Za Za Zoom.

Friday game!

This one is called, simply 'Zoom' and it makes my job very easy by being the kind of game which is more rewarding to discover on your own. So I'm just going to shut up and let you get on with it!

Zoom.

What I WILL say though, is that if you like this, check out the other, equally impressive games by the same people Here. It seems they really know a thing or two about minimalist games with hidden depths.

Enjoy!

Under The Gun.

I must have posted dozens of 'fling ball at blocks to knock them over' style games since this blog took its first quivering steps into the sunlight. So it pleases me to be able to bring you one that has something new to offer. A whole new dimension, to be exact.

Yes, This is Gun 3D and it really adds some depth to the genre. Ho ho.

It's very plain, to be honest. But I'm promoting it because it reminds me of a perennial fave: Boom Blox.

Hopefully this will provide a stepping stone to some exciting new ball-flingers. It's a brave new world.

Gun 3D.

You Can't Wash Your Hands In A Buffalo.

Game time, plinkers.

This is one of your 'fly as far as you can from left to right, continually buying upgrades in order to fly further' games or FAFAYCFLTRCBUIOTFFs as they're know as in the trade. It's a pretty self-explanatory genre name.

You play as as mexican wrestling bison in a land of living foods (I know, not this old chestnut, right?) and there is some backstory involving a stolen wallet but mainly you're going to be catapulted endlessly through the gameworld, performing rocket-powered elbow drops on some terrified gummi bears.

The thing that really makes this game worthwhile is the presentation. Everything looks amazing, all the onscreen elements, and there are a LOT, are marvellously animated and the total chaos that ensues from the moment you launch your bison bruiser never fails to put a smile on your face.

Give it a go, even if you've never played a FAFAYCFLTRCBUIOTFF in the past, they're easy to pick up, and all you really need to play them is moderately quick reactions.

Burrito Bison Revenge.

This Cross'll Make Ya: Jump Jump.

Hey, remember when I plinked the astonishing flash game Super Mario Crossover? Well, there's a sequel now, and somehow, it's several orders of magnitude more astonishing.

If you can't be bothered looking at the old post, Crossover is a game that allows you to play through the original Super Mario Bros game as a bunch of other classic characters.

It sounds simple on paper but the amount of work involved must have been staggering. Well the sequel expands on the original in every way. More characters, more abilities and most disorientatingly, more art styles. Yeah, that's right. You can reskin the game to look like any era of 2D Mario game you like.

It's beautiful madness and it'll trip you up if you're a long-time gamer. I learned that some aspects of a Mario game are completely ingrained in my consciousness and are hard to subvert. Despite being told by the game that it wouldn't work, I tried again and again to stomp on goombas while playing as a non Mario Bro.

Anyway, I strongly urge you to play this game and every so often stop to marvel at how impressive a project it is. Not while you're mid-level though, the timer will run out.

Super Mario Crossover 2!

I'm SO sorry about that post title, by the way. Really I am. It sprouted in like my mind like a weed and I felt compelled to inflict it on you.

SCUMM - A Review.

Hey guys.
I'd like to welcome you to the very first Plinx Book Review.
This doesn't represent a new 'direction' for the blog. It may well even be a one-off but hopefully you'll enjoy it. Anyway, let's crack on.

So the reason for this is that my buddy Edd (who was the animator behind these previously plinked gems) has done what I think we all secretly long to do and written a book. A real, pages-and-everything book!

This would have impressed me enough but it also happens to be a great book. A good, old-fashioned detective thriller set in the world of videogames! It's like he wrote it just for me.

It's called SCUMM (if you know what the significance of this is, you should really read it as you'll delight in the cavalcade of game references contained therein) and it looks like this:

Pretty neat, huh? It's the story of a detective named Richard who is trying to uncover the mystery behind a murder. It was written as part of a yearly book-writing event called NaNoWriMo (or National Novel Writing Month) which means the whole book was written in a month, one chapter a day. As a result, the story unfolds at a rollicking pace, as idea after idea comes tumbling out straight from Edd's brain onto the page (but not as messy as that sounds). The characters are whisked from a crime scene, through a fancy french bar, a mansion and a dingy alleyway to a suspiciously familiar area filled with spikes and springs which just happens to be called Springyard. There's also a marvellous chapter based on a certain cel-shaded, class-based multiplayer online FPS that somehow manages to remain thematically appropriate. It's a consistently surprising book that produces smirks on every page as some obscure game or aspect of gaming culture is referenced.

So yeah, I liked it a lot and I reckon you will too. If you think it sounds like your sort of thing, please consider getting yourself a copy. It's available HERE. Edd is charging the minimum amount he can for it as he's more interested in getting people to read it than turning a profit. In fact, buy a copy before the 19th of Feb and you can get 30% off with the discount code FEBRUARYCART305GBP.

So there we have it. The first Plinx Book Review.

Happy reading!

Die, Robot.

Evening, all.
Wanna play a game? 2 games, even? Good, because that just so happens to be the content of this plinx post. What an astonishing coincidence.

These games are the two entries in a series called Crash the Robot. It's a physics puzzler that tasks you with arranging elements of a level so that the end result is the destruction of a hapless robot. Sounds mean, and it is. But it's ok, it's just a game.

The games feature balls, boxes, bombs, balloons, bounce-pads, buzzsaws and err... cannons. Generally the aim is to activate switches in the correct order to spell doom for your mechanical mate. Alarmingly, the switches in some levels seem to make him suicidal, as he'll pull out a drill, a hammer or some other device and voluntarily dismantle himself. Chilling.

Anyway, have fun!

Crash The Robot.
Crash The Robot: Explosive Edition.

Midas Touch.

Cripes, it feels like forever since I plinked a game. That's what happens when I spend the whole of December posting videos.

So here is a physics puzzle platformer that looks deceptively simple but very quickly reveals itself to be infuriatingly deep. It's called Midas and in between each bite-sized level, it has a pithy statement telling part of the story of King Midas (the dude who turned everything he touched to gold, if you forgot).

Fun times, then albeit tough. Have a go:

Midas.

Nitrome Wasn't Built In A Day.

Nitrome. If you've been reading this blog for a while, you should be familiar with the name. They make flash games of a superior standard, many of which have featured here. In fact, my second post on this blog featured a Nitrome game, all the way back in March 2008!

So anyway, they have just released their 100th game(!) and to mark the occasion, they've called it Nitrome Must Die!

The game involves one or two players taking up arms and blowing characters from loads of different Nitrome games into smithereens. It's good fun and it seems like it would be wrong not to feature it here.

NITROME MUST DIE!

Out On A Limb.

GAMES.
Yeah, I haven't posted in a while. Sorry. Here's something to play with to keep you distracted. 2 things, even.

First of all, a game where success will cost you an arm and a leg, literally. It's called Pursuit Of Hat and your protagonist is a cheerful looking blobby fella with detachable limbs. He desperately wants his fetching purple bowler hat back and you'll need to rip off and reattach bits of yourself in order to do it. For such a stomach-churning sounding concept, it's all very sweet. Give it a shot:

Pursuit Of Hat.

Secondly, an old internet stalwart; Ninjas. They're everywhere on the world wide web, the stealthy blighters. Where are they all coming from? Where do they learn their skills? Well, I'll tell you! Sticky Ninja Academy, that's where. This is a physics-y game involving flinging a ninja about, making him stick to walls, knock out other, presumably evil ninjas and nab some precious gold before making it to the exit. This is good, solid fun and the way your li'l assassin goes into a flying kick pose whenever thrown is just adorable.

Sticky Ninja Academy.

There you go, fill your virtual boots. See you next time.

Mind, Reader.

Hiya.
Bit of a blast from the internet past today. This was recently brought back to my attention by Housemate J and I have been enthralled with it ever since.
Essentially, it'll task you with thinking of a 'character', real or fictional, human or otherwise and then ask 20 questions before reading your mind. Yeah, it's one of those things.

Back in the day, these things were pretty hit & miss. However, this one has had several years of use and seen an astonishing 107011686 individual 'games'. Effectively this means it has evolved, for want of a better word, into a much more impressive mindreader.

Seriously, I have thrown so many curveballs at this thing and only rarely has it failed to come up with the goods. Sometimes it'll take more than one guess but hey, I'm willing to let that go based on the fact that some people have given it wrong answers.

Anything that can tell, in 20 questions or less, that I was thinking of the three-headed monkey from Monkey Island, or a secondary character from a cancelled TV series, or the COUSIN of the main character from GTA 4, or... bloody Barry Scott from the Cillit Bang advert! or... or... ARGH, HOW ARE YOU DOING THIS?!

Ahem, sorry.

Anyway, if you fancy being outwitted again and again by an animated genie, pit your wits against:

AKINATOR.

Charidee.

Evening all.
I'm afraid it's that time of year again when I put on a sleeveless t-shirt and jog about in Southsea for a while in the cold, and I'm sure you all know what that means!

Yup, I'm after sponsors again. However, it's not just me this time. Housemate J is also coming for a run and we're trying to raise the princely sum of £500.

So please, go here:
http://www.justgiving.com/runpaulandjamesrun
and give generously. It's an excellent cause and I promise to render myself immobile with the effort come race day.

To sweeten the deal, here's a game!
A charming little knockabout where you scoot your avatar across the bottom of the screen to catch falling banknotes and sunflowers, presumably hurled by a philanthropist in a blimp. You can play as one of three people who would stand to benefit from Hospice care or erm... you can be a pelican (allegedly his beak can hold more than his belly can)

Game!

Oh! Also, last time I checked I had the high score, so try and beat me. Then throw a few quid at my donation page to really show me who is boss.

Ta very much.

iScraper.

Hello.
Several months ago, I started playing an iOS game called 'Tiny Tower'. It's a simple concept; construct a skyscraper, one floor at a time. You chose from either residential or business floors so you have people living in the tower and working to earn money to build more floors! It may not sound like much but the charming pixelly animations make it really compelling and it is full of little incidental touches that enhance the game as a whole. Plus, it is horribly addictive. Each level you build costs more than the previous one but obviously, if you're playing well, you'll be earning more money as you build new floors. It only takes a week or so to get something that looks like this:

However, there is an achievement for building 100 floors and I was determined to get it. Now, I have realised that dream. Click HERE to see my magnificent tower in all its glory.

Oh yes, and although it was my intention to stop at 100, I now have a burning desire to see every type of floor there is, so I'll likely remain in the iron grip of this blocky timesink.

I thoroughly recommend the game to all of you with the ability to play it. It has a surprising amount of depth and is completely free as long as you don't mind being patient. You can read a review Here and if any of this has convinced you to give it a spin, it can be found on your friendly neighbourhood app store.

Have fun!

Plinx Quickie.

This is a Public Service Announcement.

Portal, one of the best games ever, is now free to download on PC or Mac. I'm sure nearly everyone has played it now but if there is anyone out there who is still yet to experience its splendour, for god's sake get it now. It's free until September 20th so shake a leg.
Grab It Here.

Monochromantics.

Hi, 2 games today that fit into that wildly popular genre - 'ludicrous physics games starring black & white animals'.

First off, a zebra. Doing what zebras do best, making his way across the savannah... in a car. The game is Safari Drive and you need to get the motorized mammal from the left side of the screen to the right by clicking on objects littered about the stage to remove them. It's a fairly fun and straightforward jaunt with some enjoyably odd facial expressions from the zebra. So give it a spin.

Next, it's perhaps the most beloved of all the two-tone creatures, the penguin. This particular penguin wins extra points for wearing a trenchcoat and packing heat. Why? Well to kill zombies, of course! Lots of ricocheting rounds and smashable furniture in this one: Zombies vs Penguins. Whee!

Aaaaand that's your lot. Until next time, pals.

Soul Provider.

Game time.
On paper, today's plink may sound a bit unsavoury. You float around as a ghost possessing hapless people and forcing them to commit murders until you have harvested enough souls to pay the reaper. But it's not as bad as that sounds, honest! The whole thing uses the ever-charming 'pixel art' visual style and the bouts of slaughter are broken up by some decent sections of black comic dialogue.

As you progress through the game, you'll take control of several different types of people, each possessing different skills (see what I did there?) from the lowly office worker who is only able to swing his briefcase around menacingly, to the likes of the gun-toting security guard and the lock-picking cat burglar. You'll need to figure out who to use in order to dispatch your co-workers, whether that be by pummelling them, shooting them or kicking them out a window.

The difficulty ramps up as you progress and each level has a pretty strict time limit, so there's no time to hang around contemplating the morality of your actions, just hurry up and punt that guy off the roof!

More fun that its subject matter would suggest, then. Play Soul Tax.

Press M For Murder.

Hey, so we haven't had a game for a while. To be honest it's because nothing has really grabbed me. No matter how nicely polished or deep, every flash game I play recently seems to be a variation on a familiar theme.

Then finally something held my shrivelled attention. Ironically it was a game made as part of an indie game design contest called Ludlum Dare 48H, which tasks entrants with making a full game in just 48 hours. The game I'm about to show you was created by a guy called Adam Saltsman who created the previously-plinked Canabalt and it really shows that he has mastered the 'simple concept makes compelling game' trick.

Taking place on a single, unmoving screen and lacking in such luxury features as a play button or any instructions, this game is minimalist to say the least. However, it gets very hectic very quickly.



It's called Grave Robbers but you do not play the eponymous thieves. Rather, you play the unseen omnipotent force that is trying to thwart them using a number of carefully laid traps, each mapped to a key on the keyboard.

As the little animation-free swines swarm through your dungeon, you'll be hitting S to drown them, K to squish them and U to burn them (amongst others). Don't be squeamish though, the spartan graphics ensure there is no gore.

They will try every different direction and the 'cool-down' time on each trap means you will quickly start flailing about trying to rain death on your puny yellow foes before they can abscond with your loot.

It's frantic and fun. Give it a shot:

Grave Robbers.

Carrion My Wayward Son.

Hello, sorry I haven't updated lately. These are busy times.

Today's plink is a game about some animals seeking vengeance on cars and other vehicles for their squished brethren. Essentially, you have a jet-propelled mechanical raccoon which you can launch into traffic with the aim of doing as much damage as possible.

And why not.

It's got a neat line in optional 'bonus challenges' that will keep you clicking the replay button and is generally some harmless, explodey fun.

Roadkill Revenge!

Sugar Daddy.

Hiya.
You're a sensible person, right? So that means you drink tea. Or, at a push, coffee. How many sugars do you take? Oh really? That's interesting. Those of you who gave an answer greater than zero, how many grains do you think that number of spoonfuls would consist of?

Essentially, what I want to know is, would you put 100 grains of sugar into a cup?

Sugar, Sugar is a game that will task you to do just that; put 100 grains of sugar into a cup. Simple. I mean, you'll face the same challenges you would if you were making a cuppa at home: transport the sugar from where it is kept to wherever the cup may be, make sure you're putting the right type of sugar in the right cup, etc. Obviously, just like at home, you'll also need to drop the sugar through a hole in the floor so that it will fall from the ceiling and sometimes you'll need to flip gravity on its head.

Basically, you've been training for this your whole life.

So go. Go and draw those lines necessary to ferry the sugar from the comma it lives in to the waiting cups. Go play Sugar, Sugar.

OK Mr. Sunshine!

Hello, this post presents a bit of a quandary for me. On the one hand, I don't want to over-explain the concept because it would strip away some of the joy of discovery. On the other hand, as you'll see in a moment, the more words I can put on the page, the better. I suppose one solution would be to talk at length about this dilemma so as to solve it in such a way that retains the mystery while creating enough raw material for you to enjoy.

Also, I suppose I could squeeze a few sentences out of the fact that this miraculous thing you're about to see may not work depending on the browser you're using. I can vouch for it's effectiveness using Google Chrome and I'm assured that the newer versions of Firefox run it fine, but I haven't tested IE. Maybe if you feel like you're missing out, you could convert?

Ok, that's enough blurb. Just click below to Katamarify this very page!

NAAAAA NA NA NA NA NA NAAA NA.

Visit the Site for more info.

Sty Stallone.

Evening all.
It's game time. I hope you're ready, because it's the bottom of the ninth, the bases are loaded and I've run out of baseball clichés. Should probably have picked a sport I know more about. Or just not persevered quite as far with this tawdry introduction.

Either way, you're about to play a game where a pig in a bandana uses an arsenal of weaponry to take out other, presumably evil, pigs.

It's a 2D physics puzzle game, like so many that have gone before but the quality is elevated by the variety of weapons and intelligent level design. Also, if you run out of levels to play, there is a whole gallery of user-generated ones.

It's good, wholesome, cartoony, pig-murderin' fun for all the family.

It's Hambo!