Games Blog

It’s nice when once in a while, a platform fighting game comes along which challenges conventions and adds something a little more interesting to the equation.

Toribash does this and a whole lot more by putting you in control of the type of moves you want to make. This addictive game features everything from Sumo to Kick Boxing and Sword Fighting to Judo. Just about anything is possible in a game where the characters look more like Lego men than real action figures but the amount of moves they can perform is literally infinite. The graphics in fact are a downside in that they’re not exactly very attractive but the gameplay more than makes up for it.

Note that this may not be a game suitable for kids as heads and limbs break off with alarming regularity. The basic aim of the game is to fight an opponent and score points for the amount of damage you inflict. This basically means breaking them into smithereens! The more limbs you break, the more points you get. To gain more points, each joint can be relaxed, contracted, extended or held which is what makes the gameplay so incredibly flexible since there are no set moves. In this demo version, you can only use limited servers plus you can’t earn belts but for $20, you can upgrade to the full version.

If you’re a martial arts fan, or just enjoy breaking limbs, you will love this game but parents should proceed with caution before letting their kids run wild on it.

Review by Nick Mead

Read more: Toribash 3.1 - Innovative fighting game where you make the moves

If you like your games, and your food, fast and furious then you’ll probably really enjoy Go Go Gourmet.

Taking all the best bits of Dinner Dash and then putting you in the role of the chef rather than the waitress, the game sees you work your way through 7 themed restaurants as you aim to become the best chef in the land. The game works based on how many orders you can deal with in as little time as possible. The more you serve, the more you earn - simple as that. This might sound easy but it’s not when people are asking you to prepare ingredients for plates ranging from burgers to lasagna. Hunting down the ingredients is actually one of the hardest parts of the game and you’ll spend half your time going through every cupboard and storage space until you’ve found them. The fun thing is that as you progress through the levels, the restaurants and kitchens change so it never gets too boring. The challenge is that people start demanding increasingly complex dishes in increasingly less time!

A great game that will have Dinner Dash fans addicted for hours.

Review by Nick Mead

Read more: Go Go Gourmet - Can you cook up a treat?

Phun is a typically Swedish invention - functional, free, educational but fun at the same time. If you’re studying physics then you should get a lot of enjoyment out of this “game”.

The game allows you to explore the forces of gravity and friction plus aspects of density, elasticity, viscosity and inertia in a range of fun ways. Phun basically allows you to create two-dimensional objects and then see how these react according to different physical forces. The game is hugely effective at creating realistic states and effects and forces on your objects. It’s a shame that it doesn’t support 3D objects although the developers say this has been done to make the interface simpler which they’ve certainly achieved. To think that this project was developed by a student at Umea university is quite amazing too. In this latest version, they’ve added lots of nice little extras such as the ability to choose object color, follow objects (right-click them to do so, and right-click the background to stop), optimize any scene containing water, remove water from a scene and holding down shift while rotating now results in increments of 15°. Note that you can watch Phun in action here.

A great little application that proves simple physical concepts in an fun and interactive way.

Review by Nick Mead

Read more: Phun beta 3.0 - Physics made fun Swedish style

The Club is one of the most exciting FPS games we’ve tested in months. Its jaw-dropping graphics, engaging plot and frantic action do make up for the almost 2GB download.

One first tip: do not skip the cinematic intro scene. It’s a good way to be introduced to the main characters in The Club and also get a glimpse of the impressive graphic quality of this game. Also, before actually starting to play, The Club guides you through a quick handy tutorial that teaches you some basic rules in just a couple of minutes, covering weapons, scoring system and special combos that enable you to earn more points.

Now straight to the point: The Club is not about killing anything that dares move before you. It’s about being lethally precise. This means that, for example, killing someone with a shot in the head will reward you more points than erasing them with a machine gun burst. The score is also higher if you perform special combos that require agility and quick reflexes. Also, you’ll have to watch for and special signs hidden in the scenery.

Talking about scenarios, these are depicted with an amazing level of detail. The graphical perfection goes on in character design, movement and physics, building such a realistic environment that you feel completely immersed into action.

You can play The Club all by yourself with computer-controlled enemies but needless to say, the game is far better when you play online. Apparently The Club enables you to compete against up to 15 other players - and note I said apparently because unfortunately there’s no multiplayer option in this demo.

Despite the lack of online games, this demo brings you an excellent preview of what seems to be an extraordinary action game at all levels: graphics, gameplay and fun.

Review by Elena Santos

Read more: The Club Demo - Join The Club and fight for survival

Romi lets you play Rummy Tile (RummyCube, Rummikub, Rami) games against the computer at 3 different levels. Romi is played with two sets of 52 cards and with two wild cards. The purpose of this game is to form groups of 3 or more cards, which contain either consecutive cards of the same suit or cards of the same number value but of differing suits.

Read more: Romi 7.1 - Play three different versions of Rummy

The aim of LineIt is to earn points, as much as you can. You have to move gem through free cells on the board. When 4 or more gems with the same color will be connected in a row (horizontal, vertical or diagonal), these gems will be deleted from the board and you will earn points (4 points for 4 gems, 8 points for 5 gems, 16 points for 6 gems). 3 gems appear every time you move. The game is over when there is no place for new gems.

Read more: LineIt 1.62 - Line-up four or more gems and gain points

After having already published two other trailers that gave us a sneak peek of the game, Rockstar offers now a third, longer video with many more details about the long-awaited Grand Theft Auto IV.

This 2-minute long trailer includes images from the game featuring known elements such as the streets of Liberty City, where the action takes place, and also new characters, new vehicles and a glimpse of all the new missions and submissions you’ll be entrusted with in GTA’s fourth episode. The video is presented just like a movie trailer, using cinema-like editing, transitions and even credits.

Although a video can’t obviously capture the feelings you experiment while playing this game, it does help a lot in getting an overall impression that contributes even more to rise the hype around GTA IV, to the extent that even Nintendo lifetime fans like me might consider moving on to XBOX360 or even PS3…

Action cinema meets action videogames in this beautifully designed trailer where you’ll get a preview of the all new Grand Theft Auto title coming next April 29th. If you’re a true GTA series fan you shouldn’t miss it.

Review by Elena Santos

Read more: Grand Theft Auto (GTA) IV Trailer 3 - An impressive trailer for an excellent game

In terms of originality, Teewars scores top marks. if you combined Hello Kitty with Kirby’s Dreamland and Quake III, then you’d get somewhere close to the concept.

You can choose from 17 character designs and fight against one or more persons in the different scenarios available through LAN or the Internet. The latest release also incorporates “fair” player spawning, the ability to kick players, and a very cute welcome screen to encourage players to set their names and favorite settings before playing their first game. The game has quite a few similarities to the Worms series of games, with the big exception that Teewars is played in real-time, while Worms is turn based.

The game is played using both mouse and keyboard - A/D moves your “Tee” left and right, W/spacebar makes it jump, and the mouse is used to aim and fire. Right-clicking launches a grappling hook, which can be used to move around the map quickly, and also grab other players. The game is so far free-for-all only, but a Capture the flag mode seems to be in the works. The problem comes if you try to set up your own server to play against a friend though - it’s immensely complicated but there is an FAQ to help you through.

Fun, action packed and easy to play - if only Teewars was easier to play against other over the net, it would be even better.

Review by Nick Mead

Read more: Teewars 0.3.4 - Excellent free Worms style game in 2D

X-Moto is a challenging open-source 2D motocross platform game where realisitic physics effects play an all important role in the gameplay.

You need to take your bike to its limits to make it over the obstacles to become one of the fastest finishers and progress a level.

Read more: X-Moto 0.4.1 - Kickstart your engines and beat the clock

Remember that old Snake game we all used to have in our mobile phones not so long ago? Ri-Li is based on the same idea, but presented in a much nicer way.

This game, which seems to be mainly addressed to children, challenges you to create the longest train ever by adding as many carriages as you can to a railway engine that follows a wooden track. Easy as it sounds, things soon start to get complicated, especially when you carry so many carriages after you that it’s hard to move around the track without hitting your own tail – which obviously ends the game. The game features background music and sound effects that you can turn off if you find them a bit annoying, like I did. On the upside, graphics are very nice: high level of detail, colorful design and a cute cartoonish style that most kids will love.

Every time you manage to successfully gather all carriages, you’re presented with a quiz question and then the next stage in the game. Ri-Li includes 50 levels, so your kids will be amused for quite a while. Oh well, you can also play it if you want to, I won’t tell anyone.

Ri-Li is the digital version of a very traditional pastime - wooden toy trains – with a Snake videogame twist. With its nice graphics and 50 levels, it’s certainly a good safe game for your kids.

Review by Elena Santos

Read more: Ri-li 2.0.1 - All aboard the train!