Two things the indie gaming community thrives on are experimentation and nostalgia. Some developers push their concepts so far the resulting experience is unlike anything we've ever seen. It may be fun, it may be frustrating, but we love it for the boundless innovation. Other developers take classic concepts and reinvent them for the modern player, resurrecting proven gaming mechanics for everyone to enjoy once again. The selection of games below illustrates both concepts quite well, with a few games blending both nostalgia and experimentation in equal parts. Gotta love indie game creators!

Harmony (Windows, 41.7MB, free) - A great retro-styled first person shooter made by Thomas van der Velden using the ZDoom game engine. Arm yourself with weapons to take out enemies as you work your way through almost a dozen massive areas, collecting passkeys and slowly opening more rooms to explore. Secrets are everywhere in this game, so keep your eyes peeled for anything that looks out of place. You'll also want to visit the options menu to config the controls to your liking. Eight years in the making (wow), the game is packed with original graphics, music, and level designs. Monsters were even molded from clay figures! An impressive accomplishment that's especially awesome for us gamers who grew up with the likes of Doom and Duke Nukem!

Featherweight (Windows, 15MB, free) - Another bite-sized release from adventure game creator Ben Chandler. You play as Thadd, a scout for a rebel group fighting against not-so-nice robots. One of your fellow non-robots has been captured by the machines, and he sets out to rescue her. The game is set up like most adventure games with a point and click interface, and any shortcomings in the puzzles or story are minimized because the game is so short. It's an excellent way to get a casual taste of adventuring without settling in for a marathon gaming session. Also check out some of Ben's other adventure games: Awakener, Heed, and Annie Android.

Dungeon (Windows, 3.5MB, free) (direct download) - A tough, minimalist platform game created by indie stars cactus and Mr. Podunkian. Run through the green dungeon, avoiding spikes, enemies, and falling into that flowing pool of lava (who keeps lava in their castle, anyway?). A story is pieced together at the top of the screen as you move through each area. Be ready to die multiple times in this game, but fortunately you respawn only a few screens back, so frustration never really kicks in.

Devil's Tuning Fork (Windows, 42.9MB, free) - Created by a group of DePaul University students, Devil's Tuning Fork is an experimental design that plays on your sense of visual space and sound. Trapped in an illusory world, you play a child who mysteriously falls into a coma. Other children have suffered the same fate, and as you wander around the pitch black world you must collect stuffed animals to help set them free. Using a tuning fork, you can emit sound waves to temporarily see your surroundings. Different kinds of sound waves can be used to see different things, all shown with a gorgeous water-like flowing motion. The controls are a little sticky, and sometimes it gets annoying being immersed in a completely dark space, but the atmosphere of intrigue is intense and you'll be compelled to see the game through.

Note: All games have been confirmed to run under Windows Vista and are virus-free. Mac users should try Boot Camp, Parallels, or CrossOver Games to play Windows titles, Linux users can use Wine. If you know of a great game we should feature, use the Submit link above to send it in!

Lottie's got a problem. The night of her big audition at Bridger Conservatory, the culmination of seventeen years' hard work and cutthroat tactics, her voice gives out on her. But rather than comfort herself the good old fashioned way with a bucket of ice cream and a three-way phone call to her Best Friends Forever, Lottie has another plan. She's not ready to give up, you see. And in this darkly funny piece of interactive fiction from Sarah Morayati, it's not whether you win or lose... because losing isn't an option. Broken Legs is a catty, clever little adventure whose writing elevates it above its technical difficulties.

If you've never played a piece of interactive fiction before, Broken Legs might be slightly overwhelming because there's very little handholding. Useful commands include "examine", "ask/talk to (person's name) about", "inventory", and, perhaps most importantly, "call mom". Typing "save" will let you save your game, something you may want to do often. As Lottie will proudly inform you, she only thinks in compass directions now, so you'll need to "go north" rather than "up". This is actually a little frustrating, since there doesn't appear to be any way to make Lottie repeat the available exits in a room after she enters, and trying out every available direction is tedious.

You're not looking to find a way to fix Lottie's voice or convince the judges to give her a second chance. You'll need to think outside the box to find ways of ruining the other auditions, or turning the others against each other. Yes, it's mean, and you probably wouldn't want Lottie babysitting for you or acting as any sort of role model. But Lottie's teenage cattiness is so over-the-top exaggerated (at least, one would hope) that it's impossible to take her as anything other than satire, and the scant profanity that pops up now and again means this one isn't for the kiddies anyway.

Analysis: There's a good chance you knew someone like Lottie when you were growing up. And if you can't think of anyone who fits the bill, there's an even better chance that it's because there's a little Lottie in you. She's not a bad person, exactly; just more than a little self-absorbed. Still, I doubt she'd be half so reluctantly likable if not for the writing of Sarah Morayati, whose snappy dialogue and snarky prose skewers the teenage stereotype. You're probably going to enjoy Broken Legs the most if you were ever once a teenage girl. (Or if you've ever played one in a Lindsay Lohan movie.) I remember that time, and I miss it, because then? I knew everything. And so did everyone I hung out with.

There are times when I almost felt like Broken Legs would have been a better novel than a game. The writing might be top notch, but the puzzle design is, unfortunately, not. A lot of it is based upon knowing who to talk to (and what to say to them) at the right time, and you can quite easily miss your chance . You'll probably come to rely heavily on calling Lottie's mom for hints (and sometimes flat-out directions), but should you have to? Part of the fun of interactive fiction is figuring out what to do with the situations presented, and unfortunately quite a few of the puzzles in Broken Legs are unintuitive.

But is Broken Legs worth a look? If you find the bratty antics of a selfish teenage girl offensive, you may want to give it a miss. But for those of us who are fans of mean humour, or can just take it in the satirical spirit, you'll probably enjoy it for the exceptional writing. Players looking for high action and adventure will be disappointed, but Broken Legs is a clever story with a protagonist you just may love to hate.

Download Broken Legs (Mac/Windows/Linux, 1MB, free)

Note: In order to play Broken Legs, you'll need to download an interpreter for your operating system. Try Gargoyle for Windows, or Zoom for Macintosh and Unix.

If you like Broken Legs, take a look at other Interactive Fiction we have reviewed here at JIG!

Fans of Escape the Museum rejoice, for a sequel is finally here! Gogii Games has brought us Escape the Museum 2, which, like the original is an adventure/hidden object hybrid that draws heavily on the room escape aesthetic for its intricate, logical gameplay. In this sequel, you are not escaping the museum itself, but escaping to the museum in an attempt to find your family. Yes, this time around it's David's story.

Players of Escape the Museum know the story of museum curator Susan who ended up trapped in her own workplace with her daughter when a massive earthquake struck. When Escape the Museum ended, young Caitlin had escaped the museum even as her mother, Susan, went back to rescue more artifacts. But what about Susan's husband and Caitlin's father, David? All we know from cell phone calls is that he made his way to the museum, at one point escaping police custody to do so. Now, in Gogii's sequel, Escape the Museum 2, follow the intrepid David as he attempts to run to the rescue of his family. Unfortunately for David, however, the earthquake damaged more than just the Museum. Power lines are down everywhere, bridges have collapsed, and there are a multitude of obstacles between one brave man and his family. A brave man with a blood pressure condition. Now isn't that a recipe for disaster?

To start, David must find a map (he doesn't know the way to his wife's work?) and his cell phone. Then he goes out the door and on his adventurous way. Well, he goes out the door and meets a homeless person who immediately lets him know the situation and gloms on for the rest of the game. Each scene plays like a mini-escape game. There is always a main goal, whether it be making it to the next scene over or around some obstacle, or helping some civilian who has been trapped by falling debris. Hover the cursor around the area until a question mark or gears appear, marking the hotspots. Click on the correct hotspot(s), and you'll get a clue as to what needs to be done, as well as the appearance of sparkles indicating a hidden object scene. Collect items from a list in each hidden object scene, many of those items will end up being ones you need to solve the main puzzle. Figure out the main puzzle and use your handy map to navigate to the next area.

Hints... well, the hint system in Escape the Museum 2 may be the most original ever featured in an adventure/hidden object hybrid. Remember the homeless guy? He will follow David constantly and act as a guru. Confused as to what steps to take to complete the main puzzle? You can click on a photo of the homeless dude and he will give you step-by-step instructions. Reached an area that is impassible? Homeless dude will offer to show you the way over, through, or around, in exchange for you finding 10 objects for his many precious "collections". Can't spot that one item in the HOG scene? Click on a picture of the homeless dude and a bottle will fly into the scene, shattering where the object in question resides. Yes, you heard me right. The homeless dude actually chucks bottles at things to show you where they are! Best. Hint system. EVER!

Each area that David visits has more than just the main puzzle. There are other hidden objects to find that will become very important later, as well as several side quests involving toys, lost pets, lost children, and worried adults. Stars will appear at the beginning of the scene by the menu/inventory area and will light up when a task is completed. So take time to explore! Oh, but be careful with the excess incorrect clicks. Remember, David has some sort of blood pressure condition, and multiple quick wrong clicks will drive his heart rate up into the danger zone, causing the screen to go a lovely shade of red while the sound of his rapidly beating heart overwhelms the background music.

Analysis: Escape the Museum was a pioneer in the Adventure/HOG field, and Escape the Museum 2 goes all-out to top the original. Better graphics, more tension, more adventure, and one of the funniest hint systems ever seen in a game. You might say, "but practically every hybrid coming out today has great graphics," and you would be right. Where Escape the Museum excels is in the gameplay as well, creating a tense, tight, wonderful adventure that can be enjoyed by the entire family.

The artwork in the original Escape the Museum was good, but suffered from an unfortunate "graininess" which made it sometimes difficult to distinguish items in the dark, cluttered rooms. No such problems in Escape the Museum 2! The adventure and HOG scenes are bright, clear, sharp, and photo real. The story of David and his family is told in pretty, watercolor type cut-scenes in-between the adventure sequences. Appropriately frantic music and sound effects round out the gameplay experience.

As is the recent trend, Escape the Museum 2 is shorter than the original, although it still contains a full 30 escape scenes, each with its own puzzles, HOG scenes, and side quests. Not as long as Escape the Museum, but not as short as some games on the market today, Escape the Museum 2 should still deliver a good 2 - 3 hours of fantastic casual gameplay. And as with many games of the genre, a lot of the items from the HOG scenes have absolutely nothing to do with the ongoing story. You need to find a seagull to keep a gas station from blowing up? Really? Well, no, not really. The final big puzzle is quite intricate, but the game practically holds your hand through the whole thing, making it much simpler than it could have been.

Still, the adventure/escape gameplay is something to behold. Have fun as you try to escape downed wires; keep a gas station from exploding; escape from the back of a police cruiser using only chewing gum, a bobby pin, and and a dime; and rifle through some person's wallet and use their credit cards as well. What? They shouldn't have written down their PIN and left it in their wallet, should they.

Lapses in logic aside, Escape the Museum 2 is a colorful, wild ride that tops the original in just about every aspect. So buckle up, find that map, charge your cell phone, unleash your inner MacGuyver, and get ready to navigate your way through a collapsing city. Just ignore the homeless guy following you around like a lost puppy. Really, he's there to help.

Windows:
Download the demo
Order the full version

Mac OS X:
Not available.
Try Boot Camp or Parallels or CrossOver Games.

It's that time again! Yes, that day of the week where you make us homemade cards telling us how wonderful we are in prose and send us muffin baskets themed like... oh. Wait. That's tomorrow! How silly of me. Today is Link Dump Friday, where we show our appreciation for you with a snack pack of new games to start your weekend off right. Because we care. We care so much, there's a bonus game this week, we don't even mind if you forget our muffin baskets. (Although, I am awfully fond of carrot spice... hint, hint.)

• Cargo Bridge: X-Mas Level Pack - If you felt the original Cargo Bridge needed to be about twelve levels longer and prominently feature a nervous looking reindeer, rejoice! It's never too early to start thinking about Christmas, and it's never too early for building flimsy structures designed to send tiny workmen plummeting to their doom in the most hilarious fashion possible. Well, at least, that's how I play it.
• HiRoads - Inspired by ye olde Sky Roads (... e), here's a 3D platform game where you guide a ball through a series of levels resembling the bonus stage in an old Sonic game. While the game features 27 levels, registering for a free account gets you access to the level editor and every level your fellow players have made. If cars aren't your thing, and you instead pretended to be a small round ball when you were running around your yard as a child, then this is the game for you. Weirdo.
• Fly Squirrel Fly - We know what you're thinking. "Not another one of those games where you buy upgrades and fly as far to the right as you can!" Well the joke's on you, sucker! Because this is a game where you buy upgrades and fly as far to the left as you can! It also features squirrels and the unreasonable flinging about thereof. So, you know, there's that.
• R.I.F.T. - Remember that scene in Star Wars where Luke had to appease Jabba by bringing him deliciously fattening bakery treats?... or was that just a dream I had after eating one too many pixie stix?... huh. Either way, this physics puzzle platformer is a lot like that, only with more robots and less repulsive alien beings. A slightly sloppy collision detection engine makes for bumpy going, but it's cute as the proverbial button.
• Beastie Burgers - With gameplay undoubtedly inspired by Order Up!, slick graphics and audio, and an off-beat sense of humour, Beastie Burger combines the joys of time management with the satisfaction of cooking for customers who don't appreciate a single thing you do and would just as soon eat your face off. (Just like real life!) While not without its issues, and falling prey to repetitiveness, it's still an enjoyable diversion. Just as long as you don't mind hairs in your burgers.
• Sketcharoo! - Bonus Game! Because this online version of Pictionary relies on actually finding another player online, and because they ask that only those 21 and over participate, it didn't seem right to bump another game off the list for it. Also, we might crush the servers with the mighty hammer of our community. Hopefully, you, our dearly beloved audience, will be able to find each other in the sea that is the internets to play against each other. Sadly, I likely won't be joining you since everything I draw winds up being the same thing. "Misshapen stick creature bemoaning its tortured existence."

How good are you at following instructions? What if the instructions are rather cryptic or even misleading? I'm sure we have all experienced instructions like that in the real world. Just go down to Walmart and purchase something that needs assembling before you can use it and you'll know exactly what I mean. In What You See, a new point-and-click puzzle game, sometimes what you see isn't what you get (understand).

Just follow the instructions for each level, trying to figure out what they mean and then performing the action(s) required. It's a bit like a classic riddle game, but with a large dose of pointing and clicking added to make it accessible to a more casual audience.

The beginning levels seem super easy, and then the difficulty wall comes and you'll be soon scratching your head wondering what the author wants you to do. And that's the real trouble with riddles games (or technical instructions for that matter): trying to get inside the author's head to understand what is expected of you. Some things you see will be clues and have meaning, others will just be filler or a red herring. It's a puzzle game that may not appeal to everyone, but as puzzle games go, this one is wicked fun.

Play What You See.

Ninja, pffffft. There's what we think of your ninja. Bunch of spotlight grabbin', pajama-wearin' show-offs who are about as good at the whole "we're a big secret thing" as Peter Parker. More importantly, they distract from the real heroes; the samurai. While the ninja are off flipping out and/or wakeboarding down at the beach for all the girls, the samurai are off doing important things. Like making sure someone is at home to meet the repairman, dropping little Billy off at school, and preparing for tax season. Oh, and starring in Forever Samurai, a new side-scrolling hack-and-slash game from Pixelante and fending off enormous dragons. That's important, too.

Control your brave little toaster, er, samurai, with the [wasd] keys, and click the mouse button to attack. You'll want to be careful actually moving the mouse, since doing so triggers special attacks, and can send you zinging around the screen like a marionette with a drunken puppeteer if you aren't prepared. Take your time to learn the ropes, since you're not on a schedule. After all, the hordes of ravenous mythical beasts about to descend on your succulent samurai flesh know how to fight, so you probably should, too.

Depending on what difficult you're playing, death can be the end or a temporary setback. Either way, you'll probably want to avoid it. As you take damage, things will take on a more and more intense red haze. You slowly regenerate health over time, so don't be afraid to run away if things get too hairy. Killing enemies nets you experience points, which you can use to purchase upgrades at checkpoints throughout the game. You can increase your attack, health, or purchase a new special ability for you to spend a few frantic moments trying to look like you know what you're doing with.

Analysis: Okay, so a big part of Forever Samurai's appeal is definitely it's aesthetic. It's two steps and a ridiculous hairstyle away from being the newest anime cult hit, or maybe a drastic reimagining starring Samuel L Jackson. The colours are vibrant, the designs are classic, and everything has a wonderfully minimalistic feel to it. The game probably won't take you very long to complete, even if you're a newcomer to the wonderful world of button mashing (or mouse clicking, in this case), but it's definitely a unique experience. Enemies, I was delighted to find, are lifted straight from Japanese folklore. I can't tell you how much more interesting it is to fight a Kappa or a Tengu rather than yet another random laser-eyed robot.

But the controls, the controls. NNNNGH. You know, I hate fiddling with ridiculous button combinations as much as the next person, but tying special attacks to the mouse movements was just such a big misstep and turns an otherwise lovely and fluid game into a potential clunker. Assigning abilities to specific keys would have been much more preferable to seeing your hero fling himself forward like a stupid, stupid dart because you accidentally twitched the mouse. And while the red screen is certainly atmospheric, it's too hard to tell just how wounded you are. That's right. I miss health meters, too. I'm a rebel.

Forever Samurai winds up being one of those games that trips itself up a little, but still races gamely along. Drink in its lovely visuals and clever design, but take the control scheme with a pinch of salt (or a shot of sake) and you'll be just fine. Or spend a little while balancing on a wooden post, backlit against the setting sun. Mr Miyagi would be proud either way.

Play Forever Samurai.

Casual games have invaded our lives! They steal our time when we're supposed to be doing homework. They distract us from our jobs. They fill our mobile phones with delicious diversions ready to entertain us at any point during the day. And now, they're ready to invade... your ears!

The JayIsGames staff along with FlashGameLicense have finally gone mad and decided to start a podcast! We call it Way Too Casual because, well, that's what we are. The bi-weekly episodes will focus on casual gaming news, events, reviews, and lots more. We have some great surprises planned for future episodes! It's a great way to keep up on the biggest browser game releases and current events in the world of casual gaming. All while you go on your morning jog!

But wait! There's more! We're not content to just talk amongst ourselves, we want to hear from you! Now you can interact with the JIG staff in an entirely new dimension. Got a question you're dying to toss our way? Want to know our thoughts on the latest casual gaming revolution? Need that recipe for brussels sprout soup? We're here to help. Leave a voice mail on Skype or drop us an e-mail. You never know, we might just use your question for the next episode!


E-mail: waytoocasual@gmail.com

That's it! Grab the podcast below, listen away, and be sure to check out the handy links after the break. Keep up with the latest podcast happenings on the official Way Too Casual website!

Download Way Too Casual #001
"I Can Say Armadillo"
(MP3, 38.5MB, 44:07)
Subscribe via iTunes

Byzantine Perspective, by Lea Albaugh, is a tight little heist game from this year's annual Interactive Fiction Competition. You're a student with less-than-legal plans for how to fund your education: get into a museum of Byzantine artifacts, get the valuable antique chalice, get out again. You're rigged out in your best cat-burglar clothes, with your best cat-burglar tools — some of them borrowed from an acquaintance, which raises never-answered questions about what sorts of company the protagonist keeps.

The museum is sparely described, but what's there is pleasingly authentic and non-generic: this isn't a random Hollywood-style Museum of Nothing in Particular with the Venus de Milo in one corner and the crown jewels in another. The contents are all things you might plausibly find in an exhibit on Byzantine art and culture.

Your character can even read ancient Greek, a detail that I found instantly endearing.

The setting aside, though, the core of Byzantine Perspective is a single puzzle — but one that's entirely novel and only possible in the medium of text.

If at first you feel mystified, give it a little time and keep exploring. Anything strange you encounter is likely to be intentional, and using a walkthrough for this one is not nearly as fun as figuring it out for yourself.

Important note: unlike most text games, this one really needs a visual aid — this map, designed to accompany the work. I recommend having it open in another window while you play. (It's conceivable to win without the aid of the map, but it will be more difficult.)

To say much more would be to spoil it. Byzantine Perspective makes the perfect lunchtime game: quick to play and very satisfying to work out.

Play Byzantine Perspective (online)

Download Byzantine Perspective (from the IFDB)

Okay, we've done elaborate escapes, we've done mind-bending escapes, we've done serial escapes, we've done a lot of holiday themed escapes, we've done cute escapes, and... let's just go minimal, shall we? Escape From Mr. Y's Room 2 by Tesshi-e, creator of Escape From the Pumpkin Room, is about as minimal as it gets for room escapes.

As with all room escape games your ability to get out depends on your searching the room for clues, solving puzzles, and checking every nook and cranny for objects to help you on your way. Not that there's many nooks and crannies to explore here. Just four walls, three pieces of furniture and a door, yet this fun little escapade includes some very tricky puzzles and, believe it or not, two different ways to get out of the room.

Navigation through the space is accomplished by bars at the sides and bottom of the screen. Not that there's much navigation, per se, as there's only so many places you can go in a small, square room. As with all Tesshi-e games inventory control is simple with an "about item" button to bring inventory items into close up. And you'll want to do that. There's a little bit of pixel hunting, but nothing terrible.

The room itself is very minimal with four white walls and a warm, polished hardwood floor, with Tesshi-e's standard 3D rendering, lights, shadows, and reflections. It almost, in fact, looks like a meditation room. The furnishings might look a bit familiar. Yes, that's the couch and table from Escape From the Living Room, and look, the coffee grinder from Escape From the Pumpkin Room as well! A nice touch is the rotation effect when you move left or right, as if you are actually spinning in a three dimensional space rather than just ending up at your next destination with each click. Keep turning left or right really quickly and make yourself dizzy!

Analysis: Yes, another simple, easy mid-week escape. It's nice not to have to think too hard in the middle of the week, isn't it? Most of the puzzles are pretty simple and easily solved, but the central puzzle is a corker and may cause a minor amount of head banging. Still, it would be surprising if experienced escapers took more than 20 minutes to figure out this little beauty.

Along with the minimal yet lush decor, there's a haunting little piano melody playing in the background that enhances the relaxed, casual gameplay. You can adjust the sound up or down or simply mute it, which is always nice, especially if you're playing somewhere where you don't want folks to know you're playing a game. Not that you'd play at the office, or anything. Really.

Surprisingly enough for a Tesshi-e game, there's no construction going on in Mr. Y's room. Use of found objects, yes. Combining of some found objects, certainly. But no building of cars from cell phones, repairing toy airplanes, or carving pumpkins here. So for those who disdain that sort of thing, relax and enjoy the mental puzzles. Even more surprising is the standard "Happy Coin Escape", which is, for once, accomplished without actually finding the happy coin. And such a tricky, unexpected little second escape it is, too!

Perhaps the only complaint about Escape From Mr. Y's Room 2 is that it is too simple. Although the central puzzle is certainly a brain teaser, the other puzzles could use some beefing up. The game itself is Japanese, but you don't need to know the language to escape. All of the puzzles are either based on numbers or the English alphabet. Still, it sometimes feels like you're missing part of the story, doesn't it?

Forget the quibbles. Escape From Mr. Y's Room is a relaxing way to stretch your brain in the middle of the week without overheating. Let the bare walls and lilting piano music take you to a very Zen place as you try to escape. Settle into a lotus position, take a deep breath, let it out, and enjoy the Zen of casual gameplay.

Play Escape from Mr. Y's Room 2.

"Settle in, little Billy, and I'll tell you a story. A story about how your grandfather fought the Kaiser with nothing but his guts. Guts and a toothpick..." You can almost see a kindly, white-haired gentleman sitting on a porch somewhere telling his enthralled grandson about his experiences when you play How My Grandfather Won the War by OneMrBean, a side scrolling avoider that captures the essence of childhood imagination in its short but beautiful gameplay.

As the scenery rolls by you control a fighter plane simply using the [up] and [down] arrow keys. The plane is equipped with a cannon that shoots water (or ink) with the [space] bar, revealing "the world as it really is" and creating a safe passage through obstacles. The objective is simple, make it to the end of the game. The execution, however, is a tad more difficult. Much of the fun of making it through to the end of How My Grandfather Won the War is in the exploration of "reality" using the water cannon. Sunbursts become clouds, fire becomes water, squid tentacles (yes, squid) become blowing palm trees, etc. You may find yourself crashing and burning a lot in the beginning as you play around attempting to see "reality" rather than avoiding the deadly obstacles.

How to even begin describing the fantastic art of How My Grandfather Won the War? It's as if little Billy — once his head is stuffed full of Grandpa's stories — ran right out and created a moving diorama using cardboard, string, and a little paint. The detail is so fantastic you can almost touch the screen and feel the rough edges of haphazardly cut items. The "reality" exposed by the water cannon is bright and cartoony, adding to the surreality of the gameplay experience. One is tempted to just sit back and marvel at the unbelievable graphics, but unfortunately that will result in a quick and fiery death. The plaintive guitar music only adds to the almost melancholy atmosphere.

Players may even take up the debate: is it gameplay or art? Is it something to while away a few minutes, or is it something to experience and savor? Can it be all of those things at once?

Analysis: Once again we see a game designer pushing the envelope, blurring the line between game and interactive art. How My Grandfather Won the War can be played as a simple side scroller, but it is so much more. This is a piece that is designed to evoke emotions, whether awe, joy, or frustration.

Yes, frustration. Although the game is beautiful to look at and wonderful to experience, there are a few minor flaws. Gameplay goes from simple to breathtakingly difficult in the blink of an eye. Death (or crashing) will take you back to a checkpoint in the game rather than throw you back to the beginning, but it still can be frustrating in the extreme to try and get past some of the later obstacles, even using the water cannon to help clear the way. Due to the extreme difficulty of the later areas, some of the wonder is lost as you must spend so much time attempting to get past obstacles you lose the ability to explore that makes this game such a fantastic experience.

Nevertheless, How My Grandfather Won the War is a stunning game that is worth a second, and even third play through. Treat it as a simple side-scroller for casual gameplay or go deeper and explore every inch of its breathtaking cardboard world.

Play How My Grandfather Won the War.

So you think you're a casual game aficionado with a passion for the indie game development community, and you would love to add your insights and perspectives to the ever-growing chorus of voices here at JIG but don't know how. Am I right?

We have freelance writing opportunities available, but you will have to play, evaluate and discuss a great many games with us before deciding which ones deserve a full review, just a blurb, or even a spot on the revered and exclusive Link Dump Friday feature. That's just the way things work around here.

If this sounds like something you've been wanting to do, and you have a lot of spare time on your hands to play a lot of games, then we are looking for you! Please send your inquiry and review samples similar to those that we feature at JIG to: freelance [at] casualgameplay.com.

Also interested in competent and thorough comment moderators, walkthrough and strategy guide writers/editors (with excellent HTML skills!), especially those with a perfectionist eye and an acute attention to detail.

If you think kids these days have it too easy with their save points and their health meters and their self-esteem not left in tatters from a digital villain, then this is the game you've been waiting for. Merubyiusu, from H. Inada, is a retro side-scroller shooter straight out of the mid-nineties. You play a winged fox flying through a forest, trying not to get blown up by blowing up your enemies first. Why? Who cares! At only three stages so far, each with its own boss fight, Merubyiusu is short enough to whet your appetite and pique your nostalgia, and just difficult enough to erode your soul. (It itches!)

Only the start menu is in English, but that's all you'll need to play. Select "Start" by hitting [space]. Merubyiusu controls by flying with the [arrow] keys, firing with [x], and swapping between your available weapons with [z]. There are four to get in all, each dropped by enemies, and each fires in its own unique way. You can hold down the [x] button the whole way and spray a weak stream of fire without stopping, or you can hold off and give the gauge in the lower-left corner time to fill, and find your next shots that much deadlier. Just don't spend too much time watching it; enemies are quick and numerous, and one hit takes away one of your three lives. Once all of them are gone, it's game over. (Although you can continue from between levels once you've finished one.)

Still, as simple as it is, Merubyiusu does occasionally seem a little unbalanced. Enemies can take dozens of hits but I can only take one? And the green weapon with the homing projectiles seems like a cheap and easy way to victory at first... until it starts locking on to enemies behind obstacles it can't reach instead of targeting the closest death-bot. Is it really hard, or have I just become soft from a decade of auto-targeting and clever AI? I'm not sure, but just as some people will rejoice at the difficulty, others may be turned off by it.

However, enemies appear in set places in each stage, and once you've gone through it once or twice you'll find it's easier to stay, you know, non-dead when you know which direction your intended demise is coming from next. If you're looking for something short to hearken you back to the days of Nintendo Power Gloves and Red Ryder BB Guns, you'll probably enjoy the game's arcade feel. Merubyiusu has a lot of expanding to do, but in the meantime, saddle up your fox and ride on out. It's something to cheer those of us up who die a little inside every time we talk about Gradius and the 12-year-old kid with his DS says, "What's that?"

Play Merubyiusu.