August, 2012 | Casual Game Fan

Daily Casual Game Roundup 7

Posted on Aug. 31 in Flash Games, Roundup with no comments

It’s been ten days since I last posted a daily casual game roundup. I just wanted to make room for other posts like the first guest-post submitted to this blog: Casual Games That are Even More Addictive than Angry Birds.

Okay. Okay. I’ll stop the needless blabbering. I don’t have a specific theme in mind so I’ll just post some games I came across while visiting my favorite gaming websites.

1. Bloons TD 5

The saga continues! After four installments, balloons are still on the offensive. More upgrades and more tower choices! If you’ve never played any Bloons game….Ohh my.

2. Super Ubi Land

This game is created by one of the most interesting game dev software that I tried – Scirra. (I’m not really a game developer. I tried using the software once…it’s an awesome tool.)

Super Ubi Land is one of the most ‘advanced’ HTML5 games that I played. It’s still under development so expect to see better gameplay in the next few weeks.

I love this game. It pushes the shooting genre a little further. There are similarities between Zomboz and Angry Birds Space. Your goal is to shoot and kill zombies located in different planets or floating in space. Your projectile (an arrow) is subject to gravity of each planet.

You gotta try it this game.

4. Hambo

The sheer epic-ness of this game’s name is enough to get you laughing. It’s actually just a shooting game with physics gameplay incorporated. It has similarities to Robot vs Zombies.

Playing Cartoon Flash Games

Posted on Aug. 30 in Blog with 1 comment

Cartoons and comic books are staple entertainment of kids. I grew up watching G.I. Joe, Wild Cats & X-Men and reading popular superhero comics like Superman and Batman.

Nostalgia plays a major part why I’m interested in cartoon flash games. There are, actually, a lot of cartoon or comic book-inspired games that you can online for free.

I made a quick audit of all cartoon or comic games that are currently available in the internet. The following types stands out due to the number of games dedicated to them:

1. Ben 10

There are probably more than a hundred Ben 10 games currently circulating in the internet. The games are mostly arcade-adventure type with some puzzles thrown around.

I was surprised to find websites specifically for Ben 10 games. That’s how popular this cartoon series is.

Websites:

Ben10games.com
Ben10gamesonly.com
Ben10games.org
Ben10games.tv

Woah! And that’s just the first page of Google’s search result when using “Ben10 games” as the phrase. Imagine the many other hiding deep in the net!

2. Sponge Bob

There are several reasons why it’s not surprising to find Spongebob games:

The series is very popular.
The characters a kinda cute and game-like
The characters are common site in internet memes. (Check out my post about internet meme-inspired games.)

However, the number of games are far lesser than that of Ben 10. The likely cause is copyright.

3. Avatar: The Last Airbender

I watched all episodes of Avatar: The Last Airbender. It’s an awesome cartoon series, which is obviously inspired by Japanese anime. The games inspired by this series are actually of higher quality. The number could be between 30 to 50 games in circulation.

Oh wait! There’s bound to be more bending-type game now that Legend of Korra has been released. (I just found this out while searching for Airbender games.)

4. Superhero

There aren’t that much game for individual superheroes. For example, The Incredible Hulk only has around 10 games. Again, the main reason is probably copyright. But together, there can potentially be a couple of hundreds of games.

Internet Meme Games

Posted on Aug. 30 in Blog with no comments

Internet memes have been fueling social networks with funny and, sometimes, weird comedy. I, too, am a victim of meme addiction. I visit meme aggregation websites like 9gag.com from time-to-time to find some quick laughs.

As casual games are more like the waiting shed of the net, it’s not unusual to find ones inspired by internet memes. Here are some meme games I found.

1. Catnarok – Longcat Rampage

2. Catnarok – Longcat Rampage 2

3. Meme Match

4. Nyan Cat

By the way, regarding fan-made games. I’m a huge fan of the American sitcom Community. In the third season, there was a special episode where the characters played an 8-bit game. An even ‘huger’ fan that I me created a game based on that episode. You can check out the game at Reddit.

5 Anime Flash Games To Play

Posted on Aug. 29 in Flash Games with no comments

I’m a huge fan of anime and manga, specifically Shounen Jumps, like Naruto, One Piece, Bleach and Gamaran.

As a casual gamer, I often find myself looking for some awesome anime flash games. There’s really not that much to choose from in the net when it comes to those based on real series. But if we start to count the games ‘inspired’ by Japanese animation, then you will find a lot, specially if you’re looking for dressing-up games.

Today, I scoured all gaming websites to find some of the coolest anime-inspired games…and here’s the result.

1. Dragonball Kart

This is not really a Mario Kart-type game. Instead it’s a Mario-inspired sidescrolling/karting race. You can choose between four characters: Son Goku, Vegeta, Piccolo and Mr. Satan.

2. Naruto Shadow Clone Game

Naruto Kagebunshin is a memory-puzzle game. You have to find the real Naruto among the many bunshins that is displayed in the screen. It’s a simple game but I included it in this listing because it features a rather ‘older’ Naruto from the Shippuden series.

For more Shounen Jump games, check out SJ’s official gaming page.

3. SD Gundam Capsule Fighter Online

This is mecha-shooting game inspired by the now-popular SD Gundam Capsule Fighter MMO. This is the best Gundam games I have ever played.

4. State Alchemy Exam

This is a little puzzle game with similarities to sudoku. The goal is to place 6 different symbols in such a way that they only appear once in every ring, spoke or section. It took me a while to understand the game, if you’re still confused, check out its instructions first before playing.

Ohh. I love Fullmetal Alchemist!

5. One Piece – Luffy’s Adventure

Zoro has been kidnapped! Play as Luffy and go on an action-packed adventure to rescue your crew’s super-swordsman! This is a fun beat ‘em up flash game!

*Note: I promise to expand this list to top 10, I just have to look and play for anime games!

The Casual Games That Are Even More Addictive Than Angry Birds

Posted on Aug. 22 in Guest with 1 comment

The Angry Birds phenomenon has become one of gaming’s greatest runaway success stories. The nifty physics puzzler has hit downloads of over 1 billion across different platforms with different titles like Angry Birds Seasons, Angry Birds Rio and Angry Birds In Space. However, although the best-selling franchise has introduced millions to the joys of casual gaming and even managed to entertain the most hardcore of gamers, there are many other casual games available that can rival the addictiveness of Angry Birds.

Image courtesy of OmarRiva, Flickr

Temple Run

Temple Run took the app world by storm when it was first released in 2011. The action platformer requires players to duck, dodge and jump obstacles as they control a constantly running avatar through jungle and temple environments. Like Angry Birds, it can be played in quick, burst sessions. However, players may have a hard time putting it down. A Brave tie-in version of the game was released recently which allows players to choose from all new characters from the hit Disney movie.

Fruit Ninja

The appeal of Fruit Ninja lies in its simplicity. Players must use the touch-screen to slice, dice and chop falling fruit on the screen. The game gets more difficult as the levels progress and deadly bombs are thrown in the mix, but even new gamers will find it easy to pick up the basics of slicing up fruit like a Ninja prodigy. Xbox has even released a Kinect version of the game which allows players to use full body movements to recreate Ninja moves on screen and in-game.

Image courtesy of Jessica Keating Photography, Flickr

Song Pop

A different type of casual game, Song Pop relies on music knowledge rather than action-packed gameplay, although quick reflexes still come in handy. The quiz game pits players against fellow music buffs as they compete to guess the song and artist from music samples correctly. With a diverse range of genres and singers, Song Pop is one of the definitive quiz apps for casual gamers.

Pitfall!

The classic Atari side-scrolling platformer has had a complete overhaul for the iPhone and iPad. With new high definition graphics and lightening fast gameplay, players find themselves in control of an intrepid explorer as they race through jungles and caves avoiding snakes, scorpions and volcanic flames. With power ups, never-ending levels and the ability to share top scores on Facebook or Twitter, Pitfall is another casual game that is easy to play, hard to give up.

Although Angry Birds continues to release new editions and dominate the marketplace charts, independent and premium developers are constantly challenging its position as the most addictive casual game for mobile devices.

This article is brought to you by Feelgood Games, the online games site where you can play a collection of casual games such as Plants Vs Zombies free, among others.

Daily Casual Game Roundup 6

Posted on Aug. 21 in Flash Games, Roundup with no comments

NASA has just landed Curiosity on Mars and I just finished watching the action-packed movie Battleship. These two points to only one direction – a list of awesome alien games!

1. Alien Thief

Alien Thief follows the same plot that you will see in most UFO/Flying Saucer games: you play as an alien pilot with a mission to abduct “samples”. Alien Thief stands out in the sheer awesomeness of its graphics – smooth, colorful and clean. The rest is generally the same.

2. Obama Alien Defense

Political games are usually funny. Take Dancing Bush, Race for the White House, and Kill Osama Bin Laden games as examples. These games celebrate freedom (well…except for Kill Osama Bin Laden). Freedom in a sense that you can make fun of political leaders without fear. Now imagine a Chinese game developer making fun of Mao Zedong. (There’s one game in NewGrounds but it’s more of a praise than making fun.)

Anywho, Obama Alien Defense is a Shoot ‘em up game, where the US President himself has to fight-off alien invaders. This is one cool alien shooter.

3. Orbita

It’s time for some adventure puzzles. This cute alien is in need of your help. He wants to go out of his spikey planets but the available spacecraft has lost its batteries. Help him find the batteries!

Sounds easy, right? Nope. It’s a little hard. Along your journey, you will find various traps and puzzles that you need to solve. Timing is your best weapon!

4. Alienocalypse

It’s your turn to wreak havoc…as an alien overlord. Alienocalypse is a multi-level RTS game that lets you play as an alien whose goal is to invade Earth. The Earthlings will fight back so plan your attacks and choose your troops wisely.

Review: Reachin’Pichin

Posted on Aug. 17 in Game Review with no comments

At some point(s) in our childhood, we all dreamt of flying among the clouds and into the depths of space. Kurechii interactive rekindles that dream with a simple but engaging launching flash game, Reachin’Pichin.

In the game, you play as Pichin, a cute little creature with the power of levitation and your goal is to conquer the skies. Fly as high as you can, bouncing from out platform to another and gathering ores, Kurecoins & Growth Points (GP) along the way.

Gameplay

Reachin’Pichin is a launching game with a primary focus on upgrades.

A round starts with a click on the big red “FLY” button. This launches Pichin up into the air. To reach higher levels, you have to jump into trampolines. Scattered along your path are Ores, Kurecoins and Ores, which you can use to upgrade Pichin’s flying ability (Strength, Initial Launch Speed, Luck, Maximum Speed and Bounce). Aside from increasing these ability, you can also learn passive & active skills that you can use to even increase Pichin’s chance of flying higher.

Oh… I forgot to mention. This game is played with just your mouse. Despite the little complexity of the operation, the developers managed to make the whole game operation simple and straightforward.

Review

Game (8/10) – Reachin’Pichin kicks ass. I completed the whole game in less than 1 hour, which makes it fall under the “casual” category. For someone with a small attention span, I was able to keep myself from not finishing the game. I guess, it has something to do with the anticipation of reaching higher heights (ohh…an awesome song by Mishka).

Controls (8/10) – The game is played with the mouse making it easy to control Pichin as he flies and jumps around. As for the game’s dashboard…it can be a little confusing at the early rounds of the game. However, as you progress, navigating between tabs and functions becomes easier.

Music (5/10) – I wasn’t a big fan of the looping background music. It became annoying after 10 minutes. As for Pichin’s cute “pewewwww”…well, it’s cute. Lol.

Graphics (7/10) – The game’s graphics are smooth, the colors are lively and I haven’t seen major defects in it. Still, I give it 7 because of the lack of originality or, maybe, just because I’m currently into those 8-bit-style graphics.

Google Doodle: Football goalkeeping game

Posted on Aug. 10 in Blog, HTML5 Games with no comments

We have another treat from Google – a football goalkeeping game. The mission is really simple, keep the kicker from scoring three goals. The game continues as long as you keep him from scoring 3 goals. It starts off a little slow, catching pace the more goals you block.

As with the other games, I tried to play it a couple of times. My best score, so far, is…

My posts about the previous games:

Daily Casual Game Roundup 5

Posted on Aug. 09 in Flash Games, Roundup with no comments

It’s a sunny day so I decided to roundup “sunny” flash games. These are games that have light and amazing graphics.

Enjoy!

1. Monster Must Die

Monster Must Die is a fun physics puzzle. Your mission is to “kill” the sleepy yellow monster with the help of your own team of creatures, each with its own special ability.

2. Bears Love Cakes

Yes, they do! Which is why your mission is to feed the hungry cute bear with cakes…and lots of it.

Bears Love Cakes is actually a match 3 game. You match cakes of the same color/flavor, which is then converted into a cake serving for the starving bear. So he’s waiting at the left side waiting for cakes and more cakes! The level ends when he’s full.

3. The Silk Road

The Silk Road isn’t really that ‘sunny’ but I wanted to include it on this list because it’s a great game! This is an rpg-adventure game that will take you from Europe to Asia!

4. Among The Clouds

Fly among the clouds and gather floating balloons! This is a relaxing game by Ferry Halim. Capture as many green balloons as possible and avoid the red ones! Also, you need to keep your hot-air balloon afloat by clicking on it.

5. Friends

Real friends stick together, through thick & thin. Friends is another awesome & relaxing game by Ferry Halim at Orisinal. Guide the bunny and the turtle as they embark on a journey that will test their cooperation.

Google Doodle: Slalom canoe

Posted on Aug. 09 in Blog, HTML5 Games with 1 comment

After the awesomely fun Basketball and Hurdle mini games, Google offers another interactive mini game doodle. This time it’s called Slalom Canoe.

Much like the hurdle game, you have to paddle as fast as you can to the finish line. The controls are almost the same – left & right arrow keys. However, you just don’t press the keys to reach the finish line; they also help you change directions to turn and avoid rocks along the way.

I played the game more than 10 times and I suck at it. My best time is…