacherous Trevelyan, get the chance of exploring various locations that can be seen in GoldenEye and use a tank and a rocket launcher just the way Pierce Brosnan did back in 1995. You'll even find a Vodka Martini in some of the levels, raising your health above normal!
If you've ever played Doom, you'll feel at home here - the HUD is absolutely the same - choice of weapons, health, armor. Most of the levels are structured as if you're in the original game - labyrinths, strong opponents, red/blue/yellow cards used to proceed.. I've never had the chance of playing the GoldenEye 007, but a few YouTube videos convinced me that the delevopers have even tried to reproduct some of the levels there! Speaking of them, this is the place to point out that GoldenEye Doom 2 features 32 levels, vastly differing from one another - you'll pass through secret laboratories and open spaces where you'll have to plan every step carefully. Or else you'll get easily shot. Being a Doom mod, the game offers 5 different difficulties (named after Bond films, e.g. "The man with the golden gun"- the easiest of all. I recommend "You only live twice" - challenging, but fully playable.)

I could go on praising that game for hours, because it fully deserves it. Being both a Bond and Doom fan, it was a real pleasure for me to come across such a game at the Internet. No matter if you are, you should try it. The developers' hard work and dedication can't be simply ignored. Download it here and have fun!

Alex Gordon

It is a bit hard these days to come across a platformer that doesn't include lots of shooting, slashing and blood. Not that one can deny the big impact games like Prince of Persia, Metal Slug, Abuse and many others made back in the 90s - even now there are people who enjoy them.

Yet, there is another type of platform games - the Super Mario type - vivid graphics, some story about rescuing somebody and, of course, endless jumping - on top of the enemies and in the search for coins.

Alex Gordon is a game that fits perfectly into this description. First of all - the character. Alex Gordon is a cat. Being a treasure hunter, he collects precious artifacts. There is a friend of his, who got kidnapped and Alex goes on a dangerous journey to save him. So much for the story.

The graphics, on the other hand, is pretty well made, as far as Alex and his enemies are concerned - highly detailed and with meticulously animated moves. The levels are also vivid and bright.

Speaking of the levels, I can't look over one of the best things - the length of the game. It includes about 50 levels! And the game doesn't get tedious, because the levels differ heavily in terms of design and mission - some require you to find a certain number of objects in a limited time, others are the simple jump'n'run stuff we all know.
Apart from following the main story line, Alex possesses an island that you can redecorate and buy some things - a house or a boat, for instance. They can be upgraded to become bigger and better looking.
In spite of the positive words, I can't overlook one simple thing - this game is a complete Mario clone. The gameplay is identic, the level design is similar... Even some of the enemies are turtles!

Final verdict? It's a playable game, but it doesn't offer anything new. This is a highly polished Super Mario clone, with distinctively easier gameplay. Alex Gordon aims at children and I'm sure they will find it absolutely fantastic. But I'm not too sure that a grown-up person will endure it to end, especially after knowing what Super Mario actually is. In other words - give it a try. Or give it to your child/little brother. They'll be grateful. Grab it here.

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!

Captain Binary

A cartoon platformer

Free platformers are easy to be found on the internet. There are many remakes, some of which even playable and interesting. But when it comes to really entertaining, smooth-running and good-looking freeware platformers the choice is rather meagre.

That's why, today I'd like to focus your attention on an interesting game, product of a Polish-Japanese teamwork.

Captain Binary is a superhero platformer. What does this stand for? No deep story? Positive. Aliens are taking over the Earth; there's nobody who can stop them except Captain Binary. Yes, that's where we jump into the action. It's Captain Binary's task to wipe out any sign of extraterrestrial presence on Earth.

A familiar scenario, yet a decent excuse to start shooting. Personally, I'd forgive the developers for using such a cliche story, since all their efforts were pointed to both gameplay and graphics. And they've come up with an excellent result. The graphics are comics-like - vivid, highly detailed and with bright colours. Captain Binary, as well as the enemies and the surrounding world have been drawn simply perfect. The gameplay is very intense. This is the place to warn you - don't underestimate the game, judging from its cartoonish outlook. It IS hard and getting killed is just a matter of time, especially in the beginning. Yes, it is strange for a superhero to be beaten down with a single strike, but that's the developer's decision.

Nevertheless, Captain Binary is a very entertaining game, with a great sense of humour, challenging gameplay and beautiful graphics. Of course, it comes for free. This is the website you need to visit and uncover your hidden superhero abilities ;)

8bit killer

An old-school FPS

One thing is certain - game industry evolves rapidly. Games nowadays offer photorealistic graphics, high quality sound and a much more complex gameplay, require better computers and consoles and all this goes with an enormous budget, enough to direct and produce a decent movie. Some 15-20 years ago games were designed to entertain. They were pieces of intellectual challenge, some of which - pure diamonds. Various quests, RPGs and FPshooters - today forgotten, offered people a way to enhance their logical thinking but never stopped entertaining them.

I won't discuss here the benefits and disadvantages of having a consumerist game industry. Instead, today I'd like to draw your attention to a game, coded primarily in 90s traditions.

8bit killer is a reminiscence. A product of today, bearing the feeling of long gone times. Built in the style of DOOM or Wolfenstein 3D, it is actually a game, developed in 2008.

8bit killer is a first person shooter. The story, inspired by various futuristic games and films, is a good excuse to jump into the action. The gameplay will leave you with a specific nostalgic feeling - a weapon located in the middle of the screen, no pointer, labyrinth-like level design, using keys to unlock doors in order to finish the level and so on.

Graphically, the game has a distinctive early 90s style. Yet, using modern coding techniques, it offers a really good atmosphere. Once you get used to its specific outlook (in case you haven't played some 90s shooters) I can promise you an hour of endless fun. An hour? Yes, it took me a little over an hour to finish the game.

This, together with the complete lack of a save option are the two and only flaws of the game. There is no way you can save your progress throughout the game, but you actually don't need it.

The game isn't hard to beat, the difficulty is balanced , which I consider a plus, compared to the sometimes impossible to play difficulty levels of the old shooters.

Final conclusion? Download and play. Just be sure to have about an hour of free time ;)