Flytrap Games http://www.flytrapgames.com Flytrap Games is simple: we crawl the web and hand pick the best free online games. We also like downloadable games, mobile games that make the ride to work less painful, and frivolous Facebook apps. We have a poster above our desk that says: “We will be the definitive guide to fun games”. Anything we blog about is guaranteed (in a totally non-legally binding way) to be fun for at least 10 minutes at lunchtime – or your money back. Now go play something. http://www.flytrapgames.com/media/feedlogo_flytrap.gif http://www.flytrapgames.com en-us Copyright 2010 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/GTA comes to the iPad... next week!http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/09/02/now-gta-comes-to-the-ipad-next-week/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/09/02/now-gta-comes-to-the-ipad-next-week/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/09/02/now-gta-comes-to-the-ipad-next-week/#commentsFiled under: ,


We've not done much in the way of iPad titles, but then, it's only every now and then that something truly worthwhile grabs our attention.

Rockstar Games has announced Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars HD is coming to the iPad on 9th September, with more than 50 missions, countless side activities, and the ability to customize the soundtrack utilizing your own music on Independence FM.

In the gang ridden and grisly Liberty City, each mission offers no-BS action and the best gameplay elements of the Grand Theft Auto series specifically created with mobile gaming in mind.

I'll be £5.99 from the App Store a week from now.

Here are 9 reasons we think Chinatown Wars is one of the best App Store games money can buy.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>chinatown warsChinatownWarsgtaipadDoree2010-09-02T10:29:00 00:00Back to school bonanza - educational gaming round-uphttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/09/01/back-to-school-bonanza-educational-gaming-round-up/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/09/01/back-to-school-bonanza-educational-gaming-round-up/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/09/01/back-to-school-bonanza-educational-gaming-round-up/#commentsFiled under: ,

Back to school!

Ah, autumn. Our favourite season. Crisp brown leaves underfoot. Frosting breath. Mulled wine by the bonfire with your folks. OK, there's the rain and the gloom and the chill, but this is Britain - it's always rainy and gloomy and chilly. At least in autumn the rain and gloom and chill feel appropriate.

The young 'uns aren't so keen on autumn, though. The reason being, they have to go back to school. We don't any more. We're adults, see (would you believe it). Instead, we get to sit around making up stuff like this list of educational games. Har har.

Is there anything crueller than the concept of an 'educational game', kids? Probably not. It's a little like buying the Batmobile and using it for grocery runs. Go on, you might as well. Hint: some of the entries are less 'educational' than others.

(Article image courtesy of Fitsnews.)
Bird Pax (Ornithology)

Not only will this game teach you to recognise a wide variety of birds, it'll also teach you how to gamble with them.

Lateral (English Language)

Each word has something in common with those connected to it. Can you deduce the lot?

Transtar

Transtar (Geometry)

Calculating angles on the fly gets a lot more interesting when there are lasers and warp rifts involved.

Symon (Psychology)

Dream logic prevails in this moody side-on adventure. Ladies and gents, please ready your Freud excerpts.

The Scale of the Universe (Astronomy)

Push the horizons of knowledge, from the super-galactic to the sub-atomic.

Lateral

Silent Conversation (English Literature)

Don't just read Lovecraft and Basho - jump on 'em. A rather literary platformer.

Sex Squad (Sex Education)

We have no words.

Celebrity Pedigree (Biology)

What do I get if I add one Paris Hilton to one Jeremy Clarkson?

Van Gogh Escape

FrontierVille (American History)

Zynga's sequel to FarmVille takes property management back to the Old West. No, you can't lynch people. Shame.

Skywire VIP (Media Studies)

Never forget a face? Try putting a name to it when it's half an inch high.

Van Gogh Escape (Art)

Get acquainted with the famous painter's better-known works while seeking your freedom.

Political Duel 2 (Political Sciences)

Experience the 'cut and thrust' of government - not to mention punch, slash, high-kick and elbow-drop.

Phage Wars 2

HR-Mageddon (Team Management)

The great battles of the twenty-first century will all be fought with staplers.

Phage Wars (Microbiology)

The microbe equivalent of Shakespeare's Henry V. Once more unto the Petri dish, dear bacteria...

Civilization (History/General Studies)

The whole of human history inside a browser window. Sort of.

Hungry for new subjects? Request after-school classes below.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>educationfree online gameFreeOnlineGamegalleryround-upEdwin2010-09-01T05:50:00 00:00Blue puffball seeks pink gems on purple tower - fabuloushttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/09/01/blue-puffball-seeks-pink-gems-on-purple-tower-fabulous/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/09/01/blue-puffball-seeks-pink-gems-on-purple-tower-fabulous/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/09/01/blue-puffball-seeks-pink-gems-on-purple-tower-fabulous/#commentsFiled under: ,

Dream Tower

AGame's latest platformer has come over all Carebears and, to our mind, just a teensy bit Jack Wills.

Jewels innumerable are scattered around the flanks of yon wonderful lilac edifice, darling, and you'd better go collect them before something frightful happens, like the disappearance of class as a social paradigm.

The arrow keys move and jump. Floating cloud signposts will tell you the rest. Tower of Heaven and 60s to Save the Queen are considerably tougher, though not as well colour-coordinated.

Play Dream Tower

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>AGamefree online gameFreeOnlineGameplatformingEdwin2010-09-01T05:15:00 00:00All the fun of the casino, but none of the debtshttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/09/01/all-the-fun-of-the-casino-but-none-of-the-debts/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/09/01/all-the-fun-of-the-casino-but-none-of-the-debts/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/09/01/all-the-fun-of-the-casino-but-none-of-the-debts/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Riskful Thinking

Dab hand at rock-paper-scissors? Got the gift of foresight when it comes to the roulette wheel? Have a crack at Riskful Thinking.

It's a compilation of gambling games, spread across four floors. The first floor is the homeliest, with its slot machines and bouts of toss-the-coin.

Earn enough to unlock higher floors and you'll get access to more grown-up entertainments like boxer sponsorship and, um, dog fighting, right the way up to playing the stock market.

You can retire with your winnings whenever you like. At which point you'll realise that you've just spent half an hour of your life chewing the fat with a random number generator. Could be worse, though - you could be on Twitter.

Play Riskful Thinking

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>casinofree online gameFreeOnlineGamegamblingNewgroundsEdwin2010-09-01T04:37:00 00:00New physics game swaps ragdolls for bombshttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/31/r/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/31/r/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/31/r/#commentsFiled under: ,



It's well over a year since we discovered Roly Poly Cannon 2, but the makers are back this summer for a third outing. Roly Poly Cannon 3 has even more great levels and cuter, more detailed graphics.

Anyone who's familiar with Ragdoll Blaster or Ragdoll Cannon (what's the difference? Find out here) will be familiar with the classic aim, fire, sit-back-and-smile gameplay.

This time however you're firing bombs instead of ragdolls, which injects a hint of Angry Birds. Physics based puzzles are our favourite type of free web game - if you love them too then this is your treat for the day.

Play Roly Poly Cannon 3

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>physicsragdollDoree2010-08-31T11:02:00 00:00Is it wrong that I just bought high heels for a teenage girl?http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/31/is-it-wrong-that-i-just-bought-high-heels-for-a-teenage-girl/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/31/is-it-wrong-that-i-just-bought-high-heels-for-a-teenage-girl/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/31/is-it-wrong-that-i-just-bought-high-heels-for-a-teenage-girl/#commentsFiled under: ,



Make that as a teenage girl. And moreover, is it wrong that it's actually reasonably fun?

We all know the Internet's full of weirdos but fret not; the only reason I was buying shoes (and diamonds... and fancy haircuts) as a teenage girl in Paris was purely professional.

How else would we be able to tell you about Shopaholic: Paris?

If you know any 18 year old girls these days you'd probably know they are too old for this. But those of you with daughters or sisters at around the "Zwinky age range" (that must be like, 7-13, right?) might enjoy this cute shopping sim.

And with a generous shopping budget of four hundred bucks a day, it's probably the most shopping they'll be doing until they get their first credit card.

Play Shopaholic: Paris

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Doree2010-08-31T10:02:00 00:00Crikey! When did Flash games start looking like proper video games?http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/27/crikey-when-did-flash-games-start-looking-like-proper-video-gam/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/27/crikey-when-did-flash-games-start-looking-like-proper-video-gam/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/27/crikey-when-did-flash-games-start-looking-like-proper-video-gam/#commentsFiled under: ,


A few years ago I interviewed Dave Perry. Dave Perry is a nice guy. He made Earthworm Jim in the nineties. But these days he's more commonly known for his big ideas about the future of cloud-based gaming.

Anyway, one of the things he mentioned back in this interview was about how upcoming revisions of Adobe Flash would support proper 3D rendering. It seemed like a long way off at the time but it looks like it's happened without anyone really noticing.

Browsing through one of many free online game sites just now I saw a screenshot for a suspiciously Halo-esque first person shooter with the words "click to play" barely discernible through the cluster of ads on the screen. Yeah right, I thought.

I clicked it, and was prompted to upgrade some Adobe stuff, which was digitally signed as legitimate. A few seconds later I was playing a deathmatch in this quite real first person shooter.

It's not as impressive as modern day shooters in terms of effects, but wowzers, it's a big step up for Flash based game visuals. Super high frame rate, nice textures, everything.

Of course, some things never change. I was getting gunned down like a n00b by thirteen year olds I didn't even see coming. Again and again. Obviously, they must have discovered some cheats I didn't know about.

See what we mean. Don't know what it's called.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>adobe flashAdobeFlashfpsDoree2010-08-27T11:04:00 00:00This platform-placing game is tricker than you might thinkhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/27/this-platform-placing-game-is-tricker-than-you-might-think/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/27/this-platform-placing-game-is-tricker-than-you-might-think/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/27/this-platform-placing-game-is-tricker-than-you-might-think/#commentsFiled under: ,


Big red ball. Downwards slopes. Fill in the gaps by placing little platforms in order to guide said red ball safely to its destination. Sounds simple enough?

You'd think so, but actually new Facebook game Go Home Ball 2 takes some getting used to. It's fun, though - promise. Give it a try...

Play Go Home Ball 2

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>physicsred ballRedBallDoree2010-08-27T10:01:00 00:00Bart Simpson gets naked, lets you play with himhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/26/bart-simpson-gets-naked-lets-you-play-with-him/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/26/bart-simpson-gets-naked-lets-you-play-with-him/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/26/bart-simpson-gets-naked-lets-you-play-with-him/#commentsFiled under: , ,

It's not the first time we've mentioned Simpsons games on the blog - there was this puzzle thingy, and one of my personal favourites, the brilliant iPhone game - but this overlooked Simpsons game is a little more... racey.

Most straightforwardly, you take control of Bart as he hops on his skateboard and speeds through Springfield - naked - for no apparent reason. Avoid cops, collect powers ups, and try not to land on Flanders' window with your junk on display.

Play Simpsons Naked Skate

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Doree2010-08-26T13:44:00 00:00Play a drunk bird with a laser-eye gunhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/26/you-play-a-drunk-bird-with-a-laser-gun-eye/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/26/you-play-a-drunk-bird-with-a-laser-gun-eye/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/26/you-play-a-drunk-bird-with-a-laser-gun-eye/#commentsFiled under: ,


If that's not a headline for a game that makes you want to play, you probably shouldn't be here.

While a little over-produced (what with all manner of stats, achievements and other stuff), The Birdinator: Judgement Season is best played for its old fashioned score attacking.

You have to "fly to the south" (read: get as far to the right of the screen) as quickly as possible, replenishing your laser juice (with green batteries) and stamina (gobbling mosquitoes) as you go, while laser gunning every darn the owl that flies in your path.

One to tell the office about, perhaps.

Play The Birdinator: Judgement Day

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>alcoholismidle funIdleFunDoree2010-08-26T10:22:00 00:00This is how T-Rexes party, apparentlyhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/25/this-is-how-t-rexes-party-apparently/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/25/this-is-how-t-rexes-party-apparently/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/25/this-is-how-t-rexes-party-apparently/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



We've seen plenty of dinosaurs at Flytrap - all virtual, of course - but we've never seen one riding a booby-trapped, confetti-showered conveyer belt, the dangerousness of which is continually altered by a 'Wheel of Awesome'.

Treadmillasaurus Rex is the work of Armor Games stalwart jmtb02, otherwise known for his studies in blue elephant and exploding tortoise. We shouldn't be surprised, really.

The idea is to burn as many calories as possible before you die. And also, to grow your top hat. No Rex would be seen dead without a decent-sized top hat.

Play Treadmillasaurus Rex

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Armor GamesArmorGamesfree online gameFreeOnlineGameplatformingsurvivalEdwin2010-08-25T11:10:00 00:00Match-3 the wibbly wobbly wayhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/25/match-3-the-wibbly-wobbly-way/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/25/match-3-the-wibbly-wobbly-way/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/25/match-3-the-wibbly-wobbly-way/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Chain the Pixel

I've come up with two different analogies for Chain the Pixel, and you're going to read both of 'em, you lucky devil.

(1) It's Puzzle Bobble under a blow-lamp.

(2) It's like lying under a table while somebody dangles two strings of coloured sausages over the end, and trying to sever each string by sticking snooker balls to them, thus causing lower segments to detach under the added weight.

Another way of putting all this is that it's a bit mental, but very playable, and that you haven't done anything productive for 10 minutes and probably need some light relief. Heed the hyperlink's siren call.

Play Chain the Pixel


 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>arcadefree online gameFreeOnlineGameGimme 5 GamesGimme5Gamesmatch-3physicsEdwin2010-08-25T10:52:00 00:00Create a civilization in seven clickshttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/24/craft-a-cartoon-civilization-in-seven-clicks/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/24/craft-a-cartoon-civilization-in-seven-clicks/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/24/craft-a-cartoon-civilization-in-seven-clicks/#commentsFiled under: ,

Grow Valley

Grow Valley is Eyezmaze's most involved 'grow puzzle' yet. The idea as before is to set down/activate puzzle pieces one at a time to gradually construct some intricate cartoon diorama, but rather than a mere tower or an oasis you're building an entire city, filled with lovable playdough men.

Each 'piece' develops every turn depending on what's in play already. It'll take you a few gos to work out the right order. Should desperation set in, there's a walkthrough hidden in the comments on BonteGames.

Those little playdough men really are quite the charmers. Our favourite's the guy with the desk job. Which one's yours?

Play Grow Valley

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Edwin2010-08-24T18:04:00 00:00Zombie survival shooter goes back to square onehttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/24/zombie-survival-shooter-goes-back-to-square-one/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/24/zombie-survival-shooter-goes-back-to-square-one/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/24/zombie-survival-shooter-goes-back-to-square-one/#commentsFiled under: ,

Big Pixel Zombies

Remove your finger from that the mouse button for a minute. Caress it gently. Say nice things to it. Now fire up Big Pixel Zombies and give the poor little blighter the pummelling of its life.

Big Pixel Studios, otherwise known for top-down racing antics, has taken the action right back to basics on this one. The setting: a run-down street in fair Londinium. The opposition: a strangely cuboid assortment of flesh-eaters. The means: handguns, shotguns, rifles and grenades. The objective: an 18-rating.

We're currently playing Dead Rising 2, as it happens, which has a number of things in common. See if you can spot them.

Play Big Pixel Zombies


 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Armor GamesArmorGamesBig Pixel StudiosBigPixelStudiosfree online gameFreeOnlineGamehorrorshootertop-downEdwin2010-08-24T08:34:00 00:00Why robots and bubbles are like hot chips and ice-creamhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/24/why-robots-and-bubbles-are-like-chips-and-ice-cream/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/24/why-robots-and-bubbles-are-like-chips-and-ice-cream/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/24/why-robots-and-bubbles-are-like-chips-and-ice-cream/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Robo Pop

Robots are frail entities, whatever the Terminator movies may suggest. They can withstand blunt impacts pretty well, but let something fluid and sticky seep into some vital knot of circuitry and you'll be looking at the world's most expensive dressmaker's dummy.

Thus the premise of Robo Pop, which also owes a lot to the Buster Bros series. You're a robot with extendable cattle-prod arms. Bubbles drop from the top, and those bubbles shall you pop. Beware though - large bubbles split into smaller ones, and some are protected by shields.

Play Robo Pop

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>arcadefree online gameFreeOnlineGameMiniclipretroEdwin2010-08-24T06:35:00 00:00Evil boffins are building mighty weapons - better stop 'em, thenhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/23/evil-boffins-are-building-mighty-weapons-better-stop-em-then/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/23/evil-boffins-are-building-mighty-weapons-better-stop-em-then/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/23/evil-boffins-are-building-mighty-weapons-better-stop-em-then/#commentsFiled under: , ,



We're sure there exist scientists who lie somewhere between the polar extremes of world-destroyer and humanity-saviour, brain-boxes who soldier on quietly in their labs, contributing small but not insignificant amounts to the betterment or deprivation of other beings - it's just that we never hear about them in videogames.

Instead, we hear about scientists like the creator of Ribbit. Or the League of Evil, who are building weapons of mass destruction, and apparently spend all their time in giant metal boxes surrounded by electrified spikes. Makes for a better headline, I suppose.

League of Evil is an old skool platformer, emphasis on the 'kool'. It makes no pretensions to originality, but focusses on giving twitchier players and 16-bit fetishists their fix. Get stuck in.

Play League of Evil

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Edwin2010-08-23T16:56:00 00:00A game that plays games with youhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/23/depict-a-game-that-plays-games-with-you/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/23/depict-a-game-that-plays-games-with-you/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/23/depict-a-game-that-plays-games-with-you/#commentsFiled under: ,

Depict

Depict would have been brilliant, but we've been though Time Cfuk and Coma a few times already, so it'll have to settle for being very, very good. It's a platformer, and you know what? Things aren't quite as they seem.

Don't take our word for it, though. Don't take anybody's word for anything, for that matter. You'll find out how to play once you start playing. Not all that glitters is gold.

Play Depict

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>artBored.comdeceptionfree online gameFreeOnlineGameplatformingEdwin2010-08-23T16:37:00 00:00Top seven seriously stupid videogame accessorieshttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/23/top-seven-seriously-stupid-videogame-add-ons/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/23/top-seven-seriously-stupid-videogame-add-ons/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/23/top-seven-seriously-stupid-videogame-add-ons/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Picard and Riker do the Face-Palm

Some people make videogames. Other people publish 'em. And some people - some people look at those games and say things like: 'You know, wouldn't that volcano level be so much more immersive if every time you touched the lava, your controller actually erupted in flames, welding itself instantly to the skin of your palms so that the fire spreads to anything you flail in agony against? Because I think we're onto a winner there.'

One of the great things - in fact, the only great thing - about certain game peripherals is that you don't need to be a fan of gaming to Savour The Fail. The following 10 techno-tastrophes all but speak for themselves.HTX Helmet

1 - HTX Helmet

A helmet that allows you to 'feel bullets whizzing by your helmet or the impact of getting shot in the head'. Awesome. Because that's absolutely what we were looking for when we decided to stay in-doors and play games rather than join the Army and have people launch actual supersonic metal projectiles at us.

The HTX is designed to be worn in conjunction with a force feedback vest, the blurb for which breathlessly enquires: 'what would you do if your enemy shot back...and you felt those shots hit you?' Is this a trick question, guys?

Wii Bowling Ball

2 - Wii Bowling Ball

As if Wii gaming wasn't hazardous enough, what with all the swinging, jerking and thrusting, now you can do it while holding a 7.7 inch diameter ball of plastic. There could be a sunny side, mind. Fears of the Wife crying foul over the dislodging of favourite household ornaments will become a thing of the past once you've accidentally caved in the back of her skull.

Atari Mindlink

3 - The Atari Mindlink

A headband peripheral that purported to read your brainwaves, but actually took its marching orders from muscle activity in the user's forehead. In short: you could play games with your eyebrows. Never actually released, as even the investors of the 1980s weren't quite that thick. James Bond and Austin Powers would have been pros, we suspect.

PediSedate

4 - PediSedate

OK, stop us when this starts to sound utterly terrifying. The PediSedate is a child's accessory you plug into a handheld gaming console, consisting of a swing-down snorkel which, while a game is being played, releases nitrous oxide. The idea is that the wee tyke wears this during trips to the dentist, surgeon or whatever, thus minimising the risk that he/she will suddenly take exception to the idea of a root canal operation or what-ye-may, or indeed form complete sentences.

The device is apparently packed with monitoring tech and safeguards, but still - are you really going to trust a pair of purple headphones with your offspring's mental well-being?

OOIO

5 - OOIO

Look again at the picture above, and ask yourself whether you really need/want us to explain the purpose of the OOIO accessories to you. No? Yes? OK then. We're dealing here with (cough) 'the first bodymassaging device, that can use motion for stimulation'.

There are male and female variants, each slipped (cough) over a Wii remote, and the idea is that people not within physical reach of each other can use them to engage in activities that would otherwise require them to be within physical reach of each other. No, we don't mean Patticake Patticake. We're talking about (cough) 'location-independent body-wise communication'. Honestly, reading the manufacturer's copy is half the fun.

Power Glove

6 - Power Glove

The peripheral doomed to appear on every 'worst peripheral' list. Nintendo's first jaunt into the realm of motion sensitivity was less iPod and more Robocop. It was also horribly broken, and of questionable coolness. Imagine, if you will, attempting to play the piano from six feet away by means of elastic bands connected to your fingers. Now tape a keyboard to your wrist, invite a friend round and see how long it takes him to call the police.

AlphaGrip AG-5

7 - AlphaGrip AG-5 PC Gaming and Text Entry Controller

You can probably deduce just how successful this is as a simplified replacement for mouse and keyboard from the title alone. It sounds like some sort of middle management position aboard the Starship Enterprise. In fairness, despite its 42 front, rear and side-mounted buttons, the AG-5 has been reported to offer reasonable typing performance given practice, but we imagine the trade-off is that there's no more room in your brain for other input methods, such as pencils or a finger dipped in ketchup.

Let us know what we've missed.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>galleryround-upspoofEdwin2010-08-23T05:36:00 00:00Getaway racer puts pedal to metalhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/20/getaway-racer-puts-pedal-to-metal/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/20/getaway-racer-puts-pedal-to-metal/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/20/getaway-racer-puts-pedal-to-metal/#commentsFiled under: ,

Lose the Heat

Like The Fast & Furious, Starsky and Hutch, the chase scene from the Blues Brothers or Bullitt? You'll probably enjoy Lose the Heat, AGame's vaguely '60s-themed cop-basher.

There are various missions, but they boil down to one objective: cross the bridge at the other end of the level before pursuing police cars total your motor. The enforcers are quicker than the player and pretty mean with it, barging you into track furniture whenever they pull alongside.

Fortunately, each course is sprinkled with environmental traps like wobbly water towers. To trigger them, drive through the orange rings. Don't get too pugnacious, though - the fuzz have more cars at their disposal than doughnuts.

Play Lose the Heat

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>1960sAGamecar chaseCarChasefree online gameFreeOnlineGameracingEdwin2010-08-20T06:20:00 00:00White-water kayaking the non-dangerous, desk-friendly wayhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/20/white-water-kayaking-the-non-dangerous-deskbound-way/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/20/white-water-kayaking-the-non-dangerous-deskbound-way/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/20/white-water-kayaking-the-non-dangerous-deskbound-way/#commentsFiled under: ,

Upstream Kayak

In the mood to get wet? A10's Upstream Kayak is a pleasurable paddler with a splash of stuntsmanship. Use up and down arrow to accelerate or decelerate, left or right to balance your craft, and space to tug it into a leap.

Once you've slipped the surly bonds of earth, there are tricks to perform. Oh yes. And with the number keys shall you perform them. Our favourite is the spinny one.

Play Upstream Kayak

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Edwin2010-08-20T05:39:00 00:00There's trouble on the old railroad - got your spanner?http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/20/trouble-on-the-railroad-don-your-hard-hat/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/20/trouble-on-the-railroad-don-your-hard-hat/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/20/trouble-on-the-railroad-don-your-hard-hat/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Build the Bridge
Build the Bridge, you'll be shocked to hear, is a game about building bridges. It requires you to do this so that trainloads of chirpy, tousled anime characters can pass safely to a tunnel on the right.

Point and click. All that happens when you fail is that the aforesaid anime characters fall over and look a bit grumpy. Shame. We were hoping for something more... graphic. It's been a less than stimulating week.

Tired of building bridges? Blow them up then.

Play Build the Bridge

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>A10constructionfree online gameFree World GroupFreeOnlineGameFreeWorldGroupphysicsEdwin2010-08-20T05:12:00 00:00So many tortoises, so much time, so many destructive deviceshttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/19/so-many-tortoises-so-much-time-so-many-destructive-devices/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/19/so-many-tortoises-so-much-time-so-many-destructive-devices/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/19/so-many-tortoises-so-much-time-so-many-destructive-devices/#commentsFiled under: ,

Epic Combo

1572. That's how many times we'd hurt a tortoise after a couple of minutes playing Epic Combo. And we weren't even trying.

Some would say a game about whacking reptiles skyward with a hammer in order to bounce them off buzzsaws, laser beams, springs and land mines ad infinitum is terribly cruel. Others would say 'calm down, dear, they're just orange ovals with wiggly green legs'.

Knock yourself (and lots of other things) out. Flakboy likes punishment too.

Play Epic Combo

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Armor GamesArmorGamesexplosionsfree online gameFreeOnlineGamephysicsEdwin2010-08-19T07:23:00 00:00City in trouble? Batman's away, so Fatman will have to dohttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/19/city-in-trouble-batmans-away-so-fatman-will-have-to-do/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/19/city-in-trouble-batmans-away-so-fatman-will-have-to-do/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/19/city-in-trouble-batmans-away-so-fatman-will-have-to-do/#commentsFiled under: ,



Not all superheroes are faster than a speeding bullet, and stronger than a rampaging elephant. Some are short, fat and little more than dead weight on the end of a grappling line. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the blunted edge of corpulent crime-fighting - Fatman.

What's that you've got there, Fatman? A city-levelling bomb? Better extinguish the fuse by holding it under that rain cloud, quick. How will you get to the cloud? Dashed if we know.

Play Fatman Go!

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>comicfree online gameFreeOnlineGameSpelgrimsuperheroEdwin2010-08-19T06:58:00 00:00In Victorian England, the Grim Reaper rocks a BMXhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/18/in-victorian-england-the-grim-reaper-rocks-a-bmx/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/18/in-victorian-england-the-grim-reaper-rocks-a-bmx/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/18/in-victorian-england-the-grim-reaper-rocks-a-bmx/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Victorian BMX: Death on Wheels

It must be depressing being Death, when you think about it. Sure, there's the glamour and excitement of being the hooded personification of all human dread, but at the end of the day you're only a shade up from the common bailiff, existentially speaking, and far busier. Santa Claus might have to make more house calls, but at least he gets a mince pie and brandy for his troubles.

Can anyone really blame the old skeletal chap, then, for trying to make his job a little... gnarlier?

Victorian BMX: Death on Wheels is a 2D biking game with a difference, the difference being that rather than floating stars or coins or whatever you're collecting souls - some attached to a body, some cast adrift - and rather than a timer you're racing a guillotine blade to somebody's neck.

The arrow keys accelerate, decelerate, lean the bike and (when you're airborne) perform tricks. Blood is surprisingly non-abundant - just a few stylised black streaks here and there.

Play Victorian BMX: Death on Wheels

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Adult SwimAdultSwimbicycleextremefree online gameFreeOnlineGameThis Is PopThisIsPopEdwin2010-08-18T10:03:00 00:00Protect Earth by riding a planet-sized bouncy castlehttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/18/protect-earth-by-riding-a-planet-sized-bouncy-castle/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/18/protect-earth-by-riding-a-planet-sized-bouncy-castle/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/18/protect-earth-by-riding-a-planet-sized-bouncy-castle/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

E7

OK, so the headline doesn't do much justice to E7's serene, dusky beauty or its soothing ambient score, but at least I've got your attention, eh? All those who think space buggy platforming needs more spring in its step, this is the game for you.

Dispatched to an oddly jellylike alien planet to disarm some world-ending piece of ordinance, you inhabit what appears to be a small mobile pimple.

While it lacks weapons or jump-jets, this craft can sink into and spring out of the terrain at a touch of down arrow key - whether to fly across a gap, or crash through some pesky robot defender.

The controls are a bit twitchy - unless you're a former Olympic trampoline champion - but the learning curve is as soft as the landscape itself.

Play E7

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Newgroundsplatformerscience fictionScienceFictionEdwin2010-08-18T06:47:00 00:00A footie sim for the not-so-fussed about footballhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/18/a-footie-sim-for-the-not-so-fussed-about-football/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/18/a-footie-sim-for-the-not-so-fussed-about-football/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/18/a-footie-sim-for-the-not-so-fussed-about-football/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Soccer Tycoon

The best thing about Soccer Tycoon - or, depending on your point of view, the worst - is that soccer doesn't get much of a look-in. It's a clean, colourful, chubby 'business lite' game which just happens to centre on a rectangle of grass with white lines across it.

You don't even have to win matches to advance, though you'll earn more cash if you do. Player training and team tactics are as complex as picking one general strategy and keeping the squad's energy and fitness levels topped up.

Between matches, you can upgrade your pitch and add facilities like hotels, spas and swimming pools, right on down to humble hotdog stands or wooden railings. As in most games of this sort there are two currencies - one bought with a debit or credit card, another earned by doing stuff in-game.

A dash of networking functionality - you can challenge mates to friendly matches, or complete odd jobs at their stadiums for pocket change - rounds out a remarkably simple experience. Too simple? Quite possibly. But some days, 'too simple' suits us just fine.

Play Soccer Tycoon

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>bizDynamo gamesDynamoGamesFacebookfree online gameFreeOnlineGamesimulationEdwin2010-08-18T06:03:00 00:00An alphabetical maze for the sharp-eyed wordsmithhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/17/an-alphabetical-maze-for-the-sharp-eyed-word-expert/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/17/an-alphabetical-maze-for-the-sharp-eyed-word-expert/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/17/an-alphabetical-maze-for-the-sharp-eyed-word-expert/#commentsFiled under: ,

Word Labyrinth

Want to sort the men from the boys? Get them to sort the nouns from the letters. Word Labyrinth from Gimme5Games is a maze game that's swallowed a dictionary.

Each clean, white Escher-inspired backdrop has something to say. Help it say it. With your eyes. And a mouse button.

Play Word Labyrinth

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>free online gameFreeOnlineGameGimme 5 GamesGimme5GamespuzzlewordEdwin2010-08-17T09:58:00 00:00A racing game the way they used to race 'emhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/17/a-racing-game-the-way-they-used-to-race-em/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/17/a-racing-game-the-way-they-used-to-race-em/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/17/a-racing-game-the-way-they-used-to-race-em/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Free Gear

Arcade Bomb's Free Gear is so old school you all but have to get out and crank the motor handle. It's a 'Mode 7' style racer in the vein of Sega's classic Out Run.

Patrons of the arcade scene will enjoy this one. You can pick auto or manual gear shift, set the race conditions (wet, night, clear, etc), participate in tournaments or just one-off events. It's all so deliciously 'nostalgy'. Like eating an Eric Clapton album.

Play Free Gear

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Arcade BombArcadeBombfree online gameFreeOnlineGameracingretroEdwin2010-08-17T09:18:00 00:00Lost your TV signal? Better call in a TV detectivehttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/17/lost-your-tv-signal-better-call-in-a-tv-detective/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/17/lost-your-tv-signal-better-call-in-a-tv-detective/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/17/lost-your-tv-signal-better-call-in-a-tv-detective/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Harry Quantum

We think the idea of randomly jumbling together characters and props from different TV shows sounds brilliant, but not everybody would agree. Fans would whine about 'continuity', lawyers about copyright, parents about snippets from late night softcore finding their way into Tellytubbies.

And in the event, just where would these whiners turn for redress? Why, to Harry Quantum of course, the world's one and only televisual investigator.

This is the first in a new point and click adventure series from Long Animals. It's not especially hard, but it is quite surreal and good for a few sight gags.

Nothing beats Zeebarf, of course.

Play Harry Quantum: Episode One

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>free online gameFreeOnlineGameKongregateLong AnimalsLongAnimalsEdwin2010-08-17T08:24:00 00:00When videogame dress-up goes really, really wronghttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/16/when-videogame-dress-up-goes-very-very-wrong/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/16/when-videogame-dress-up-goes-very-very-wrong/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/16/when-videogame-dress-up-goes-very-very-wrong/#commentsFiled under:

He-man!

Some serious gaming enthusiasts keep their nefarious interests under a bushel. Others all but broadcast it from the rooftops, dressing up as characters from their favourite games and congregating near the cameras. I am, of course, referring to the phenomenon known as cosplay.

Occasionally, the results are (*cough* not safe for work *cough*) easy on the eyes. Often, however, they're... upsetting. To the point of psychological damage, even. The efficient minds at Gossip Gamer have assembled 20 in one place, so we can carefully avoid looking at them.

In the mood for a good wince?

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>galleryLOLretroround-upEdwin2010-08-16T06:14:00 00:00Top 10 tastiest cooking gameshttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/16/top-10-tastiest-free-cooking-sims/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/16/top-10-tastiest-free-cooking-sims/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/16/top-10-tastiest-free-cooking-sims/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Hungry Giants

Anybody convinced that videogames are devoid of educational value has clearly yet to be acquainted with the cooking sim, preparing the internet's wee tykes and tykettes for the Master Chefs of tomorrow. In further proof of our blindness to most numbers besides five and 10, Flytrap has roped and doped a handful for your close inspection.

1 - Wallace and Gromit: Top Bun

Every meal should start with bread, and who better to bake it than Nick Park's stop-motion bachelor duo. Gromit does the heavy-lifting, as always, while Wallace supplies the chatter.

2 - Pappa's Pizza

Eya Tony! Guessa whosa here! Eeesa lazee boy frodee offeece, he wanna know howda cooka peeza. (NB. No Anglo-Italians were hurt during the making of this post.)Pappa's Pizza

3 - Twisted Cooking Mama

No spell in the virtual kitchen would be complete without PETA's seriously violent spoof. Gird your stomach.

4 - The Great Burger Builder

To make the perfect burger takes a steady hand and a good memory. Clock the chef's instructions, then put the order together.

5 - Sushi Grand Prix

We love sushi, but whenever we try to make it, we end up with rice in our hair. See if you can do better - within the time limit.

The Great Burger Builder

6 - Burger Jam

More burger-making, but this time the customers are in your face, dude. Appease them with orange juice lest they pass out with hunger.

7 - Chop Chop Chip Shop

Ah, the chip shop - our third favourite place after the pub and Lily Allen's back garden. Fry, my pretties, fry!


8 - Hungry Giants

Is this 'fatist'? I'll let you know after I've finished my hamburger.

Chop Chop Chip Shop

9 - Feed Mee

Restaurant management meets Tales of the Crypt. Don't be slow with the order, or they'll quite literally take a bite out of your business.

10 - Burger Man

Pacman as seen through the eyes of Morgan Spurlock, creator and star of satirical docu-flick Supersize Me.

Got anything to add? Don't spare the calories - post it below.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>cafechefdinerfree online gameFreeOnlineGamerestaurantround-upsimulationEdwin2010-08-16T05:14:00 00:00Anime fans alert! Take wing with the Wind Ridershttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/16/anime-fans-alert-take-wing-with-the-wind-riders/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/16/anime-fans-alert-take-wing-with-the-wind-riders/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/16/anime-fans-alert-take-wing-with-the-wind-riders/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Wind Riders: Grand Prix has a full-on proper hand-animated introduction and everything. Seems a bit much for a game you're unlikely to spend more than 60 seconds playing, but then again there's a full-on proper anime franchise lurking behind this 'un.

It's a side-on shooter cross-bred with a racing game. You start at the back of the pack, on the extreme left, and must make your way past competitor and 'track obstacle' alike to the finish.

Among the 'obstacles' are dragons. They can't kill you, but they can slow you down. We'd take death over an ignoble sixth place finish any day. See also: Skid MK.

Play Wind Riders: Grand Prix

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>flightfree online gameFree World GroupFreeOnlineGameFreeWorldGroupracingEdwin2010-08-16T05:02:00 00:00Mario Maki - how to run a virtual sushi restauranthttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/13/mario-maki-how-to-run-a-virtual-sushi-business/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/13/mario-maki-how-to-run-a-virtual-sushi-business/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/13/mario-maki-how-to-run-a-virtual-sushi-business/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Wasabi

'Hey, wouldn't owning a business be fun if it were like playing Mario?' Why yes, reader, yes it would, and you should totally get your teeth round Wasabi, an Armor Games platformer with a profit motive.

The idea is to keep a sushi restaurant in the black by growing veg, catching fish and managing the flow of custom. All this is achieved not by filling in forms, haggling with suppliers or coming up with novel advertising concepts, but by bashing your head against floating blocks.

Seeds need watering? Hit a block. Want to buy some bait? Hit a block. It's not how they told it in economics class. Sushi Cat approves, we're sure.

Play Wasabi

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Armor GamesArmorGamescookingfree online gameFreeOnlineGameplatformingEdwin2010-08-13T06:29:00 00:00Create a ski course... as you ski ithttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/13/create-a-ski-course-as-you-ski-it/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/13/create-a-ski-course-as-you-ski-it/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/13/create-a-ski-course-as-you-ski-it/#commentsFiled under: ,

Solipskier

The great thing about videogames is that, being interactive, they're the best way yet of showing a person the other man's point of view. In Solipskier, for instance, you get to see things from the perspective of the landscape beneath the skis of a whooping, human death-magnet. Eye-opening indeed.

Your cursor is a brush, shading in the snow, chalets and pine trees of an alpine resort whenever you hold-click. Create slopes and ramps to build the skier's speed and send him hurtling through green score gates.

It's Line Rider with more rock music, yes.

Play Solipskier

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>free online gameFreeOnlineGamemountainracingwinter sportsWinterSportsEdwin2010-08-13T05:48:00 00:00Wage a thumb war with your fingershttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/12/wage-a-thumb-war-with-your-fingers/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/12/wage-a-thumb-war-with-your-fingers/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/12/wage-a-thumb-war-with-your-fingers/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Mega Thumb: Dream Match

Unlike the Flash zealots at IndieGames.com we have, in fact, encountered a videogame version of thumb war before, but this second take on the idea packs a lot more punch. Or rather, nail.

It's you versus the (rather skillful) computer, or you versus a mate on the same keyboard. That's right - you can now play thumb wars with a physically present friend... using a keyboard. And people wonder why I'm cynical.

Move your thumb with the arrow keys or WASD. Get pinned, and escape may yet be had by hitting shift key in a timely fashion. The 3D graphics are nice.

There's a thumb customisation feature - so you can make it look like a giant grinning phallus, yes - but you'll need to download the game to get access.

Play Mega Thumb: Dream Match


 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>actiondownloadfree online gameFreeOnlineGameGame JoltGameJoltEdwin2010-08-12T07:02:00 00:00Crash, tumble, roll your way to an Oscar in Stunt Masterhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/12/crash-tumble-roll-your-way-to-an-oscar-in-stunt-master/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/12/crash-tumble-roll-your-way-to-an-oscar-in-stunt-master/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/12/crash-tumble-roll-your-way-to-an-oscar-in-stunt-master/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Stunt Master

What Eddie Izzard said about beekeeping can also be applied to stuntsmen and women. It's not a profession you can fall into (though it is a profession that involves more than its fair share of falling) - you've got to seriously, desperately want to be one.

If that's you, good luck. If not, here's Stunt Master to remind you why not. Break a leg. Stunt Dive has more water.

Play Stunt Master

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>2D Play2dPlayfree online gameFreeOnlineGameHollywoodracingvehicleEdwin2010-08-12T05:10:00 00:00Distracted at work? Play a game about being distracted at workhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/12/distracted-at-work-play-a-game-about-being-distracted-at-work/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/12/distracted-at-work-play-a-game-about-being-distracted-at-work/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/12/distracted-at-work-play-a-game-about-being-distracted-at-work/#commentsFiled under: ,

Hummingbird Mind

Some people think working from home is all sunshine and roses. 'There's no commute,' they say, bitterly. 'You can show up at your desk in a thong and slippers, if it takes your fancy.'

Every silver lining has its cloud, though. It's easy to get distracted when your office is also your kitchen, or your bedroom. The TV's only a few steps away (assuming you can afford one, you self-employed scruffer), and nobody's breaking your balls (or feminine equivalent) over deadlines.

And of course, there are the magic hummingbirds. And the cat riddles. And the missing bars of soap.

Cardboard Computer's Hummingbird Mind is a short, sweet interactive novel about procrastination and where it might take you. It stars a guy at a desk in an overheating apartment, who presumably doesn't have internet access or he'd be checking Flytrap.

Play Hummingbird Mind

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Cardboard ComputerCardboardComputerfictionfree online gameFreeOnlineGameIFinteractive fictionInteractiveFictionEdwin2010-08-12T04:40:00 00:00An all-you-can-eat space orb buffethttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/10/an-all-you-can-eat-space-orb-buffet/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/10/an-all-you-can-eat-space-orb-buffet/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/10/an-all-you-can-eat-space-orb-buffet/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Bobulous

Bobulous from Miniclip is a sort of intergalactic food chain in fast-forward. You play a pugnacious green space orb, sole defender of a table hockey rink cum space station.

Rival orbs are out to conquer this structure. If they're smaller than you, you can eat 'em. If they're larger, they'll eat you. However, once you've eaten enough smaller orbs you'll be able to level up by flying into an energy vortex, acquiring additional girth and a mightier appetite.

Movement falls to the mouse. Sections of space station wall occasionally flash red, green or yellow. Steer clear of red surfaces, or you'll be spiked, but feel free to rub lovingly against the other two: they bestow health and power bonuses.

Play Bobulous

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>actionfree online gameFreeOnlineGameMiniclipscience fictionScienceFictionEdwin2010-08-10T05:58:00 00:00The inner life of a grieving illusionisthttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/10/the-inner-life-of-a-grieving-illusionist/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/10/the-inner-life-of-a-grieving-illusionist/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/10/the-inner-life-of-a-grieving-illusionist/#commentsFiled under: ,

The Illusionist's Dream

You know a game's not quite pulling its weight when it resorts to floating direction signs. Word from the not-so-wise, to the not-so-wise, developers: the more time your game spends telling me where to go and what to do, the more time it spends being an instruction manual.

It's an especially bad idea when you're creating a game about private hallucinations, like The Illusionist's Dream from Armor Games, where the 'suspension of disbelief' factor is already under strain without the flagrantly artificial insertion of large pointy red arrows.

An otherwise diverting platformer, the game is about helping a stage conjurer overcome the loss of a loved one by sending him on a tour of his own (pleasantly floral) id. Puzzles take the form of animal transformations: press A to grab something and assume its shape, or S to return to normal.

Watch out - some animals eat each other. Make sure you play through the brilliant Coma too, psycho-geographers.

Play The Illusionist's Dream

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Armor GamesArmorGamesfree online gameFreeOnlineGameplatformingpuzzleEdwin2010-08-10T04:57:00 00:00Take a ride on the never-ending rollercoasterhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/09/take-a-ride-on-the-never-ending-rollercoaster/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/09/take-a-ride-on-the-never-ending-rollercoaster/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/09/take-a-ride-on-the-never-ending-rollercoaster/#commentsFiled under: ,

Epic Coaster

Some day, somebody will make a game of the toy train chase sequence from Wallace and Gromit: The Wrong Trousers, and I'll retire from public life a happy man. Until that illustrious hour, we have the likes of Epic Coaster.

The track is in a similar state of disrepair here, but rather than building it on the fly you've got to jump, jump, jump (or tap, tap, tap on up arrow key) to bridge gaps. The game's easily impressed, bursting into applause and in-game achievements every other second. A good choice if you're feeling low on self-esteem today, then.

Not that there's nothing to play for. Land as near as you can to the start of a ramp for extra points.

Play Epic Coaster

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Armor GamesArmorGamesfree online gameFreeOnlineGametheme parkThemeParkEdwin2010-08-09T08:48:00 00:00How long can you evade the ticket collector?http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/09/how-long-can-you-evade-the-ticket-collector/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/09/how-long-can-you-evade-the-ticket-collector/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/09/how-long-can-you-evade-the-ticket-collector/#commentsFiled under: ,

Ticketless

Running away from people to whom one owes money is, I think, a concept we can all get behind. Especially if you're the person to whom that money is owed, though you'd probably prefer to be in front of it. Holding a baseball bat.

Ticketless? It's Canabalt with less gloom and doom and more 'stop' and 'thief'. Free public transport is a natural human right, damn it.

Play Ticketless

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Flixelfree online gameFreeOnlineGameGimme 5 GamesGimme5GamessurvivalEdwin2010-08-09T07:26:00 00:00Suffering from a surfeit of brain activity? Click a cow!http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/09/suffering-from-a-surfeit-of-brain-activity-click-a-cow/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/09/suffering-from-a-surfeit-of-brain-activity-click-a-cow/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/09/suffering-from-a-surfeit-of-brain-activity-click-a-cow/#commentsFiled under: ,

Cow Clicker

Playing social games on Facebook is the single most unproductive, unenlightening, uncool and unimaginative thing you can do with your day. Videogame academic Ian Bogost is here to make us realise this. He's also here to make you click cows.

Bogost's latest project, Cow Clicker, is a Facebook app about Facebook apps. The premise should be obvious from the title, the pointlessness of the premise becomes apparent around 30 seconds in, and the point of the pointlessness of the premise rears its head not long after.

We like satire at Flytrap Games. It makes us feel all clever and grown-up. Have a look at past posts to this effect. Thanks Joystick Division.

Play Cow Clicker

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>FacebookPersuasive GamesPersuasiveGamessatirespoofEdwin2010-08-09T05:28:00 00:00Spot the 'de-make' - cutting edge games get retro makeoverhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/09/the-de-make-showcase-cutting-edge-games-go-retro/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/09/the-de-make-showcase-cutting-edge-games-go-retro/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/09/the-de-make-showcase-cutting-edge-games-go-retro/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Guitar Hero!

However devoutly they dog the mighty onward march of technology, 'serious' gamers are a traditional lot, and very prone to bouts of nostalgia. Quote the original Final Fantasy or invoke those magical two words 'Elite 4' in an arcade and you won't have to cough up a credit all evening. Unless you're playing Dance Dance Revolution, maybe.

Way of the Pixel user and magazine artist junkboy has taken the rose-tinting to an extreme: he's reimagined a slew of present-day releases as games from the early 90s. Can you name and acclaim them all?

Find the gallery here. Stuck? Green Man Gaming has a few pointers.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>16 bit16BitMegadriveNintendoround-upSegaSNESEdwin2010-08-09T04:06:00 00:00Fog Fall 3: one more tour of the post-nuclear wastehttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/06/one-more-tour-of-the-post-nuclear-waste/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/06/one-more-tour-of-the-post-nuclear-waste/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/06/one-more-tour-of-the-post-nuclear-waste/#commentsFiled under: ,

Fog Fall 3

Fans of Cormac McCarthy's The Road and/or the Fallout games, this one's up your (ruined, trash-strewn) alley. It's another in the Fog Fall series from Pastel Games, known for their haunting vistas, decrepit interiors and the relentless soughing of that post-apocalyptic wind.

If the concentrated niceness of my last game recommendation was too much for you, Fog Fall is the perfect antidote. Why, within seconds of the kick-off you're handed a piece of radioactive deer-meat. Mmmm, taste those ions.

The puzzles have more to do with simply finding things than finding inventive ways to combine them. There's quite a lot of dialogue, too. Players of previous games may spot a few returning locales.

Play The Fog Fall 3

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>adventureFog FallFogFallfree online gameFreeOnlineGamePastel GamesPastelGamesscience fictionScienceFictionsuspenseEdwin2010-08-06T05:46:00 00:00Happiness is a walk in the country amid beautiful musichttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/06/happiness-is-a-walk-in-the-country-amid-beautiful-music/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/06/happiness-is-a-walk-in-the-country-amid-beautiful-music/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/06/happiness-is-a-walk-in-the-country-amid-beautiful-music/#commentsFiled under: ,



Now this is how you end a week - not with a bang, nor with a whimper, but with a trickle of piano chords. Take a Walk is a music game about getting away from it all.

You play an inner city cubicle jockey, hunched over a keyboard. One day you decide to take a walk. That's all there is to it. No wrangling for leave with the bosses, or trading off-days with your co-workers. Just you, a pair of headphones, a few things to jump over, a flock of birds and the horizon.

Music plays when you walk, and stops when you stop. There's a simple scoring system where you earn points by jumping in time to the melody. It's not essential. The soundtrack is the work of Kevin MacLeod.

Play Take a Walk

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Bloblobchilloutclassical musicClassicalMusicplatformingrhythmEdwin2010-08-06T05:06:00 00:00Should you care about games in 3D?http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/05/should-you-care-about-games-in-3d/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/05/should-you-care-about-games-in-3d/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/05/should-you-care-about-games-in-3d/#commentsFiled under: ,



You've probably seen a couple of movies in 3D by now. But we're betting most of you haven't checked out a game in 3D just yet. So: should you care?

The short answer is, if you're mostly into Mafia Wars and Angry Birds, you don't need to drop what you're doing and run towards 3D. Unless of course you also love high-end console and PC games or you're curious about Nintendo's glasses-free 3D handheld, 3DS.

Our understanding of what 3D can bring to videogames is still a partial one, like Kim Kardashian's wardrobe. Prices are high for now, but RRPs will drop as the hardware matures. We discussed the pros and cons of 3D gaming with some developers to learn more.

According to Greg Donovan at Red Faction developer Volition, history is in the process of repeating itself.

"I think it's inevitable that 3D gaming will become a staple feature. New technology is established and there are some early adopters, followed by much speculation... and then usually, said technology is a staple in a matter of years.

"A similar pattern occurred with the emergence of HDTVs and HD gaming... it's a matter of when and not if, but I wouldn't speculate on a timeframe," he added.

The auto-fetishists at London-based Slightly Mad Studios are in a uniquely strong position to comment: Need for Speed SHIFT is notable for its use of depth as a mechanical cue. This unparalleled feel for the space surrounding the player's perspective seems a natural fit for 3D.

SHIFT's Design Lead Andy Tudor was 'astounded' by the functionality during development: "The additional depth perception and sense of speed that we were already simulating using traditional 2D techniques now were given that additional 'zing' in 3D. It was far easier for your mind to comprehend the spatial distance of objects around you - the driver's hands, the steering wheel and the world beyond.

"When you then factor in the scenery whipping past you at over 200 mph, it heightened the overall sense of immersion of being in the driver's seat, making it more exciting and visceral. It's one of those experiences that once you'd tried it for yourself, you don't want to go back."

3D might cut the mustard in racing games, but in others, the greater visual complexity may prove more hindersome than helpful.

Jared Gerritzen of FPS developer Zombie Studios offered: "3D is a really tricky system to work with. Most people get motion sickness very easily in video games; add 3D and you have a real balance issue. Reading how most 3D movies are being done with less camera movement, really makes me think that shooters will be hard to make full 3D. Shooters have the most frantic movement of all games."

Probably the most decisive indication that 3D shouldn't be handled lightly comes from Nintendo. The presence of a slider to 'flatten' the effect, together with the recommendation that under-sevens avoid using the handheld, says it all.

If mileages vary, we've yet to hear a developer flat-out reject 3D.

Donovan summarises the mood of cautious optimism neatly: "I believe anything that adds to the immersion and presentation of a game is a very good thing. Technical unknowns aside, who wouldn't say that sport and driving games wouldn't be significantly enhanced if played in 3D? Really I think there's potential here for every genre to be enhanced."

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>3d gaming3d tv3dGaming3dTvDoree2010-08-05T13:12:00 00:00Let's see how smart your 1 year old is nowhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/05/lets-see-how-smart-your-1-year-old-is-now/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/05/lets-see-how-smart-your-1-year-old-is-now/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/05/lets-see-how-smart-your-1-year-old-is-now/#commentsFiled under: ,


Amazingly, we know a lot of people reading Flytrap are not bloodthirsty video game-addicted teenagers.

Some of them are video game-addicted parents. I think we even have some grandparents knocking about (sorry for the occasional bad language!).

Well if you're a parent watching your baby grow up and marvelling at his or her ability to stack blocks, let's see them handle this particular block-stacking challenge.

In fact, let's see you, the parent, handle it first...

Play Gravity Stacker

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>gravityDoree2010-08-05T08:11:00 00:00Physics-based platformer 'Ozee' innovateshttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/04/physics-based-platformer-ozee-innovates/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/04/physics-based-platformer-ozee-innovates/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/04/physics-based-platformer-ozee-innovates/#commentsFiled under: , ,


Only a few minutes into newly release platform game Ozee, you'll start noticing a few neat, original touches. And unlike many browser based platformers, you'll likely play for more than just a few minutes...

The free web game is physics based - yes I know, more physics love, but it's not so common in running and jumping games - at least, not until LittleBigPlanet, a title which seems to have inspired a lot of the creativity in this title.

Limex Games has clearly put some thought into how else it can innovate with its browser platformer. There are no menu screens and no instruction pages to take you out of the game experience - Ozee's world unfolds solely within its quaintly presented levels. Even the commonly seen "more games from..." ad is presented as a cute in-game billboard.

It's all presented in a subtle 2.5D flavour with thick black lines and nice level of detail and colour. But the gameplay is what stands out as the character runs, jumps and (more originally) pushes, pulls, clicks, grabs, swings and propels himself around the levels. It's pretty entertaining.

It would be nice to get some different themed environments and music, but for free, there's little to complain about! It definitely owes a lot to a certain Sony studio, but I can safely say I've never really seen a browser based, Flash game like this before. Definitely take a look!

Play Ozee

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>littlebigplanetphysics platform gamePhysicsPlatformGameDoree2010-08-04T13:35:00 00:00Angry Birds now in a web browser... with rabbitshttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/04/angry-birds-now-in-a-web-browser-with-rabbits/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/04/angry-birds-now-in-a-web-browser-with-rabbits/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/04/angry-birds-now-in-a-web-browser-with-rabbits/#commentsFiled under: ,


Just minutes after we finished telling you why Angry Birds on the iPhone is the proverbial lick, along comes a free version in a web browser.

Sort of. Well, actually not quite. All Rabbits Must Die is basically the exact same concept - right down to the way you get additional points for any unused projectiles, and even the styling of the level select screens. Angry, indeed.

The "story" is pretty basic. It's a lovely day for a picnic so off you set with Brother Jack with a hamper. Along come some cheeky rabbits and steal all the food. All. Rabbits. Must. Die!

It's not as good as Angry Birds. The physics are less dynamic, presentation flatter, and we're pretty sure this is a flat out rip off (even if Birds, to begin with, isn't the most 'original' game per se). Oh well, it's something to do for free.

Play All Rabbits Must Die.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>all rabbits must dieAllRabbitsMustDieangry birdsAngryBirdsDoree2010-08-04T08:34:00 00:00My most played game of 2010?http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/03/my-most-played-game-of-2010/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/03/my-most-played-game-of-2010/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/03/my-most-played-game-of-2010/#commentsFiled under: ,


Yesterday I wrote about how trendy people are trying to get me into World of Warcraft, and maybe my rant came across as if I never play games. Of course it's not true at all, but I'll tell you something: the kinds of games I'm playing are very rarely 20-hour console epics any more. A lot of the time... they're 20-hour iPhone epics.

But 'epic' only in terms of the amount of time I'm hooked on the most addictive the App Store has to offer; titles that easily compete with the most time-intensive Xbox and PlayStation releases of yesteryear, because I can play them in my two favourite places: in the pub, and in bed.

I've enjoyed many iPhone games to date, but Angry Birds has easily won most of my time so far this year. And while searching Flytrap for 'birds' reveals a whole nest of bird-related titles, I'm surprised to see we've not mentioned this fantastic title at all on the site before.

Angry Birds is not, as you might thing, a gathering of cheated housewives, but an awesome physics based action puzzle game with high production values. It's considerably more charming than Ragdoll Blaster, a similar title I've written about previously.

Angry Birds hit the headlines again this week as it was revealed that the highly popular App Store game will now also be coming to PlayStation 3 (via PSN), as well as Sony PSP and Nintendo DS. How often do you see iPhone games break out like that? Pretty impressive.

With more levels than we can count and a tiny price tag, it 's easily one of the best value games money can buy on any platform. It will be interesting to see how the makers justify the inevitable higher cost when it comes to PSP, DS and PSN.

Angry Birds at the App Store

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Angry BirdsAngryBirdsDoree2010-08-03T13:08:00 00:00Halo goes back in time... to Atari 2600 - creator speakshttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/03/halo-goes-back-in-time-to-atari-2600-interview/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/03/halo-goes-back-in-time-to-atari-2600-interview/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/03/halo-goes-back-in-time-to-atari-2600-interview/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Popular games industry exec Ed Fries was one of the original visionaries behind the first Xbox, and was loved by gamers for bringing about some of the system's biggest and best franchises.

One of them was a little game called Halo. Today, we're not looking at Halo, its sequels or the upcoming Halo: Reach. That's because Ed Fries is back with a "new" Halo you never expected: Halo 2600.

The title, developed by Ed in his spare time over the last six months, imagines what it would be like to have created a Halo game back in the days of the ancient Atari 2600 console.

Understandably, we were endeared to the project as soon as we heard about it, and earlier this evening fired off an email to Ed to see if he'd let us in on the story.

"The memories it brought back were more like, 'Hey it's fun to make games!' And 'Hey, I can still do this'", he told us in the email.

"The 2600 is very difficult to program, and so it presents a really interesting and fun kind of challenge. Very good development tools exist these days so I really enjoyed the whole experience."


These days, we typically feel upbeat about games with all the innovation that's going on. But occasionally, you can understand some gamers' views about lack of originality in games when they talk about too many sequels or whatever. So does Ed think developers should maybe think back to what made games fun in the 2600 era?

"It's funny but I was thinking about it in the opposite way: 'Have we learned anything over the last 30 years that would make games more fun if we could go back in time and live under the same constraints as existed in the old days, or have all the advances just come from the hardware getting more capable over time?' I'm not sure Halo 2600 answers that question or not but it's fun to think about."

OK, so we're guessing Ed still has a few contacts at Microsoft, despite leaving the company around more than six years ago. Why doesn't he see if they'd like to put Halo 2600 out on Live Arcade or as a hidden easter egg in Halo Reach?

"If they want to do something with it they are welcome to it", he explains.

"I tried to keep a few people at Bungie and at Microsoft in the loop during development just in case they were going to get upset about what I was doing but they never discouraged me, so I just kept plugging away."

Find out more about Halo 2600 at the official site.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>AtariAtari 2600Atari2600HaloDoree2010-08-03T10:24:00 00:00If it were you versus you, who'd win?http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/02/if-it-were-you-versus-you-whod-win/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/02/if-it-were-you-versus-you-whod-win/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/02/if-it-were-you-versus-you-whod-win/#commentsFiled under: ,


Sometimes the past catches up with all of us, but in the context of a game that can sometimes be a problem.

In puzzle platformer One Step Back, your own actions are recorded and played out while you're still fumbling around to finish a level - and if your current self touches your past self, the consequences are disastrous in all dimensions.

It's enough to freak out Bill and Ted on a mellow day, but if you're a dab hand at thinking four dimensionally then why not give it a shot.

Play One Step Back

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>platform gamePlatformGameDoree2010-08-02T12:01:00 00:00World of Warcraft: it's still after mehttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/02/world-of-warcraft-its-still-after-me/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/02/world-of-warcraft-its-still-after-me/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/02/world-of-warcraft-its-still-after-me/#commentsFiled under: ,


People need to take a break sometimes, and that's exactly what Edwin has gone and done this week.

Edwin, for those of you who don't know, is your Editor-in-Chief here at Flytrap Towers. This week he's asked me to "cover" for him, although to be honest I haven't got a clue what I'm talking about most of the time.

One thing I do know is that everyone's still playing World of Warcraft, except me - and that World of Warcraft still wants to "get" me. At least once a week I see a banner ad promoting "TryWarcraft.com", some sort of free trial. To me this is almost sinister. It's like they know I'll end up a paid subscriber if I give it a little try.

Here at the "office" our local pub is situated next to a popular West End show. All the cast are regulars after they've finished for the night. The guys are either gay or fully alpha male, and the women are very, very attractive. Most of them have previously been on some sort of talent contest TV show, and together, I imagine they have the best orgies in London.

There's this one guy - a main character from the show - who for better or worse knows me as the "video game guy". But the truth is, he's way more into PC games than I am. When he asked me if I play Warcraft my gut reaction was something resembling fear. I mean if these, trendiest of trendy people, succumb to the potency of Warcraft, what hope might I - someone who's "worked in" games for the best part of fifteen years - have?

He went on to tell me about the aforementioned trial URL and told me how easy it was to get started, and forced me to make a note of his username. I did as he suggested although I had no intention of entering the World.

It frightens me. But I'm thinking maybe it would be in good taste to give WOW a "try" to set the tone for the week ahead at Flytrap. I know there's a lot more to PC gaming than Warcraft - and I also know a certain other Blizzard release is the one in the spotlight for now - but, it might "look good" that I bothered.

By the end of the week I'll let you know how I got on. After all, it did sound quite fun when "West End show guy" described to me how you can team up with each other and go on a quest to kill things and help each other with stuff.

Oh god.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>warcraftDoree2010-08-02T11:03:00 00:00Top five oddest, ugliest, scariest videogame laughshttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/02/top-five-ugliest-scariest-videogame-laughs/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/02/top-five-ugliest-scariest-videogame-laughs/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/08/02/top-five-ugliest-scariest-videogame-laughs/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Kitten laughing

They say laughter is infectious. In the case of the following five virtual chuckle-a-thons, plucked from the halls of videogame history, the long-term effects are probably worthy of the Black Plague. Plug in some headphones, ready the aspirin and click on.

5 - Devil Jin (Tekken)

Nothing helps you warm down from a bruising bout of fisticuffs like a demented, otherworldly guffaw.

4 - Bowser (Mario)

Mario's nemesis has been clobbered so often it's a wonder there's anything left to laugh about. All credit to him for managing to see the funny side.3 - Ganondorf (Zelda)

Either somebody's just dropped a punchline, or Link's arch-foe has a bit of seafood caught in his epiglottis. Watch that ginger chinstrap jiggle.

2 - Tidus (Final Fantasy)

One of the most wince-worthy things you'll ever see, hear or play. Porcelain waif Yuna helps the suspiciously Leo-de-Caprio-esque Tidus get over himself.

1 - The Joker (Batman: Arkham Asylum)

Eating, sleeping, breathing, even robbing banks and torching hospitals - all secondary in the Joker's estimation to having a jolly good cackle. Mark Hamill lays it on thick.


 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Final Fantasy XFinalFantasyXLegend of Zelda Wind WakerLegendOfZeldaWindWakerround-upSuper Mario BrosSuperMarioBrosTekken 5Tekken5Edwin2010-08-02T04:26:00 00:00Dare you kung-fu kick a Triceratops? Dinosaurs invade the arcadehttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/30/dare-you-kung-fu-kick-a-triceratops-robo-dinosaurs-invade-the-a/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/30/dare-you-kung-fu-kick-a-triceratops-robo-dinosaurs-invade-the-a/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/30/dare-you-kung-fu-kick-a-triceratops-robo-dinosaurs-invade-the-a/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Dinosaurs? Pansies, every man Jack of 'em. Sure, they used to be pretty big on prehistoric Earth, but all it took was one measly meteor to knock the entire cold-blooded population out for the count.

But dinosaurs with bionic implants? Firing missiles and Gatling guns? That's another matter altogether.

Miniclip's Dino Strike is an arcade beat 'em up that will bring glazed expressions and thumb blisters to veterans of Streets of Rage or Final Fight.

What with all the one-use weapons and chainsaw-wielding thugs, the four-hit combos and the way enemies flash and disappear once you've cleaned their clocks, it's like our misspent youth came back and punched us in the kidneys. Try not to cry.

Play Dino Strike

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>arcade machineArcadeMachinebeat-em-upbeatemupfightingfree online gameFreeOnlineGameMiniclipold schoolOldSchoolretroEdwin2010-07-30T07:04:00 00:00What do Rio Ferdinand, Jameela Jamil and you have in common?http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/30/what-do-rio-ferdinand-jameela-jamil-and-you-have-in-common/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/30/what-do-rio-ferdinand-jameela-jamil-and-you-have-in-common/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/30/what-do-rio-ferdinand-jameela-jamil-and-you-have-in-common/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Halo: Reach

No, it isn't great positional sense or a taste in £170 dresses from Topshop. It's a little Xbox 360 game called Halo: Reach. Or it could be, anyway.

Microsoft is launching a competition to find the best Reach players in Britain. Qualifiers will be held around the country in the run-up to release day in September.

Six of the top-scoring players will be invited to form their own official team, while another skilled marksman will get the chance to lead and school a team of celebrities and not-so-celebrities. Besides Ferdinand and Jamil, the A-list squad will feature the Gadget Show's Jason Bradbury, England rugby star Ben Cohen and one mystery guest. Our money's on Paris Hilton.

Then, as the game launches, the two teams will lock jaws in an effort to prove that just because you've never had to open a door in your life, doesn't mean you can't handle a Concussion Rifle.

Ferdinand pronounced himself well up for it when we saw him at a Reach event yesterday evening. 'We can't wait for this young man or young lady - whoever it's going to be they'll be young, younger than us - to come in our squad and lead us.

'His or her voice won't be as deep as ours. They'll be squeaking and telling us exactly where to run and who to shoot.' If popular report about the sassiness of the average Xbox owner is sound, Rio, that's not the only thing they'll be telling you. Keep one finger on the mute button.

The competition launches on 4th August - sign up here, if you durst. Trailer for Reach after the cut. Article picture courtesy of Pocket-Lint.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>BungieBungie StudiosBungieStudiosconsolefirst-person shooterFirst-personShooterFPSHalo ReachHaloReachMicrosoft GamesMicrosoftGamesXbox 360Xbox360Edwin2010-07-30T04:19:00 00:00A maze game that will turn your brain inside outhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/29/a-maze-game-that-will-turn-your-brain-inside-out/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/29/a-maze-game-that-will-turn-your-brain-inside-out/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/29/a-maze-game-that-will-turn-your-brain-inside-out/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Trippy Maze

There's only one word for Trippy Maze, and it is indeed 'trippy'. Don't be fooled by those clean checkerboard visuals. If Kate Moss saw this game in a mirror, she'd probably try to snort it.

You control a red square. An orange square floats elsewhere in the level, and your mission, should you be bored enough to accept it, is to meld the two, perhaps in hopes of becoming an almighty auburn rectangle.

To achieve this, you'll have to venture off-screen. But every time you do, you'll re-appear from a different point and gravity itself will shift. It's pretty confusing, and the confusion just piles on up. Not to mention down, and sideways.

There's the option to skip levels, but why would you? The next one's harder.

Play Trippy Maze

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Addicting GamesAddictingGamesfree online gameFreeOnlineGamemazeplatformingEdwin2010-07-29T10:26:00 00:00'Gimme the chips!' - become poker champion of the Wild Westhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/29/gimme-the-chips-become-poker-champion-of-the-wild-west/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/29/gimme-the-chips-become-poker-champion-of-the-wild-west/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/29/gimme-the-chips-become-poker-champion-of-the-wild-west/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Governor of Poker 2

Internet poker games are incredibly popular. As a result, they're also incredibly samey. But Governor of Poker isn't samey. It's poker wearing a ten gallon hat, with spurs that glitter like gun-flashes. It's poker the Old West way. It's poker sagging under the weight of a huge Texan 'tache.

Only one card game is remotely similar, and that's the just-released Governor of Poker 2. Big shock, I know. Saddle up, deck-cutters - there's an Ace of Spades out there with your name on it.

As in the original, the idea is to follow the railroad from town to town, entering poker tournaments and buying up property with your winnings. The computer players are still a mean lot, but fear not newbies - the tutorials have been toughened up markedly.

Play Governor of Poker 2

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>cardfree online gameFree World GroupFreeOnlineGameFreeWorldGroupTexas Hold EmTexasHoldEmEdwin2010-07-29T09:40:00 00:00UFO racing - forget Formula 1, here's Area 51http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/28/ufo-racing-forget-formula-1-heres-area-51/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/28/ufo-racing-forget-formula-1-heres-area-51/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/28/ufo-racing-forget-formula-1-heres-area-51/#commentsFiled under: ,

UFO Racing

Puppies aren't just for Christmas, and a saucer-shaped spacecraft isn't just for abducting hot farm-girls and setting fire to cattle. Welcome to the wonderful world of UFO Racing. We think it's pretty self-explanatory, really.

Use the arrow keys to steer, and shift to turbo. Wonder if all aliens are this hip? For something even weirder (and much more 3D) try Skid MK.

Play UFO Racing

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>extra terrestrialExtraTerrestrialfree online gameFreeOnlineGameGamez HeroGamezHeroouter spaceOuterSpaceracingunidentified flying objectUnidentifiedFlyingObjectEdwin2010-07-28T10:39:00 00:00Less haste, more speed, even more pitfalls: a ninja's progresshttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/28/a-running-ninja-gathers-no-moss-but-many-friction-burns/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/28/a-running-ninja-gathers-no-moss-but-many-friction-burns/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/28/a-running-ninja-gathers-no-moss-but-many-friction-burns/#commentsFiled under: ,

Ninja Run

Ninjas, eh? Always in a hurry to get somewhere, always moaning when their want of patience sends them tumbling into a hole. Guess we'd better help out.

Ninja Run is open in its debt to Canabalt, and while nowhere near as wondrously enigmatic, does have the distinction of being much easier.

Use the arrow keys to speed up, slow down and leap. Pressing 'C' will lob a shuriken into the face of any red ninjas in your path, many of whom were probably just out walking the dog or enjoying the sunshine. Heartless devil, aren't you?

Play Ninja Run

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>actionfree online gameFreeOnlineGameMo Fun ZoneMoFunZoneninjaplatformingracesurvivalEdwin2010-07-28T05:38:00 00:00Take a holiday from your desk, at your desk: retro getawayhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/27/go-holidaying-at-your-desk-retro-getaway/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/27/go-holidaying-at-your-desk-retro-getaway/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/27/go-holidaying-at-your-desk-retro-getaway/#commentsFiled under: ,

freeworldgroup.com/games9/gameindex/holidaysim.htm

Anxious to escape the grubby English weather, but don't have the moolah? Try Holiday Sim. It's a holiday sim, and involves rum cocktails, idyllic bays and, assuming one follows on from the other, death by drowning.

She's a point and clicker. Make choices. Try not to die.

Play Holiday Sim

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>free online gameFree World GroupFreeOnlineGameFreeWorldGroupmultiple choiceMultipleChoiceEdwin2010-07-27T09:01:00 00:00Virtual busking: dodge the fatties, grab the cashhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/26/virtual-busking-dodge-the-fatties-grab-the-cash/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/26/virtual-busking-dodge-the-fatties-grab-the-cash/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/26/virtual-busking-dodge-the-fatties-grab-the-cash/#commentsFiled under: ,

Busker Panic

Busking on the Underground is a much sought-after occupation, even among musicians who don't actually need the cash.

There's all the status of being a licensed artist, and the comfort of playing in a secure environment, with no risk of assault by those who have some sort of strange aversion to the sound of Everlong at 7.30 in the morning.

And of course, you're much less likely to be hit by falling objects. Like meteorites, and fat people.

The hero of Busker Panic would appreciate the break. His life is one long chain of close-calls and near-misses, punctuated by hasty snatches of music.

Bananas, angry babies and the like are tossed from the sides of the screen; cookers, vases and the aforesaid over-eaters fall from the top. Use the arrow keys to block the former and dodge the latter. The longer you manage to stand still, the more music you'll play and the more points you'll score.

Play Busker Panic

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>actionfree online gameFreeOnlineGameGimme 5 GamesGimme5GamessurvivaltimingEdwin2010-07-26T10:36:00 00:0010 games that will get you dumpedhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/26/10-games-that-will-get-you-dumped/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/26/10-games-that-will-get-you-dumped/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/26/10-games-that-will-get-you-dumped/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Sims 3 break-up

There are some things you just don't do in front of your fair lady or gentleman lover. Assault small children and take their lunch money. Alphabetise your porn collection. Discuss venereal diseases whilst scratching yourself absently in 'sensitive areas'. And play any of the following 10 videogames.

Manhunt 2

Nothing will get the other half in a break-up mood like the sight of you taking the starring role in a virtual snuff film. Particularly if it's the Wii version, and you're required to actually make stabbing motions every time you stab somebody.

House of the Dead: Overkill

Not quite as risky as Manhunt, being obviously tongue in cheek, but not a title to share with a partner whose idea of profanity is Tintin's Captain Haddock after a few swigs of rum. Overkill does swearwords like British Petroleum does apologies. Think of the %$&ing kids!Final Fantasy X-2

Final Fantasy X-2

The rub where this Japanese classic is concerned is the battle system, in which perky maidens acquire new fighting skills by donning various extraordinarily fabulous outfits. If you're a guy, watching the mistress of the house play this will make you instantly aware that no real item of female apparel can measure up, and that all the Christmas gifts you'll ever buy are doomed to a lukewarm reception. There's the door.

World of Warcraft

In the case of Blizzard's persistent online time-sink, the question is not so much how you keep the Man/Missus interested as how you ever got the relationship going in the first place.

Dance Central

Dance Central

A dance game, obviously, in which you attempt to copy the moves of an on-screen hipster (see also, Microsoft Kinect). Problem is, there's a little coloured video of your efforts in top-right, making the lapses in coordination impossible to ignore. Club-going beloveds will be sure to take note...

The Sims 3

The Sims is a people simulator. It simulates people, and lets you do whatever you damn well please with them. The trouble, we've found, is that the experience tends to draw out one's inner sadist. And the experience of watching you break the hearts of your virtual suburbanites will be sure to draw out your partner's inner singleton.

Grand Theft Auto 4

Rockstar's terrific gangster-prankster is a threat to marital accord not because of its violence, coarse language and whatnot, but because of the dating aspect, which will remind you that being a reliable boyfriend/girlfriend is a real cramp in the jacksy. Face it, you'd much rather be off planting wheelies on people's windshields.

Bayonetta

Bayonetta

...in which your character murders angels with S&M toys and causes her skin-tight PVC bodysuit to peel away and take the form of a dragon. Guess what, your girlfriend may have issues. Particularly if she watches for longer than five minutes, and realises that it's actually all in the interests of feminine empowerment, and that she's been held back by your shortage of X chromosomes for far too long...

Dead or Alive Paradise

There's sexism, and then there's Dead or Alive Paradise, with its hundred square acres of excitably animated boob, its 'dress me up' and sunbathing mini-games, and its zombified 'flirty' dialogue. Get caught playing this and you won't just be dumped - you'll be staked and thrown to the dogs, your thumbs nailed to London Bridge as a warning to other virtual pervers.

Star Trek Online

Star Trek Online

Star Trek's already a bit of a no-no for any self-respecting Casanova or femme fatale, but an MMO lifted from the memoirs of Captain Kirk? Whose players recently set a Guinness World Record for the largest number of Spock-a-likes in one place? Oh dear.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>FAQfeatureheartbreakmen are from marsMenAreFromMarsrelationship adviceRelationshipAdviceround-upwomen are from venusWomenAreFromVenusEdwin2010-07-26T06:32:00 00:00Be a giant worm and EAT EVERYTHINGhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/23/be-a-giant-worm-and-eat-everything/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/23/be-a-giant-worm-and-eat-everything/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/23/be-a-giant-worm-and-eat-everything/#commentsFiled under: ,

Worm Food

Sorry about the headline, readers: Friday afternoon is the wrong time to show up expecting slick wordplay or, for that matter, words at all. To be honest, I was tempted to just publish the picture and link alone. I mean, it's a giant worm. Obviously it has to eat. What else do you need to know?

Worm Food is Nitrome's answer to the terrible realisation that there are only two days till you have to start working again. Vent nine-to-fiver rage by gulping down hordes of villagers. Arrow keys do the business.

To live life on the receiving end, try the Flash adaptation of Kevin Bacon B-movie classic Tremors.

Play Worm Food

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>actionarcadefree online gameFreeOnlineGameNitromesci-fiscience fictionScienceFictionEdwin2010-07-23T12:19:00 00:00Take a burger apart with a screwdriver (harder than it sounds)http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/23/dismantle-a-burger-with-a-screwdriver-harder-than-it-sounds/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/23/dismantle-a-burger-with-a-screwdriver-harder-than-it-sounds/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/23/dismantle-a-burger-with-a-screwdriver-harder-than-it-sounds/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Dismantlement: Burger

We've been watching the emergence of the 'dismantlement' puzzle subgenre with much unease. The idea, as you may have guessed, is to dismantle something by pointing and clicking.

In itself, this is harmless and, indeed, quite entertaining. But there seem to be no limiting criteria for what a player might be asked to dismantle. You can dismantle everything, without regard for propriety or reason.

A burger for instance. Who in their right mind would 'dismantle' a burger? You're just going to make a horrible mess. And where will this flight of fancy take us? Dismantlement: Dog's Head? Dismantlement: the United Nations?

Proceed with caution.

Play Kaitai Dismantlement: Burger

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>dismantlementfree online gameFreeOnlineGameKaitaipoint and clickPointAndClickpuzzleEdwin2010-07-23T11:39:00 00:00Why wearing a fake animal head on safari is a bad ideahttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/22/why-wearing-a-fake-animal-head-on-safari-is-a-bad-idea/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/22/why-wearing-a-fake-animal-head-on-safari-is-a-bad-idea/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/22/why-wearing-a-fake-animal-head-on-safari-is-a-bad-idea/#commentsFiled under: ,

Mascot Maul

It's a hard life, being a football team mascot. You're simultaneously an object of ridicule, worship and (when the players aren't quite pulling their weight) hatred, expected to remain upbeat and foolish-looking in the face of all misfortune.

And then one day you find yourself trying to 'put it away' against a defensive line-up composed of maddened circus animals.

Mascot Maul is, of course, an Adult Swim game. Use WASD to run and jump, booting, chesting or heading the ball towards the other end of the pitch.

Don't take too long setting up shots, or you'll be eaten. Now that's what I call motivation.

Play Mascot Maul

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Adult SwimAdultSwimfree online gameFreeOnlineGameplatformingracespoofWorld Cup 2010WorldCup2010Edwin2010-07-22T07:15:00 00:00'Hot' video: the REAL answer to sexism in videogameshttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/22/hot-video-the-real-answer-to-sexism-in-videogames/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/22/hot-video-the-real-answer-to-sexism-in-videogames/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/22/hot-video-the-real-answer-to-sexism-in-videogames/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



Persuading 'serious' male gamers that sexist imagery has no place in their hobby is an uphill struggle. Most will agree with the idea if you put it to them in public, of course, but the second they're back at their desktops, away from the cameras, those sad adolescent tendencies will kick back in.

To make the point stick, you've got to bring it closer to home. At the end of the day, all a shooter fanatic really cares about is skillz and killz. So perhaps if we could draw a direct correlation between a caveman's attitude to women and one's performance on the scoreboards...?

The video above gets it right first time. Watch out, boys and girls, it's a wee bit adult. Kudos to Team Fortress 2 players DS Slayer and Senor Cardgage for this one.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Team Fortress 2TeamFortress2Edwin2010-07-22T06:37:00 00:00Side-on zombie bopping goes a bit Cluedohttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/21/side-on-zombie-bopping-goes-a-bit-cluedo/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/21/side-on-zombie-bopping-goes-a-bit-cluedo/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/21/side-on-zombie-bopping-goes-a-bit-cluedo/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Zombies Took My Daughter

Zombies Took My Daughter is a different game each and every time you play. Well, that's not entirely true. There are recurring elements - zombies, for one, and daughters, for another. But exactly where these things stand in relation to one another is subject to change.

There's a city. It's full of screeching rotting cannibals. Daddy's little girl is somewhere within, hanging out with the undead yoof and smoking pot and staying up late and heaven only knows what, and Daddy's none too pleased.

Move with the arrow keys, dispense parental wrath on the animate deceased with space-bar. Besides crazed survivors and the odd weapon cache, each of the city's districts contains a few clues as to your daughter's location.

Find them all, cross-reference the map screen, hit the subway, be home in time for Eastenders. Piece of cake, right?

You have 36 in-game hours. It should come as no surprise that ClueSweeper is the work of the same developer.

Play Zombies Took My Daughter

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Arcade BombArcadeBombCluedofree online gameFreeOnlineGamehorrorhybridmapNerdookpuzzleshooterzombieEdwin2010-07-21T10:32:00 00:00The joys of doodling and marbles, finally unitedhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/21/hot-phuzzler-the-joys-of-doodling-and-marbles-finally-united/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/21/hot-phuzzler-the-joys-of-doodling-and-marbles-finally-united/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/21/hot-phuzzler-the-joys-of-doodling-and-marbles-finally-united/#commentsFiled under: ,

Doodle Blast

You know, there really are only so many ways you can talk up the thrills of rolling balls into holes. By contrast, there seems to be absolutely no end of games on the subject. Let's go with 'pleasantly papery' for this one.

Doodle Blast takes the contents of the average office memo-pad and subjects them to the laws of gravity. Draw lines with the mouse to create ramps and platforms for the balls up top, then click 'start' and marvel as they all somehow wind up falling off-screen anyway.

Then do it again, but better. If the lack of colour is an issue, take Red Remover Player Pack out for a spin.

Play Doodle Blast

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>ballfree online gameFree World GroupFreeOnlineGameFreeWorldGroupphysicspuzzleEdwin2010-07-21T09:49:00 00:00Art can set you free: ruined tower escape gaminghttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/20/art-can-set-you-free-ruined-tower-escape-gaming/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/20/art-can-set-you-free-ruined-tower-escape-gaming/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/20/art-can-set-you-free-ruined-tower-escape-gaming/#commentsFiled under: ,

Imagia Part 1

Every once in a while I get the urge to disappear to some remote location and paint stuff. Usually all it takes to expunge this unwholesome desire is a short lie-down. But sometimes, more drastic action is needed. Sometimes... I have to play a free escape game.

A free escape game, that is, like Imagia Part 1: The Tower, first (obviously) in a new series whose viewing angles and fourth-wall-breaking enigmas bear comparison with Mateusz Skutnik's Submachine titles.

Coincidentally, it involves disappearing to some remote location and painting stuff. How very disturbing.

Solving the main puzzle shouldn't take you long, but there are secrets to uncover too. If you'd rather steal art than create it, try this. Cheers E4.

Play Imagia Part 1: The Tower

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>canvasCasual GameplayCasualGameplayfree online gameFreeOnlineGameImagiaJay Is GamesJayIsGamesoilspoint and clickPointAndClickEdwin2010-07-20T09:57:00 00:00What do you get when you cross a frog with a rabbit?http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/20/what-do-you-get-when-you-cross-a-frog-with-a-rabbit/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/20/what-do-you-get-when-you-cross-a-frog-with-a-rabbit/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/20/what-do-you-get-when-you-cross-a-frog-with-a-rabbit/#commentsFiled under: , , ,

Ribbit

Only Nitrome could make a game out of a terrible joke. Ribbit is odd even by the standards of the minds who gave us Cold Storage and Cave Chaos.

The game stars a frog and a rabbit, or rather the heads of a frog and a rabbit, or rather the stitched-together, rubberised heads of a frog and a rabbit - tumbling, ricocheting through purple-orange block-worlds in pursuit of the scientist (mad, of course) who deprived them of their bodies.

Players control the precious pair with the arrow keys. You can make them bounce higher by alternating which head you land on, but watch out - the harder they bounce, the harder they are to control.

Play Ribbit

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>NitromephysicsplatformingweirdEdwin2010-07-20T09:16:00 00:00Five games to play with your kidshttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/19/five-games-you-can-play-with-your-kids/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/19/five-games-you-can-play-with-your-kids/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/19/five-games-you-can-play-with-your-kids/#commentsFiled under: , ,



Have a look at this picture. That's what Nintendo would have you believe lurks behind every Wii-owning household's door: a well-scrubbed nuclear utopia, open to all regardless of age, sex or taste. It's a sickeningly sweet-toothed slice of PR fancy, and it is, of course, completely without basis in reality. Or is it?

Increasingly, kids and adults are getting their game on together. Partly that's because modern manufacturers and publishers have their hearts set on a broader audience, but it's also because those who cut their milk teeth on early consoles like the Commodore 64 are now full-fledged, wage-earning parents, quite happy to play a spot of Deathmatch with the wee ones before the school bus arrives.

But what if you're not one of these privileged gamer-cum-community-pillars? What if you frittered away your youth climbing trees, listening to the Archers, making wicker-baskets and getting an education? Are you doomed to look on in despairing confusion whenever the smelly brat takes up a controller?

Fear not. There are titles out there that both older greenhorns and their skilled offspring can enjoy. Here are five to get you going.

(Article picture courtesy of the Telegraph.)
Super Mario Galaxy

Super Mario Galaxy or its sequel are good places to start, because there's absolutely no risk of treading on your son or daughter's toes. The game can be played by two people, but only one of 'em gets to control Mario as he journeys through the stars to rescue the ever-kidnappable Princess Peach. The other chimes in as an inessential aid, sweeping 'star bits' into Mario's coffers with the point of their Wii remote. It's a no-strings thrill.

Boom Blox

For something a bit more involved, give Boom Blox a shot. Designed with the input of Steven Spielberg, it's a sort of all-in-one coconut shy, JENGA tower, bowling game... and about a million things besides. The basic idea is to throw balls at stacks of sparkly blocks. In multiplayer, you take turns to do this, so don't worry Gramps there are regular opportunities for a nice sit-down. One of the Wii's best party experiences bar none, with a level creator waiting in the wings if you and Gramps Junior want to go properly in-depth.

LEGO Star Wars

Bumping up the pulse rate a bit, take a look at LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Indiana Jones or indeed any of the LEGO-themed videogames released in the past five years. They all have two things in common: a solid co-operative mode, with a second player able to drop in or out of the proceedings at a moment's notice, and sheer, cheesy infectiousness. There's a touch of combat, but it's completely bloodless, and the puzzles are generally of the simple door-and-switch variety. Besides the joys of romping around with the youngsters, there's the pleasure to be derived from exploring plastic-ified, tongue-in-cheek versions of classic and not-so-classic (cough Harry Potter cough) movie sets.

LittleBigPlanet

LittleBigPlanet, a PS3 platform game with more bells and whistles than the London Philharmonic, also goes big on sets, though in this case the raw materials extend to foam, rubber, wood, cardboard, sequins and just about anything you could dig out of an art teacher's cupboard. The platforming is thoroughly 'old school' - you start on the left and make your way to the right, jumping over anything hazardous in between - and while the controls are a little more complicated than those of Mario, the ethos is just as light-hearted.

Halo 3

Of course, if the apple of your eye is male and adolescent, chances are the foregoing titles will be a bit too light on bullets, biceps and liberally sprayed brain matter for his tastes. Shooters are a difficult proposition, with no real 'entry-level' specimens on offer, but if you must go duck-hunting with the little tyke try Halo 3, which supports split-screen co-operative play, lacks gore and swearing, and is comparatively (note, comparatively) slow-paced. If you can find them on Ebay and own a PS2, Gamecube or Xbox, the old Timesplitters titles are more forgiving.

Which games do you play with your children, readers?

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>consolefamily friendlyFamilyFriendlymainstreamPlayStation 3Playstation3responsible parentingResponsibleParentingWiiXbox 360Xbox360Edwin2010-07-19T06:01:00 00:00Are you Man Enough to play four games at once?http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/14/are-you-man-enough-to-play-four-games-at-once/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/14/are-you-man-enough-to-play-four-games-at-once/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/14/are-you-man-enough-to-play-four-games-at-once/#commentsFiled under:



I like to think I'm a good multi-tasker. I can listen to music while typing things, and hold two different conversations at once on MSN. But these instances of lateral thought pale to nothing alongside the workload of Man Enough.

Tell me, how do you feel about seducing your bro, riding a horse, climbing ladders and fighting off alien assault simultaneously? Watch the vid for a taster, then go ahead and take the plunge.

She's around 20 MB in size, and free as the internet itself. Brought to you care of the No More Sweden compo and IndieGames.

Download Man Enough

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>arcadecomedydate simulationDateSimulationdownloadfreewareplatformingretrosplit personalitySplitPersonalityEdwin2010-07-14T08:33:00 00:00Build your own platforming hero, pixel by pixelhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/14/build-your-own-platforming-hero-pixel-by-pixel/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/14/build-your-own-platforming-hero-pixel-by-pixel/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/14/build-your-own-platforming-hero-pixel-by-pixel/#commentsFiled under: ,

PixEvo

PixEvo is a plaformer about pixels. Rather boring that, on the face of it - but don't forget, pixels are the building blocks of everything you see on this screen.

There's no limit to the exciting entities one might craft with these infinitely combinable objects - squares, squares with legs, squares with arms and legs, squares with arms, legs and wings...

The world, as they say, is your oyster. Providing you can find enough pixels to create one.

Play PixEvo

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>AtaricustomisationKongregateNewgroundsplatformerplatformingretroEdwin2010-07-14T07:39:00 00:00Awaken sleeping suns with the power of ricochethttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/14/awaken-sleeping-suns-with-the-power-of-ricochet/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/14/awaken-sleeping-suns-with-the-power-of-ricochet/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/14/awaken-sleeping-suns-with-the-power-of-ricochet/#commentsFiled under: ,

Rise N Shine

Stars, as everyone knows, are lazy little sods. Give them so much as a moment of peace and quiet and they'll fall fast asleep, plunging entire regions of space into darkness. Thus the premise of Coolbuddy's Rise 'n' Shine.

Fortunately, awakening a star is as easy as grabbing it by the scruff of the corona and throwing it around. Only yellow stars can be treated this way, however - to rouse their multi-coloured brethren, you'll need to call on your snooker skills.

Point, drag and release. It's not quite as clever as Wake the Royalty and Wake the Box.

Play Rise 'n' Shine

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>astronomyconstellationsCool BuddyCoolBuddyfree online gameFreeOnlineGamephysics gamePhysicsGamespaceEdwin2010-07-14T06:54:00 00:00Hot video: Street Fighter, the high school musicalhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/13/hot-video-street-fighter-the-high-school-musical/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/13/hot-video-street-fighter-the-high-school-musical/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/13/hot-video-street-fighter-the-high-school-musical/#commentsFiled under: , ,



'Would you fight me? I'd fight me.' In other news: 8-bit mascots flatten the Big Apple, and drink-driving becomes a videogame.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>BlankaCapcomChun-LiDanKenM. BIsonM.BisonretroRyusatirespoofvideoEdwin2010-07-13T06:18:00 00:00The most relaxing game in the whole wide worldhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/13/the-most-relaxing-game-in-the-whole-wide-world/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/13/the-most-relaxing-game-in-the-whole-wide-world/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/13/the-most-relaxing-game-in-the-whole-wide-world/#commentsFiled under: ,

pOnd

Ahj das beter. Cmptly reaxd. Oh, sorry reader, didn't see you there. Why am I typing in gibberish, you ask? Because I'm too relaxed to bend my typing fingers. Mzng.

I've been playing pOnd, and it's very relaxing. So relaxing you'll want to close the office door, plug in some headphones and tilt your chair back. Go on. Let its one-button respiratory serenity seep into your bloodstream.

Playing to the end is vital. Otherwise you might think this is rubbish.

Play pOnd

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>artChillOutfree online gameFreeOnlineGamelow blood pressureLowBloodPressurePeanut GalleryPeanutGalleryrelaxationYogaZenEdwin2010-07-13T05:26:00 00:00Late night detectives needed - murder mystery awaitshttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/12/late-night-detectives-needed-theres-a-murder-mystery-to-solve/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/12/late-night-detectives-needed-theres-a-murder-mystery-to-solve/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/12/late-night-detectives-needed-theres-a-murder-mystery-to-solve/#commentsFiled under: ,

Murder in Hotel

This just in: man killed to death in hotel, police stumped, crime scene rife with combinable objects. You're going to do something about all that, right?

Play Murder in Hotel

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>adventurecluedoescapeforensicsfree online gameFree World GroupFreeOnlineGameFreeWorldGroupmurdererpuzzleroomEdwin2010-07-12T19:13:00 00:00Coma - imprisoned within your own imaginationhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/12/coma-imprisoned-within-your-own-imagination/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/12/coma-imprisoned-within-your-own-imagination/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/12/coma-imprisoned-within-your-own-imagination/#commentsFiled under: ,

Coma

There are a lot of games about scuttling over, under and between the contours of one's own psyche. This may say something about games as a medium, or it may say something about the people who make them. Discuss.

But first, give Coma a shot. From the wistful, windblown score through the artfully botched English to the art design's gentle blending of the picturesque and the macabre, this is a prince among platformers.

As with all good things, the finish is bittersweet. And if you happen on a poncier phrase than that tonight, I'll eat my wannabe poetry reviewer's bowtie. See also: Colour My World and Time Cfuk.

Play Coma

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Armor GamesArmorGamesarthouseindependentindieplatformingThomas BrushThomasBrushtragedyEdwin2010-07-12T18:45:00 00:00If Tarzan were a spaceship, he'd be this iPhone gamehttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/12/if-tarzan-were-a-spaceship-hed-be-this-iphone-game/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/12/if-tarzan-were-a-spaceship-hed-be-this-iphone-game/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/12/if-tarzan-were-a-spaceship-hed-be-this-iphone-game/#commentsFiled under: , ,

iHook

Well this is an interesting one. InterLine Media's iHook lassos a familiar formula - the top-down spaceship exploration game - and swings it into bold new (cheap) territory.

Boasting five sci-fi settings divvied up into 20 areas, the game stars a rescue pod with a powerful rocket but no steering wheel. Fortunately, you can guide the thing using a pair of futuristic grapple hooks - tap a green grapple point to latch on, then tap again to release when you're heading in the right direction.

As gleefully gimmicky as you'd expect from a 59p app, but rather more substantial than the norm. Here's a trailer.

Play iHook

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>ApplearcadeInterLine MediaInterlineMediaiPhoneiPod TouchIpodTouchiTunesscience fictionScienceFictionspaceTop Evidence StudioTopEvidenceStudioEdwin2010-07-12T12:22:00 00:00'Run Jesus, Run!' or, the 10 second Gospelhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/12/run-jesus-run-or-the-10-second-gospel/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/12/run-jesus-run-or-the-10-second-gospel/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/12/run-jesus-run-or-the-10-second-gospel/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

Run Jesus, Run!

Ever wish the Gospels had more, well, zap to them? Consider this interactive version. It's amazing what you can do in 10 seconds - walk on water, heal the blind, get tempted by Satan.

Just make sure those arrow keys are well-greased. This certainly isn't the first game Mr Christ has starred in...

Play Run Jesus, Run!

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Christianitycontroversyfree online gameFreeOnlineGamelampoonNewgroundsreligionsatirespoofEdwin2010-07-12T11:38:00 00:00A Flash game pick-me-up to cure your World Cup hangoverhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/12/a-flash-game-pick-me-up-to-cure-your-world-cup-hangover/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/12/a-flash-game-pick-me-up-to-cure-your-world-cup-hangover/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/12/a-flash-game-pick-me-up-to-cure-your-world-cup-hangover/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



Fans of tiddlywinks, it's now safe to leave the cellar. The great blast wave that was World Cup 2010 has rolled on, leaving in its wake permanent hearing loss, a wrecked English 'golden generation' and a nasty taste in the mouth of referee Howard Webb.

Put those bad memories behind you, readers, with our latest sports game round-up, this one devoted to all the gentlemanly/ladylike pursuits so often left to swelter in football's enormous shadow.

The descriptions are reliably unreliable, the linked Flash games reliably addictive. It might be 'all over', but there are plenty more fish in the sea.

(Thanks to the Associated Press for the pic.)
Tennis

A sport first created by beekeepers as a means of helping especially fat and unwieldy bumble bees over low walls, and officially One of Those Things Britain Invented But Can't Win At Because Of Post-Colonial Karma. Only played by fit women or emaciated, pasty men.

Golf

Commonly practised by dodgy big businessmen in movies in order to show how ruthless and/or manly they are, or to make nasty repartee with other, less ruthless and/or manly businessmen shortly before having them killed. Your best bet is to smack one of his bodyguards with the follow-through, then make a break for the sand-traps.

Snooker

A game in which two allegedly full-grown adults try to impale coloured balls with pointy sticks. Seldom actually played to completion - they never seem to sharpen their cues enough between shots, and keep accidentally knocking balls into the holes around the table.

Volleyball

Sport created to give the cast of Baywatch something to do besides running out of the surf in slow motion. Originally called 'voleball' and played using small terrified rodents; large spherical leather balls were introduced after janitors complained of bloodstains on stadium walls.

Baseball

American recreation par excellence, being the only thing that gets more airtime 'over there' than Burger King adverts. Essentially a game of lap-racing, but some childish soul always ruins things by hurling a ball around. Players thus often bear large wooden sticks for purposes of self-defence.

Cricket

The English version of baseball, notable for not being nearly as sexy. Perhaps if we chewed more tobacco and ate more hotdogs... The Australians are very good at this, again for reasons of Post-Colonial Karma.

Ping Pong

Tennis for those who don't like running about so much.

Boxing

Made credible by the realisation that it's OK to knock somebody's brain loose of its moorings providing you're wearing gloves. Responsible for giving Sylvester Stallone an acting career, thus depriving the world of its one and only human sink plunger.

Roshambo

Unspeakably violent sport, banned in many regions, involving the abuse of stationary. Not to be confused with the South Park game of the same name.

War

The first and best sport, nowadays played by teams of a million or more on pitches thousands of miles wide. Very popular in northern France, the Pacific Ocean and the Mediterranean during the early twentieth century. The USA plays this a lot nowadays. The Romans were world champions for a while.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>2010free online gameFreeOnlineGameround-upSouth AfricaSouthAfricathey think its all overTheyThinkItsAllOvertop 10Top10World CupWorldCupEdwin2010-07-12T06:06:00 00:00Have you got the head for stunt diving? Take a diphttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/09/have-you-got-the-head-for-stunt-diving-take-a-dip/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/09/have-you-got-the-head-for-stunt-diving-take-a-dip/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/09/have-you-got-the-head-for-stunt-diving-take-a-dip/#commentsFiled under: ,

Stunt Dive

People like to talk up the grace and artistry of stunt-diving, but you know what? I'm not buying it. There's nothing superhuman about bouncing off a plank into a swimming pool.

Miniclip's Stunt Dive would have you believe otherwise. It's jam-packed with clever-sounding jargon like 'knee tuck' and 'three-quarter sideways spin'. Fakers.

Hit the space bar once to start your run and again to leap, then do elegant things with the arrow keys in the few seconds between lift-off and touchdown.

Play Stunt Dive

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>diverfree online gameFreeOnlineGameMiniclipprecisionsportwatersportsEdwin2010-07-09T05:50:00 00:00Sick of football simulators yet? Try playing on a hard courthttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/09/sick-of-football-yet-try-playing-on-a-hard-court/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/09/sick-of-football-yet-try-playing-on-a-hard-court/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/09/sick-of-football-yet-try-playing-on-a-hard-court/#commentsFiled under: ,



The ratio of football games to water molecules is now 1:4 and rising. Pretty soon there will be more footie Flashers out there than there are missed opportunities for sex in the Twilight films. Serious business. Good thing the World Cup's over on Sunday.

Miniclip has supplied us with another meaty 3D match simulator, notable for its lukewarm 'street' vibe and for the way the players run like they've just taken a bevy of tetanus jabs to each bicep.

Move, shoot, pass and tackle with arrow keys, Z, X and C. Scoring is trickier than it usually is in this kind of game - those crosses never quite come off.

Play Soccer Five

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>footballfree online gameFreeOnlineGamekeyboardMiniclipSouth AfricaSouthAfricaurbanWorld Cup 2010WorldCup2010Edwin2010-07-09T05:27:00 00:00Get your bourgeois boheme on in Wine Ponghttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/09/get-your-bourgeois-boheme-on-in-wine-pong/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/09/get-your-bourgeois-boheme-on-in-wine-pong/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/09/get-your-bourgeois-boheme-on-in-wine-pong/#comments

Dahling, dahling! Fabulous to see you (mmwa mmwa). How are Sidney and the Chumington Club? I know, it's been simpleh ages since I stopped by - I've been at my absolute wit's end with all these planning permissions for the fourth swimming pool. The one full of champagne and dolphins, yes.

Have you got time for a quick game of Wine Pong? Oh, do. I'd play with Woofsy, but he's awf having his nails painted. Eggshell blue is such a wonderful shade for an Alsatian. Look, the glasses are already on the table.

Play Wine Pong

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Adult SwimAdultSwimaimingarcadeballelegancefashionprecisionsatiresocietyspoofEdwin2010-07-09T05:00:00 00:00Retro cartography - the 8-bit map of Londonhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/08/retro-cartography-the-8-bit-map-of-london/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/08/retro-cartography-the-8-bit-map-of-london/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/08/retro-cartography-the-8-bit-map-of-london/#comments

Oh internet, when will we learn to rise above your heathen wiles. Time and again you lure us away from our gainful labours with some random wisp of eye-catching tat.

Take this 8-bit recreation of the City of London, for instance. It has brought nothing to our lives, and will bring nothing to yours. But that won't stop you clicking the link, now, will it?

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>1980s8-bit Cities8-bitCitiesBrett CamperBrettCampercoolpictureEdwin2010-07-08T11:27:00 00:00Hot video: Super Mario Bros - just another brick in The Wallhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/08/hot-video-marios-just-another-brick-in-the-wall/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/08/hot-video-marios-just-another-brick-in-the-wall/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/08/hot-video-marios-just-another-brick-in-the-wall/#commentsFiled under: ,



We don't need no education... but screwy reimaginings of classic videogames through the lens of indie film? Absolutely essential. Here's footage of a certain plumber hitting the streets.

Super Mario Bros. from Surfap on Vimeo.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>cinemafilmindependentLuigiMariomovieNintendoplatformerplatformingSuper Mario BrosSuperMarioBrosEdwin2010-07-08T10:02:00 00:00Do videogames and TV cause ADHD in children?http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/08/do-videogames-and-tv-cause-adhd-in-children/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/08/do-videogames-and-tv-cause-adhd-in-children/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/08/do-videogames-and-tv-cause-adhd-in-children/#comments

We've got something to tell you, but we can't remember what it is. Something to do with... wait, what's that out the window? A bus? Hey, who left this computer here? I prefer cheese and pickle, me. Sorry - you were saying?

As readers of the Metro may have noticed, it's bash-the-entertainment-industry time again. According to a survey of over 1,300 US school children by Iowa State University, published in the journal Pediatrics, kids who spend more than two hours watching a screen per day are 67% more likely to exceed the average level of attention problems.Leading researcher Professor Douglas Gentile commented to the Metro (via Eurogamer): 'If we train the brain to require constant stimulation and constant flickering lights, changes in sound and camera angle... then, when the child lands in the classroom where the teacher doesn't have a million-dollar-per-episode budget, it may be hard to get children to sustain their attention.'

The study has yet to obtain conclusive proof that excessive gaming and telly-watching can spark the onset of ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), but, Gentile told the paper, 'ADHD is a medical condition but it's a brain condition. We know that the brain adapts and changes based on the environmental stimuli to which it is exposed.

'It is not unreasonable to believe environmental stimuli can increase the risk for ADHD in the same way cigarettes can increase the risk of cancer.'

Speaking to FOX News, he did however admit that 'no one thing causes our behavior. It's a combination of all the pushes and pulls that we get - the media is just one variable.'

FOX also reports that Miriam Mulsow, an 'expert in ADHD', does not think TV or video games cause attention problems or ADHD, though she concedes that it may be a contributing factor.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorderAttention-deficitHyperactivityDisordercontroversyIowa State UniversityIowaStateUniversitynewsNorth AmericaNorthAmericaresearchscienceUNiversity of IowaUniversityOfIowaUSAEdwin2010-07-08T07:25:00 00:00If TV makes us zombies, what happens when zombies make TV?http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/07/if-tv-makes-us-zombies-what-happens-when-zombies-make-tv/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/07/if-tv-makes-us-zombies-what-happens-when-zombies-make-tv/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/07/if-tv-makes-us-zombies-what-happens-when-zombies-make-tv/#commentsFiled under: , , , ,

ZOM-TV

It's been a long day - let's see what's on the box. Hmm, zombies. How about Channel 2? Hmm, zombies again. And Channel 3? Abundant in dead people. I'm detecting a trend here...

ZOM-TV is a mini-game compilation masquerading as a broadband TV package. Hit the Relaxation Channel for some decidedly unrelaxing messages, or flip to ANN and a few explosive wave-defence thrills.

The only thing missing is that monthly fee. And a pulse.

Play ZOM-TV

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>all-in-oneArmor GamesArmorGamescartooncomedyhorrormash-upzombieEdwin2010-07-07T15:05:00 00:00New robot firefighting sim raises our temperatureshttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/07/new-robot-firefighting-sim-raises-our-temperatures/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/07/new-robot-firefighting-sim-raises-our-temperatures/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/07/new-robot-firefighting-sim-raises-our-temperatures/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Inferno

Not every fireman is buff, tough and camp as a tentpole - some are short and metallic, with built-in water tanks. Find out what you've been missing, ladies, in Bored.com's Inferno.

It's a robot platformer in which players put out fires before they swallow everything up. Move with WASD, aim and loose a jet of honest-to-goodness H2O with the mouse.

You can only carry so much water at once. Buy tank expansions between levels, and look out for impromptu sources of the stuff (like toilets) in the heat of the moment.

Pro tip: Roman candles, oil barrels and naked flames = not a good mix.

Play Inferno

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Bored.comCelsiusFahrenheitfree online gameFreeOnlineGamehouse fireHouseFireplatformingEdwin2010-07-07T14:38:00 00:00Mess with the geography in this free iPhone puzzlerhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/07/mess-with-the-geography-in-this-free-iphone-puzzler/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/07/mess-with-the-geography-in-this-free-iphone-puzzler/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/07/mess-with-the-geography-in-this-free-iphone-puzzler/#commentsFiled under: ,

Landformer

Why spend the bus ride to work tomorrow checking out bums and profiles when you could spend it raising and filling land? OK, let me rephrase that.

LandFormer is a board puzzle package divvied up into five by five squares of picturesque arable terrain. The idea is to raise/lower each square to ground level, but you can only manipulate preset patterns rather than individual squares. There's also a move limit. Trailer here.

The free iTunes download nets you all the beginner levels plus a level editor, with higher skill varieties available for purchase in-game. Go on. You can always bum-watch while it loads.

Play LandFormer

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>geographyiPhoneiPod TouchIpodTouchpuzzleStreaming Colour StudiosStreamingColourStudiosEdwin2010-07-07T13:44:00 00:00Fast, furious, full-on, frenzied spaceship blastinghttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/07/fast-furious-full-on-frenzied-spaceship-blasting/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/07/fast-furious-full-on-frenzied-spaceship-blasting/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/07/fast-furious-full-on-frenzied-spaceship-blasting/#commentsFiled under: , ,

2099

2099 is the side-scrolling shoot 'em up Michael Bay never got to make. The bullets are numerous, the bangs are huge and manly, the missiles go neeeeow... it's everything a red-blooded Transformers fan could ask for, the absence of Megan Fox aside.

Everything gets a bit blurry at times, but that's the price we pay for a greased-lightning frame rate. If you prefer submarines to spacecraft, try this.

Play 2099

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>2DFree World GroupFreeWorldGroupold schoolOldSchoolretroshooterside-onEdwin2010-07-07T05:01:00 00:00String up the shapes to keep 'em out of the lavahttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/07/save-the-shapes-from-the-lava/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/07/save-the-shapes-from-the-lava/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/07/save-the-shapes-from-the-lava/#commentsFiled under: ,

FWG Stringer

Look - if you were dangling over a lava floe, and some passing 2D shape was in a position to attach ropes to your ankles and spare you a fiery death, we're sure it would do so.

Love thy neighbour, etc. For more physics puzzling, try Perfect Balance 3.

Play FWG Stringer

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Free World GroupFreeWorldGroupphysics gamePhysicsGamepuzzleshapevolcanoEdwin2010-07-07T04:25:00 00:00How many ways can you help a stickman skip jail?http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/06/how-many-ways-can-you-help-a-stickman-skip-jail/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/06/how-many-ways-can-you-help-a-stickman-skip-jail/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/06/how-many-ways-can-you-help-a-stickman-skip-jail/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Escaping the Prison

Escape games seldom have a sense of humour, and even when they do it's seldom worth a giggle. Stickman's Escaping the Prison is an exception to both rules. Just about.

There's a whole bunch of different endings. It won't take you long to uncover them all. See also: Johnny Rocketfingers.

Play Escaping the Prison

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>adventurecomedyfree online gameFreeOnlineGamemultiple choiceMultipleChoicepoint and clickPointAndClickroom escapeRoomEscapeStickpageEdwin2010-07-06T07:20:00 00:00Unravel the mysteries of Loominghttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/06/unravel-the-mysteries-of-looming/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/06/unravel-the-mysteries-of-looming/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/06/unravel-the-mysteries-of-looming/#comments

If there's one thing the videogame can offer that a film, book, poem or painting can't, it's the thrill of exploring new worlds. Many a CGi-laden flick or purple-prosy novel will tell you that they'll 'take you to another planet', but this is so much figurative fluff.

Only in a game can you consciously tread an alien soil, interact with the wildlife, fill in the blank patches on the map and (as it were) complain about the price of a hotel room. For some, this experience is more important than the mechanical processes - puzzle-solving, combat and so forth - that, per the conventional wisdom, give it a 'point'.

Looming is a game for the latter kind of player. Created by Gregory Weir (him what did How to Raise a Dragon) it casts the player as an everyman pioneer, 'January', plumbing the mysteries and histories of a depopulated realm.

There's no fighting, jumping or building, no fauna save a few creatures that might be birds. Weird structures and machinery protrude from the earth. What happened here? Explore, gather data, and report back to your correspondent 'September'.

(According to Weir himself: 'It's at least partly an exercise in storytelling after the fact: storytelling by use of clues, letters, and remnants rather than events.')

Play Looming

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>arthousebrowserfree online gameFreeOnlineGamehistoryindependentindieinteractive fictionInteractiveFictionNewgroundsEdwin2010-07-06T06:15:00 00:00A game about blindness (vision required to play)http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/06/a-game-about-blindness-vision-required-to-play/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/06/a-game-about-blindness-vision-required-to-play/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/06/a-game-about-blindness-vision-required-to-play/#commentsFiled under: ,

Blind

Is AGame's high concept platformer Blind a sensitive exploration of a very debilitating condition or a mere coining of that condition for entertainment purposes? We can't make our minds up. Can you?

Players take charge of a blind man, sculpted in eerie strokes of chalk white. Somebody somewhere is crying out for help. Obviously, finding them will be no easy task.

The man regularly emits a sound wave, again rendered in white, that provides some hint as to his immediate surroundings. He also has a ball, which he can throw ahead of himself to reveal things like sudden drops.

Use the arrow keys to move.

Play Blind

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>AGameartfree online gameFreeOnlineGamemedicineoptic nerveOpticNervephysiologyplatformingpuzzleEdwin2010-07-06T05:16:00 00:00Now can you buy FarmVille produce in reality (world to end soon)http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/05/now-can-you-buy-farmville-produce-in-reality-world-to-end-soon/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/05/now-can-you-buy-farmville-produce-in-reality-world-to-end-soon/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/05/now-can-you-buy-farmville-produce-in-reality-world-to-end-soon/#commentsFiled under: ,

FarmVille groceries?

As prophesied by FarmVille Freak (and tapped by Kotaku), global retail chain 7-Eleven has begun stocking real-life versions of items from Facebook's best-known muck-and-silage management fest. That's right, now you can actually, genuinely purchase, take home and, if it so pleases you, eat stuff like Persimmon Trees and Neapolitan Cows. In some form, anyway.

One of Gizmodo's readers has snapped a pic of the goods in the wild. (How come you never snap pics of anything in the wild, Flytrappers? Lazy oiks.)

Of course, many will see this as part of a disturbing trend, social networking culture tightening its grip on humble reality, but don't worry Unnerved of Tunbridge Wells, there are no 7-Eleven stores in the UK. Yet.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>7-Elevenbrandingbusinesscross-promotionFacebookFarmVillenewsNorth AmericaNorthAmericaretailshoppingUSAEdwin2010-07-05T18:02:00 00:00Point and click insanity - another Minoto puzzlerhttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/05/minoto-makes-another-game-continues-to-defy-description/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/05/minoto-makes-another-game-continues-to-defy-description/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/05/minoto-makes-another-game-continues-to-defy-description/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Football Association 2

Here, have this crowbar. Now, lever off the top of your head. Take your brain out, and put it in a jar of crushed ice with a slice of fresh lemon.

Then come back here and find out what the Leaning Tower of Pisa has to do with adhesive tape, and how this could help you win a court case.

Play Football Association 2

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>adventureescapefree online gameFreeOnlineGameJapanJapaneseMinotopoint and clickPointAndClickpuzzleEdwin2010-07-05T17:19:00 00:00Twilight Eclipse in 8-bit videogame formathttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/05/the-twilight-saga-in-8-bit-videogame-format/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/05/the-twilight-saga-in-8-bit-videogame-format/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/05/the-twilight-saga-in-8-bit-videogame-format/#commentsFiled under: , , ,



Teenage girls of all ages, I am about to explode the contents of your mind. Allow me to present Twilight Eclipse... the videogame... for 8-bit consoles... on Youtube. Got all that? You may now 'WTF' and/or 'OMG'.

Take the reins of Bella's heart as she wavers between the dark, dashing Edward and the mysterious, smouldering Jacob. Or possibly the mysterious, smouldering Edward and the dark, dashing Jacob.

One of them has to be very careful when he brushes his teeth, the other sometimes wakes up wearing a collar. Who's the man for you?

It's an interactive movie. Click the panels to play.

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>clipfree online gameFreeOnlineGamehomageinteractive filmInteractiveFilmKristen StewartKristenStewartmultiple choiceMultipleChoiceRobert PattinsonRobertPattinsonYoutubeEdwin2010-07-05T16:57:00 00:00Four wheels good, two legs bad - the automobile uprising beginshttp://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/02/four-wheels-good-two-legs-bad-the-automobile-uprising-begins/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/02/four-wheels-good-two-legs-bad-the-automobile-uprising-begins/http://www.flytrapgames.com/2010/07/02/four-wheels-good-two-legs-bad-the-automobile-uprising-begins/#commentsFiled under: , ,

Pipol Smasher

I loathe cars. It's the smell - the invasive, fusty odour of dashboard plastic and seat cushion. Smells like malevolence, if you ask me. Hold on, didn't Stephen King once make a film about a murderous Plymouth Fury?

Bubblebox's new puzzler Pipol Smasher is yet more evidence for theory that, deep in its carburetor of carburetors, every car means to destroy us all.

Each level contains a car or two and a number of hapless pedestrians. Click a car to start its engine, and click again to stop it once everything organic is roadkill. Don't worry, there's no blood.

Play Pipol Smasher

 

Permalink | Email this | Comments

]]>Bubbleboxcarfree online gameFreeOnlineGamepuzzleEdwin2010-07-02T10:08:00 00:00