Vampire Boy

Villiam is Vampire Boy. The only time he goes out to play with the other kids is on Halloween night when they go door-to-door for tricks-or-treats. Villiam's big sister was in a bad mood one night, and she took all their candy and hid it around the castle. Help Villiam find all the candy that his big sis took from him and his friends.

From Robotduck comes this delightfully original and fiendishly challenging platformer with a sweet Halloween theme. Run and jump around platforms while avoiding enemies to grab all the candy on each level. And since Villiam is a vampire, he can turn into a bat and fly for a short duration, except that he needs candy to fuel his flight.

For every five (5) candies collected in a level, you may use Villiam's special bat powers to reach higher spots or to traverse wide gaps. But it doesn't last long! To complete each level you must choose wisely when to use your special powers, or you may not be able to finish. Press [R] to restart a level from the beginning.

Use the arrow keys for movement left and right, to jump, and to crouch. Alternatively, you may use the [O] and [P] keys for left and right, [Q] to jump, and [A] to crouch. Press [space] or [ctrl] to change into a bat. To view the map for a level at any time, press [M]. The number of candies left to find appears in the top right corner of the game window.

You will be given a password at the beginning of each level so that you may start the game at any level that you wish. You have three (3) lives with which to make it through all 13 levels and the big showdown in Villiam's sister's room at the end.

Analysis: The game is excellent. Once you take to the controls and move Villiam around the levels you will understand when I say the controls are tight, and it just feels right. The game has a classic retro arcade appeal that elevates it above most other browser-based platformers. Add to that brilliant and challenging level design, a contemporary and funky hip hop soundtrack, great sound effects, and original hand-drawn graphics, and what you have in front of you is an extraordinary offering for a Web-based game. Charming and challenging, and delicious. Click.

Benjamin Pitt creates original Shockwave games like this one for his RobotDuck site where a membership is required for full access to the games. Although a membership is not required to play the demo versions, once you play through the first few levels of this, or any other Robotduck game, you will want to see the rest. Just by registering with the site you will receive full access to all of Robotduck's games free for 5 days. After that, membership costs just $10.