Posts tagged with “What We’re Playing”

Ever feel like the world is just crashing down around you? Like you can’t seem to get ahead of impending deadlines? Like you’re in a race with other losers who do nothing but slow you down and keep you from reaching your goals? Like the tar pit is too far to jump and you wish you had a pterodactyl to help you clear it?

Well then do we have a game for you! Dino Run is a phenomenal game about outrunning your doom made by the talented guys over at PixelJam. In it you play a small dinosaur who is just minding his own business when all of a sudden, BAM, an asteroid hits and it’s the end of the world. The game is beautifully done with 8 bit style graphics, and features an amazingly high amount of replay value as you can play against friends online, unlock acheivements, and evolve your dinosaur (though why would you bother evolving if it is the end of the world?) You can even get hats for your thunder lizard if you donate, which you should do!

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This game has been getting a lot of press recently, and deservedly so. Remember Zelda 2, that weird side scrolling sequel for Zelda on the original NES? Well enter The Legend of Princess, the awesome what-if Super Nintendo follow up that never was, made by talented young developer Joakim Sandberg. It does a superb job of showing what Zelda could be like as a more modern side scroller, with Link running, jumping, hookshoting, and throwing chickens around a dungeon while trying to save a princess trapped in a crystal. The game has numerous references to the other Zelda games, like Link’s spin charge and dash, and those goddamn annoying bombchus.

The game is short, and is really one one level (the dirt temple) of what could be a much more encompassing and complete Zelda game. How awesome would it be if Nintendo would contact him about making a version of this for WiiWare? Too bad it will never happen, as Nintendo is super protective of its IP. Anyway, we should enjoy what we’ve got, it’s a great ride. Go download it here. See if you can beat my record of 1512 rupees!

Serious games are a category of games which, in my opinion, tend to get a bad rap. People hear the terms “serious” or “educational” and run in the other direction screaming, and frequently for good reason! Serious games tend to be less fun, as they frequently sacrifice bits of fun in the name of getting their point across.

Not so with the Redistricting Game, a great title that came out of USC a few years back and was developed in part by Chris Swain. In the game you take the role of a congressional gerrymandering panel, trying to carve up states in an effort to get the most votes for your congressman. The game is really fun, I suggest giving it a shot!

Follow the jump for a bit more analysis as to why I think the game succeeds. Continue reading →

Last weekend was just chock full of games, with MIT’s battlecode final tournament, the robotic competition final tournament (post coming soon), and of course the Global Game Jam, the latter of which produced a bunch of terrific games!

The full download list for all the games made at GAMBIT are posted here. Of special interest in my opinion is Move Mouse to Fulfill Destiny, an artistic title by Dan Roy, Will Jennings, and Filippo Beck Peccoz. You can read the description about how you are a farmer making friends, but if you ask me it’s much more fun to just play without thinking too much. The Beat is an interesting two player puzzle game which is all about timing your actions with the actions in the world, and was made by Marc Flury, Jesper Juul, Van Nguyen, Randy O’Connor, Filippo Beck Peccoz, and Daniel Costello. You can’t play it alone so be sure to find a buddy! It has an especially entertaining “scream” option, which doesn’t seem to accomplish anything but sure is fun to do.

Of course there were several other games made at GAMBIT, and hundreds made all over the world! Check out as many as you can at the GGJ game browser.

When was the last time a game made you laugh? Not smirk, not smile, but actually laugh out loud at how ridiculous it is? If you just played QWOP then the answer would have to be “a few seconds ago”. Less of a game and more of a punchline, QWOP chronicles the efforts of your country’s sole Olympic representative in his bid to run in the 100 meter whatever. While it sounds easy, the game’s ragdoll physics makes this a bit… challenging.

The game is one player and the instructions are straightforward, but I highly recommend playing this with friends around, or taking turns. You’ll enjoy it a lot more. See if you can beat my high score of 23 meters.

Update 1/29/09: To be clear, we did not make this game. Someone over at Foddy.net did.