FantabulousFlashFun

Music Catch

2008-07-04T18:07:00.010+12:00

In Music catch, you control a bat (for lack of a better name?) and you must catch shapes to get points. As the shapes get further from the line they spout from, they get smaller and turn blue and possibly are worth less points. Also as the music gets more intense, the shapes spouting from the line get bigger. Yellow shapes increase the size of the bat and also the points modifier, and red shapes do the opposite. Then there are also delicious purple power-ups which suck everything good into your bat.

It's an incredibly simple game, but is artfully made, really intuitive and has really nice simple piano music. I found it really relaxing and immersive to play, and I imagine it would be a great way to relax after a stressful day. I reckon this is one of the best flash games I've ever played and would definitely encourage you to check it out.

Kongregate > Nonoba

2008-05-21T17:25:00.005+12:00

I just recently stumbled upon this games site called Nonoba. I had a look around, seemed like quite a cool site, but I couldn't help thinking that I'd seen something like it before. It turns out I had: in the form Kongregate. To me, the two sites look exactly the same. Both offer flash games and a community. When you play games at these sites a fun little chat box is attached on the right hand side, and you can do achievements in the games. The only difference between the two seems to be that Kongregate was started in 2006 and Nonoba seems to have been started in 2007. I wonder who copied whom? It might just be the Kongregate fanboy inside me speaking, but I have little respect for a website blatantly plagiarising an idea. Whereas The Casual Collective had something new to offer, but as far as I can see, Nonoba doesn't. Leave a comment and tell me what you think.

The Casual Collective

2008-04-05T11:11:00.003+13:00

The Casual Collective is a fantastic "Social gaming & Casual networking" site where you can meet your friends, socialize, and play some pretty wicked games. Not just any games can be played on this website however, the long awaited Multi Player Desktop Tower Defense (MPDTD), Desktop Armada, Flash Element 1 and 2 and a game called Buggle. I hadn't played most of these games before, and I was in for a very nice surprise. The site also has a chat room, a radio station, a forum and generally just a whole lot of good social features. Although all the games are free, you do need to pay to unlock all the features and modes of the games. It's pretty cheap however, with a full year subscription only $20. Anyway, you should definitely check out this site, and while you're there register and add 'Feltpants' as a friend.

SHIFT

2008-02-03T18:44:00.004+13:00

SHIFT is a nifty little puzzle/platform game with a twist. In SHIFT you must complete each level by making your way to the exit, sometimes picking up keys along the way to make little trapdoors move. However you soon encounter a level which you can't complete just by jumping and running, and that's where the game starts to get a little crazy. By pressing shift you can invert the level, white becomes black and vice versa, and the once impossible challenge is transformed into something quite possible.

By introducing this cool game dynamic the game immediately set itself out from the crowd and caught my attention. The music is OK, and the graphics are functional but not pretty. It's quite a simple game, but that's not always a bad thing. Overall though, SHIFT is a challenging, (but not overly frustrating) fun to play platform game with a great little quirk.

Chain Factor Beta

2007-12-08T23:24:00.000+13:00

'Chain Factor' feels like a mixture between Tetris and connect four where you must arrange numbered discs into rows and columns. When the numbers shown on the discs correspond to the size of the row or column it sits in, the tile disappears. For instance, if a tile shows a '4', then when there are four discs sitting in a horizontal or vertical line, the '4' disc(s) will disappear. The discs are numbered from 1 to 7, with a few grey unnumbered ones chucked in there to mix things up. Each time a numbered disc is destroyed next to a grey disc, it is weakened and after two discs have been destroyed next to it, it becomes a numbered disc. After each disc is destroyed you are awarded points, but getting chains of discs disappearing when they fall and set each other off is where the real points are. To begin with I played basic mode, but I soon delved into 'Power' and 'Survival'. Each mode is basically the same, with a few 'Powers' to choose from, which each do beneficial things. To activate the powers you generally must reach levels of energy, which is awarded through combos.

It's pretty easy to get the hang of, and each time I played I improved on my previous high score. Try and avoid creating large areas of grey discs and lines of '1' or '2' numbered discs, which are both hard to get rid of. Number 1 discs can be dangerous, but also very useful for dropping on top of grey discs to crack them. On first impressions, it seems luck is the main factor in getting combos and therefore lots of points (and energy, if playing in 'Power' or 'Survival' modes), but I'm sure it's possible to plan in advance once you get good. One of the things I like about this game are the ideas and motives of the people who made it. You won't find any ads on the Chain Factor website and you don't have to pay to play. This an ad free gem in a realm where almost every available surface is covered with Google ads. The site even has a different quote from a smart person on the front page everyday! I later found this in the game's FAQ, a scalding criticism of the gaming industry:

"...the creative power of games is being held hostage by the conservative forces of the marketplace. For years, the mainstream games industry has fed us a steady stream of lowest-common-denominator drivel: brightly colored mascots scampering around childish fantasy lands; hyper-violent, testosterone-soaked war simulators; vacuous, marketing-driven movie spin-offs; and the endless grind of mindless, massively-multiplayer treadmills. "

You've just gotta love those angry indie game makers ^_^; Overall, a novel, entertaining and highly addictive puzzle game made by a group who can really write an FAQ rant.

Dolphin Olympics 2

2007-12-02T22:36:00.002+13:00

In Dolphin Olympics 2, you control dolphin that can perform stupendous tricks, breath in space, and fly at speeds of over 100 meters per second. This isn't just any old dolphin. This dolphin is special (just like me ^_^;), and by controlling its amazing powers, you perform countless amazing tricks and string them together to create point scoring combos. If you land in the water nose (beak?) first, the combo continues, and therefore you can continue to perform one long chain of tricks for the allocated two minutes. As you gather speed, either by swimming through rings of stars and getting a boost, or just performing tricks, the dolphin flies higher and higher through the air and allows you to perform more tricks before once again hitting the water. Once the dolphin really gets going, it can soar into space, past the Moon, Mars, and countless other planets all the way to the 'Restaurant at the end of the Universe'. Once up in space, the dolphin can grind the stars (by corkscrewing) and get you large amounts of points while it's somehow breathing in space.

It's really fun just messing around and seeing how high you can get your dolphin to fly. Be sure to read the 'How to Play' instructions and watch the video on page four. If you get stuck trying to get to the 'Restaurant at end of the Universe', I recommended you check out this video. Overall - Dolphin Olympics 2 is a fantastic game based around a deliciously unrealistic concept.

Gimme Friction Baby

2007-11-09T16:26:00.000+13:00

To start 'Gimme Friction Baby' you fire a ball from your cannon, and then you attempt to hit the numbered ball(s) three times and reduce the number shown on the ball hit from 3->2->1->0. The eventual size of each ball when it comes to a stop is determined by how far away it is from another wall or ball. Which means if you somehow manage on your first shot to get the ball to come to rest in the middle of the playing area, it will grow into a gigantic nuisance. If you fire a ball and it bounces back over the dotted white line above the cannon, you lose. The only objective is to get the highest score possible, and I really enjoyed playing it for a good few minutes and trying to better my score.

I was constantly in awe of the great instrumental music by 'We vs. Death' which played on infinite loop throughout the game. Although somewhat repetitive, it added to the atmosphere of the game and helped me to appreciate the importance of good music. A slightly frustrating but innovative and entertaining game overall.

Chat Noir

2007-10-26T23:08:00.000+13:00

I found Chat Noir (made by the crazy people at Gamedesign) today while stumbling and one of the things that I immediately liked about this game is how there are no instructions, and the player must learn how to play through trial and error. In Chat Noir you must stop a cat from escaping (it doesn't really matter where!) by creating a wall of dots to stop it.

At first I assumed that the best tactic was to place dots in the immediate vicinity of the cat, but then I realised that it's (probably) best to make a wall at the edge of the grid and try to keep ahead of that mischievous little critter hopping its way slowly towards your insanity. Even when I managed to trap the cat and fill in all the dots so the cat had nowhere to jump, it wasn't apparent that I'd won, the screen just faded out to white, but I'll just presume that's the end. Overall - a fun concept, nice art, intuitive game play and overall a really fun little game - for a few entertaining minutes at least.

Fold

2007-10-18T16:41:00.000+13:00

In Fold you use gravity "anomaly's" to reach areas you could not otherwise get to. The anomaly's change the direction of gravity so you can stand on a vertical wall like it's the ground. In 'easy' you brave high cliffs, high falls, and rotating saw blades to reach the exit portal thingy. In 'uneasy' mode however you have to maneuver through mazes of rotating saw blades that move around and negotiate heights. I don't even want to know what sort of horror is contained in double uneasy, but I'm sure it isn't pretty.

All considered - a great twist on the sometimes monotonous platform game genre.

Spot the difference

2007-10-05T16:48:00.000+13:00

I haven't come across many of these games, and when I do, they usually aren't too hot. This spot the difference game by Ivoryboy is different. He combines his wild sense of imagination with his great art style to create an entertaining and beautiful puzzle. Like all point and click games it can be a bit frustrating at times, but if you persevere it's well worth the effort. It was fun finishing all 15 puzzles and admiring the various ways the Ivoryboy hid the number of differences left to find. So stick in there and enjoy the ride.

POOM!

2007-10-02T09:57:00.001+13:00

POOM! is a game where you bounce a ball off a changing grid of squares. The only way to tell where the ball is going to land is to see where the shadow is on the squares. This leads to a horrible period of learning where you get used to looking where the shadow is, but you quickly gets used to it. There are different types of squares that do different things, some make the ball bouce higher, make the ball bounce lower, or are worth points etc. There are a wide variety of different squares and the fun of the game is finding out what they do.

This game can be extremely frustrating, but very entertaining once you brave the steep learning curve.

Bugs

2007-09-26T19:30:00.000+12:00

A very simple little game from the treasure trove of little games at Orsinal. In Bugs, you control a little girl who blows bubbles to make the ladybugs fly away which are wandering across the screen. The longer you hold down left-click the bigger the bubble becomes and the more bugs you can make fly away. However, if a bug hits the bubble you lose a life. Regain lives by scaring popping a bubble over a white ladybug and collecting the jewel. Nice music, fun distraction.

Desktop Tower Defense 1.5

2007-09-09T20:01:00.000+12:00

Desktop Tower Defense is one of the best tower defence games out there. Most tower defence games involve placing towers in a set area to kill monsters which move through a maze, but this game is different. The basic concept is the same, but instead of having a limited area to place your towers in, you are free of restrictions and therefore you must create the maze the monsters have to traverse by forcing them to weave through a gauntlet of your towers blocking their way.

This difference provides an interesting challenge and makes it a stand out among the numerous competitors. You must decide whether it is best to create a massive maze of cheap towers and upgrade them only a little, or to create a small maze with well upgraded towers. One thing that confused me initially was squirt towers. The tool tip claims the tower upgrades to become "very damaging", which was weird as it seemed to me that they did less damage and cost more to upgrade than a pellet tower. I realized later on that for the tower to become "very damaging" you need upgrade it fully until it turns into a typhoon tower. I'm pretty sure those fully upgraded squirt towers are the key to getting a high score. But I'll let you figure the rest out for yourself ^_^; The website also has a great section where you can see the mazes other people have created while playing. I just can't wait until it goes multiplayer...

Samorost 2

2007-08-31T17:10:00.000+12:00

This is probably the best point and click puzzle game I've ever played. It's from the amazing people at Amanita Design. In the award winning Samorost 2, you are on a mission to get your dog back from evil aliens, and you must solve all sorts of puzzles to get him/her back. The art is amazing, the animation perfect and the music is sublime(for a change)! Although it can be very frustrating at times -like all point and click's -, it is definitely worth playing, and while you're there check out their other games. I just want to pay $6.90 and play it to the end!

Too many ninjas!

2007-08-17T23:53:00.000+12:00

Too many ninjas! is one of those fantastic 8(?) bit colour games. I'm not quite sure if its a remake of an old game or a new idea, but I love it! The aim of the game - kill all the ninjas. There are different positions that you can set your sword in to protect your sides. You seem to get more points by deflecting the shurikins back at the ninjas. The musics great - I love how it gets faster as the game progresses - and I'm amazed at what they could create with so few colours in the background. Fantastic game, a must play. My high score is 42.

Virus 2

2007-08-15T18:05:00.000+12:00

Virus 2 is a simulation of a virus taking over cells in a body. In the game you change the colour of first one tile, absorbing any tiles of that colour around it. As the area under your control increases so does the rate at which you can absorb tiles. The aim of the game is to get all the tiles on the screen to be the same colour before you reach the max attempts limit - which goes down by one each level. This is another example of one of those simple concepts which make great games. A gem in the tide of rubbish. I must warn you, this game is extremely addictive once you get the hang of it. My high score is 47892 with a fastest growth of 24.

Particles

2007-08-07T09:06:00.000+12:00

Particles is a game from Rag Doll Software where the mouse pointer is transformed into a red ball, and you must avoid the ever growing swarm of blue balls bouncing around. The longer you last, the better you score. The music is pretty good, gets you in the mood to play - at least in my experience. Its a pretty simple concept and game, but its done really well, and is very fun for a few minutes.

Indestructotank

2007-07-26T17:58:00.000+12:00

Well, as far as names go, this one is a shocker. As you may have guessed from the title, the game involves a tank, and not just any tank, an indestructible one at that. The aim of the game is to keep your tank in the air for the longest time possible, destroying helicopter and jet planes while you go. If you hit more than one aircraft before hitting the ground, it's a combo, and you gain extra experience. You use that experience to increase the frequency that the aircraft fly across the screen. Pretty neat little concept which kept me amused for a good while. Wouldn't want to play it again anytime soon though. The music is kinda annoying, but like most games, I just filter it out. Overall a nice little lightweight game worth checking out.

Boxhead more rooms

2007-07-11T10:56:00.000+12:00

This is a fabulous little zombie killing game, as you kill more of the never ending waves of zombies, you unlock more weapons and upgrade the weapons you have. Every so often a red zombie -maybe a devil- comes out and harasses you which takes a little while to kill.

I love setting up big chains of explosive barrels and making the screen turn completely white with the explosion. Another thing I did often was to leave one zombie alive, which meant I had enough time to lay claymores at the entrances to the map. Try the different difficulty levels which make the game move faster and the different maps which add a little bit of variety. Highly recommended.

Grow Cube

2007-07-09T10:26:00.001+12:00

Grow Cube had me confused at first, as I had no idea what to do, but it's one of those puzzle games which seem complicated but are actually easy to pick up. To finish Grow cube, you must, by trial and error, figure out the correct order of objects to be placed on the cube. They all interact with each other in different ways, for example: heat the pot for too long on the fire and it cracks and breaks.

I liked the style of play because there is something satisfying about learning how to play a game without help or instructions. It can get a bit repetitive trying to figure out the right order for the objects, but I got there eventually. To me though, the animation is what makes this game really stand out, those cute little men scampering around seamlessly. Simple game play based on a great idea, overall - a brilliant game.

Onslaught v2

2007-07-07T21:02:00.000+12:00

This seemingly simple game took me unawares and sucked me in for two days. It is another title in the rapidly multiplying genre of tower defense games, where you must build towers to kill the approaching enemy. The mobs get harder as the levels progress, but you can build more towers and upgrade them to keep up. This is the best of all the tower defense games I have played, with an interesting combo system which leads to big booms! I do encourage you to check out the "How to play" tab, I was initially resistant to the game harassing me to look at it, but it reveals the game is a lot more complicated - and fun - than it first appears. The game is being updated quite regularly, - it has changed since I last played it - which is always a plus. Watch out! Highly addictive, but fun and well made.

Gamma Bros

2007-06-27T17:19:00.000+12:00

Fun game from the people at pixeljam games. Its called Gamma bros, a simple shoot em up that looks right at home in 80's arcades. Controls are a bit iffy at first, but you soon get used to them. Fantastic sound as well. Highly recommended.

Welcome to FantabulousFlashFun!

2007-06-27T16:45:00.000+12:00

Hello and welcome to Fantabulous Flash Fun, a blog devoted to flash game reviews and links. I hope you enjoy your stay -_-