Games Blog

I must admit strategy games are not exactly my cup of tea, but I do appreciate good strategy titles when I find any. And Sins of a Solar Empire is one of them.

This adventure will please strategy fans for sure, as it includes all the typical elements you can find in this game genre: resource management, merciless battles and smart planning to take your empire to the highest level. But don’t be fooled by this apparently traditional scheme: being set in outer space, Sins of a Solar Empire is quite original for a strategy adventure.

This particular setting means that every element in the game is related to space. So, instead of using regular soldiers, horses, combat units or even tanks, you manage spaceships. And instead of conquering towns and villages, you take over planets. Graphics are just fine, certainly not as detailed as other strategy games that are set in historical environments.

Sins of a Solar Empire features single player and multiplayer gaming modes (though the demo only lets you play the first one). Solo gaming presents you with a series of scenarios and various challenges, including typical strategy elements such as diplomacy alliances, research and development of new strategies and a rather unconventional black market where you can trade crystal and metal without following the legal procedures. As you can see, there are many elements to be taken care of, which means that the game may feel a bit overwhelming at the beginning. This confusion is particularly noticeable when moving around the playing area, because maps are quite large and you can easily get lost.

Even if you’re not a big strategy fan, you’ll appreciate Sins of a Solar Empire for its original gaming environment. If you like strategy, you should definitely give it a go.

Review by Elena Santos

Read more: Sins of a Solar Empire Demo - Real time strategy in outer space

ClickPuzzle is a fun arcade-style puzzle game for Windows suitable for all ages. The goal is to earn as many points as you can by removing tiles from the game board.

Tiles can be removed only in groups of identical pictures and the game is over if all groups removed. There are 10+ sizes to pit your wits on (but only two of them are avalible in the unregistered version) with 5 levels of difficulty. Get your thinking cap on!

Read more: ClickPuzzle 3.1 - Fun tile game for all ages

It is a fun puzzle game like mah jongg, that tests your mind. Its intuitive interface is very easy to learn, and you’ll be playing within a few minutes. The goal of JongPuzzle is to remove all of the tiles from the game board. Tiles can be removed only in pairs and must be free on their left or right side or on their top or bottom, so you can connect them three or less lines. You need only the mouse to play. Move it to aim your launcher, and click to launch your tiles.

Read more: JongPuzzle 3.64 - Test your mind with this game of Mah Jongg

Next Element is a free, quite addictive and logical game that will entertain you from the very first time you start playing it. You take the role of a furry, hairy monster that has to clear all the cells behind him, from start to finish on a special board. The tricky part is that you can walk on each cell no more that the number of times written on it. After that the brick will disappear and if you’re not careful, you will not be able to reach the finish.

I liked the simple graphic design and the fast loading. Another good thing is the availability of a free version of the game for Windows Mobile and Pocket PC. It’s really a funny, easy to play game, suitable for when you have 10 minutes spare time. Unfortunately it’s not possible to disable the music, which is repetitive and annoying. You can however just temporarily disable the sounds in Windows of course.

Next Element is a funny, entertaining logic game with 30 tricky levels of which, I can assure you, the first 7 are possible. Help the hairy monster to find his way to the finish, clearing all the cells behind him.

Review by Francesca Migliorini

Read more: Next Element 1.01 - Help the hairy monster to find his way out

In terms of originality, Teeworlds 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 Teeworlds 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 Teeworlds was easier to play against others over the net, it would be even better.

Review by Nick Mead

Read more: Teeworlds 0.4.2 - Excellent free Worms style game in 2D

I’m not particularly fond of football but I must admit I had some fun while testing Football Challenge, a simple 3D online football simulator that you can play for free.

Be aware that this is no FIFA or PES. In fact football sim junkies may feel a bit disappointed at the game’s simplicity in graphics and controls. Here you won’t get the official player names or uniforms – in fact you can customize the team’s shirt any way you want. What’s more, there are no special moves or button combinations: the arrow keys and two action buttons (kick and pass) is all you need to play. On the other hand, this easy gameplay is what makes the game attractive even for people like me who don’t know what an offside is.

Football Challenge includes both offline and online gaming modes. You can play against the computer and also enroll in online tournaments just by filling in a simple form and creating your team right away. The game will automatically find a match partner for you to start playing. Obviously, the more games you win, the higher you’ll reach in the player ranking.

Football Challenge is a simple football simulator with support for online games, great for some easy fun but definitely not aimed at hardcore football fans.

Review by Elena Santos

Read more: Football Challenge 2008 - Free 3D online football simulator

DirectX is one of the most powerful and problematic graphics engines and when it comes to gaming, can be a blessing or a curse.

A blessing because it allows such brilliant special effects and add ons but a curse because it is so prone to bugs and crashes. Construct allows you to create stunning DirectX animations and gaming add ons without causing too much of the latter. It’s a WYSIWYG editor that requires a certain amount of DirectX programming knowledge but does not entirely exclude beginners. YIn fact, you needn’t even take your hand off the mouse for the most part - you can simply drag and drop and manipulate your graphics in the way you want to with tons of options for specialists kinds of movements and objects. You can preview all of your creations in real time before you save them and save them directly to EXE files so they can be executed directly by others without the need to install the program. With advanced rendering effects such as motion blur, skewing and 3D lighting this is one DirectX programming environment to be reckoned with.

An excellent DirectX programming environment that’s suitable for experts but also can be worked out by beginners.

Review by Nick Mead

Read more: Construct 0.94.3 - Create your DirectX gaming add-ons

You’ve probably seen a ton of online racing games already, but Trackmania Nations Forever is quite different from anything you have seen so far.

To begin with, this great game is completely free. No trial periods, no disabled functions, no nagging windows. It’s for you to play and enjoy for free, as long as you want, as much as you feel like it. Also, Trackmania Nations Forever is not that much about arriving first to the finish line, but rather about having fun along the way; hence the extensive social component of the game and the incredible jumps and spins you’ll be able to perform. Last, but not least, it also enables you to customize the game, featuring a complete editor with which you can create not only tracks, but also design your very own car.

Trackmania Nations Forever includes three different gaming modes (Solo, Online and Party play) which give you a different approach to the game: you can either play against the PC and try to break your personal records, play with friends on the same computer or in a local area network or play against other Trackmania drivers from all over the world with its superb online multiplayer mode. The Solo mode works with a system based on medals (the best your racing times are, the more medals you get and the more tracks you unlock) while the Online mode uses a worldwide ranking to measure players’s achievements.

In a way, we could say that the most important element in Trackmania Nations Forever is gameplay. Everything has been carefully planned and designed to be as easy for the player as possible: for example, you can register your profile by simple filling in a two-field form, or control the car with just the arrow keys. This simplicity is what makes the game so much fun and so wickedly addictive.

Despite this apparent simplicity, however, you’ll find a very elaborate game. Track and car design are simple, but realistic and very accurate. An excellent soundtrack adds the final touch to a game that, in my opinion, sets a turning point in online racing games.

Trackmania Nations Forever is probably one of the greatest online racing games you’ll ever see: fun races, customizable elements, an extensive user community and excellent gameplay.

Review by Elena Santos

Read more: Trackmania Nations Forever 2.11.11 - Awesome free online racing game

A master-mind clone, that will make you stare at it for minutes! The best looking program in the world, no kidding. Take a look at this! Different game levels, mathematical methods to compute combinations left, HINT if you can’t think of something, High-Scores, Timer, and one of the coolest user interfaces you’ve EVER SEEN. Designed in A master-mind clone, that will make you stare at it for minutes! The best looking program in the world, no kidding. Take a look at this! Different game levels, mathematical methods to compute combinations left, HINT if you can’t think of something, High-Scores, Timer, and one of the coolest user interfaces you’ve EVER SEEN. Designed in , using built-in, Alien Skin and Kai Power Tools filters.

Read more: Cybermind 1.1 - Play this challenging version of Mastermind against the computer

Trial may not be the most popular motor sport but it’s definitely a spectacular show with incredible jumps and spins that make our jaws drop. And guess what? You can now reproduce those movements without compromising your physical integrity.

Trials 2 is a realistic trial simulator that puts you in control of a powerful bike and challenges you to complete very varied tracks – all indoor. Tracks are categorized according to difficulty and also to different gaming modes. Though the demo version doesn’t include all of them, you can still get a glimpse of what the whole game should be like. There are some tutorial levels as well, but I don’t understand how they work, because instead of explaining movements bit by bit (as you would expect from a tutorial) you’re just presented with a basic circuit you can use as training. You can also choose between several camera modes, but if I were you I’d stay with Action mode: the other ones are a little confusing.

Trials 2 features an easy gameplay, with only a few keys to learn, but at the same time is quite challenging and difficult to master. Graphics are very detailed and the excellent physics engine contributes to the sensation of realism. However this realism sometimes goes a bit beyond the line, especially when the driver falls from the bike: it always looks like you’re on the verge of dying even if you simply crashed at about 5 mph.

If you’d like to test an original motor sport, far from the typical bike and car races, Trials 2 may be the game you’re looking for.

Review by Elena Santos

Read more: Trials 2 Second Edition 1.06 - An exciting trial competition with different game modes