Freeware games.

I while ago I had a great intrest in freeware games (probably because I had no money), i.e, games that you can download (LEGALLY!) from the net for free. There's seems to be a lot of such games floating around, most of them are pretty mediocre though, but some of them are simply so great that you wonder why they're giving them away. And after finding something really neat for free, you always have an itch to share with someone, so here are my favorite freeware games, listed in more or less favorite-down order.

Cave Story: If you haven't played this, you haven't lived. This game beautifully combines the platform shooting genre with the action-adventure genre to create an absolutley fabulous game with an awesome, original story. Not only that, but everything in this game was made entirely from scratch by one person. The music is fun and original, the graphics are simple yet engaging, and the gameplay is fun and fast-paced. Best of all, its free.

Zelda Classic: An absolute must for Zelda fans. This was originally intended to be a clone of Zelda 1, and it was, but it included a game editor that allowed people to make thier own "quests." There is a limit to what the editor can do unfortunatley, but a lot of work as been put into some quests and they're actually quite good, and are free to download. This is classic Zelda gameplay with an infinite amount of possibilities. A must-download.

America's Army: A military shooter that focuses on teamwork and army values instead of "do your own thing" type CounterStrike play. It boasts advanced graphics and a reilistic engine, all avaliable for free from the army's website.

Neverball: I'm a big fan of MonkeyBall type "roll the ball" gameplay. This game does not fail to entertain. A flawless game with well-designed levels and unique controls.

There's some freeware games I haven't played that are supposed to be really good, such as Soldat, Wolfenstein or Glest. What freeware games have you played that you really enjoy, and why?

Originally Posted by Mr. Fish

...most of them are pretty mediocre though...

Try "incredibly atrocious".

Yeah, I have an interest for freeware games, just for those few diamonds in the rough. I usually play old-school point-and-click adventures, just because that genre's pretty much dead outside the freeware communities.

My top three:

1. Cave Story. There's not much I can say about it. Just download it or Balrog will come crashing down through your ceiling.

2. N. An incredibly simplistic, challenging and addictive platformer about a greedy little ninja trying to survive against an army of indestructible robots. And grab as much gold as possible. I guess you could call it puzzle-based, because you need to carefully plan ahead if you want to keep your ninja from being shot, blown up, smashed, electrocuted and/or laser'd.

3. 5 Days a Stranger. This is one of those old-school point-and-click adventures I mentioned earlier, so everyone who doesn't give a crap about them can just stop reading this post now. OK, for the two of you that are still reading, 5DAS is a very interesting supernatural thriller thingy. It's like a combination of British murder mysteries and modern teenage slasher films, all presented in lovely sprite graphics. It has a compelling storyline and the puzzles are both logical and challenging, although the music could be a lot better. And if you like it, there are three sequels for you to try as well.

Lyle in Cube Sector
This is basically Metroid, except all of your abilities involve cubes. Adventure through cube sector to save Lyle's kidnapped kitty.
If you liked Cave Story, then you will like this game.

Seiklus
This is a game where you jump around and collect little glowy things. It has practically no text, and is way more fun than it sounds.
This game is listed on the creators website under "artwork", which is definitely where it belongs. A must-play.

IkaChan
A fun little game by the same person who made Cave Story. You play as Ikachan the squid, who, along with several other sea creatures, have become trapped in a cave on the ocean's floor. And you're running out of food. Hunt for pearls, duel with crabs, and take on the infamous Ironhead in your quest to save the cave's inhabitants from starvation.

Try "incredibly atrocious".

Well, I try not to criticize anything free to that extreme.

BTW, have you ever played "Beneath a Steel Sky", Offler? I know that its free now...although it didn't used to be. I was considering downloading it, but I wasn't sure.

And I wasn't aware that Pixel made anything besides Cave Story...Hm.

And Snarwin, why doth thou be gone for so long? You are so cool...We miss you.

Cave Story is amazing. I wish I didn't get stuck where I did. I don't even remember where. I'm pretty sure I still have it on my computer, though. I can't imagine anything even comparing to Cave Story. And hah, Offler's Cave Story avatar is sweet.

Originally Posted by Mr. Fish

BTW, have you ever played "Beneath a Steel Sky", Offler? I know that its free now...although it didn't used to be. I was considering downloading it, but I wasn't sure.

Definitely worth a shot if you like dystopias. And if you don't, it's worth a shot anyway. It may be an old game, but it has aged well. Also, Joey's one of the coolest sidekicks in gaming history.

Also, if you download it, you should go for the CD version. I think that's pretty obvious, though.

Originally Posted by Mr. Fish

America's Army: A military shooter that focuses on teamwork and army values instead of "do your own thing" type CounterStrike play. It boasts advanced graphics and a reilistic engine, all avaliable for free from the army's website.

I liked America's army for a while, but eventually it just got boring. Its definitely worth a download now. I heard that there's gonna be a big update sometime soon, so I might try it again when that happens.

Warsow. Probably the best free deathmatch style FPS, with added Capture The Flag and various other gametypes, which you can download that is a pretty lightweight download, and is only extract to play. Hello USB sticks.

http://www.warsow.net/

Screens:

The multiplayer portion of F.E.A.R. is also fun.

Just hit up http://www.joinfear.com/ to download and play.

Originally Posted by Mr. Fish

And I wasn't aware that Pixel made anything besides Cave Story...Hm.

Well, he has. Several things, actually. In fact, he's working on a top-down shooting game right now. I think his site has screenshots.

Originally Posted by Mr. Fish

And Snarwin, why doth thou be gone for so long? You are so cool...We miss you.

Someone here is actually aware of my existence? I'm flattered.

Anyway, of late, most of my free time has been spent playing Twilight Princess (GCN), posting on PureZC, and following the progress on the new version of Zelda Classic. You should check it out, if you haven't already; they've added some pretty amazing stuff, and the betas are open to the public.


To actually contribute:

The Falling Sand Game -- Or one of its many variants.
In this game, you control various materials--including falling sand--which interact in a variety of ways. Fire, for example, destroys plants, while water makes them grow, and salt (in some versions) can contaminate the water...and so on and so forth. It's surprisingly fun.

www.shockwave.com has a lot of free online games you can play. Even some you can download if you'd like, but some are for a price. A lot of them have a "Play Online" button and you can play against other sockwave members.

Some good games i've played on there are: Death From Above, Heli Attack 3, and Destroyer. All are shooter type games, so if your interested, just type one of their names into the search bar on shockwave.