Rise and shine, dearest readers! It's another fabulous day, and Link Dump Friday is here to be the awesome precursor to your awesome weekend. If I sound like I'm in a good mood, well... I am! The sun is shining, tiny squares are meeting a painful fate over and over again, robots everywhere are joining hands in fellowship, invaders are being blown up, and, somewhere, one cat is getting his paws on some well deserved cow juice. If none of that makes sense to you, then you haven't checked out these games yet! What are you waiting for?
Infinite Tower RPG - RPGs get a lot of flack these days, but usually when people say they "practically play themselves", they don't really mean it. Well... until now, anyway. More of a webtoy than a game, this simple little ditty asks you to just handle distributing stats upon level up and managing your hero's upgrades as he stabs his way through an infinite number of enemies, over and over and over and over. The game will basically play itself, so you can let it run in another tab and click over when the stabbing sounds stop to allocate points. (This is how Jay hands out paychecks every month. It's also why I have all these scars. I'm tenacious.)
Space is Key - Grease is the word, but apparently the [spacebar] is the key in this fast-paced, frustrating and addictive little arcade game where the goal is simply to make it from one side of the screen to the other. Easier said than done since your brave little square avatar is apparently made of spun sugar and will shatter into a billion pixels if it even gets within breathing distance of an obstacle. The farther you go, the trickier things get, adding traps, tunnels, gaps, and triggers to contend with along with the sense that the developer is just rocking back and forth on his heels, giggling like a maniac at how often you fail.
Robo-Sockets - Is there anything more heartwarming than joining hands with your fellow man? This cute arcade game that combines Tetris with match-3 gameplay has you trying to link chains of robots together to share energy by stacking them so that their hands interlock. There's a bit too much unpredictability to really allow you to strategize here, especially with the crates and transforming thingamabobber, but it's a cute way to while away the minutes while you're waiting for the next work order for our cruel mechanical overlords.
Milk Quest - Cats are awesome. Of course mine are the best, but they're all pretty great. That's why I know you'll want to do all you can to help the kitten in this cute, simple little point-and-click puzzle adventure game. He's all out of milk, you see, and it's up to you to guide him through a series of surreal obstacles on his way to the "Milk Treasure". Being that he's a cat, he'll probably reward you with a pile of vomit in the middle of the night that you won't discover until it's all cold and congealed the next morning and you're walking around barefoot. But, hey. That's Cat for "I love, or at least tolerate you."
Particle Wars Extreme - Is there anything not improved by a frenzy mode? Seriously, the next time you're brushing your teeth, scream "FRENZY!" and just start thrashing toothpaste everywhere. I guarantee you'll have more fun, or at least get your significant other to cast suspicious glances your way for the next week or two. Invoking classic Space Invaders gameplay and shooter action, Particle Wars Extreme is all about racking up points and combos in the flashiest (frenziest) manner possible. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go do the laundry while frenzied. And then probably clean up a whole load of detergent afterwards.
Angry Birds Flash - Although it prominently features birds (familiar angry ones) there's something fishy about the origins of this flash game, so play it while you can— game has been taken down per the copyright holder's request. If you live under a rock/on the moon/in a rabbit hutch/in the small town in the butt-end of nowhere I grew up in, let me clue you in on the Angry Birds phenomenon; the goal in this little physics puzzle is to hurl your limited supply of birds at the pigs on the far side of the screen, trying to demolish all of them before you run out of fowl fodder. While this flash demo is not in English, we like to think the language of bodily hurling tiny kamikaze birds at self-important green pigs is universal. Alllllll we are saaaaaaying... is giiiiiiive peaaaace a chaaaance... or, you know, use birds to solve conflicts. Either way.
Wow, Dora, you just jump on the moment its officially Friday. Its 12:23 here!
[Yep, same time here at the JIG offices, too. We run the site on US Eastern time, but don't overlook the fact that it has been Friday for many hours already in other parts of the world (i.e., it's already 3:00PM Friday in Sydney Australia). -Jay]
I, uh, prefer Elona Shooter when it comes to a game you can leave on autoplay (at later levels) because you can still play with item management and the strategic depth is a little deeper.
Tower RPG is basically just Progress Quest with a little more interactivity.
Aww Milk Quest was cute! And free Angry Birds flash is definitely... fishy.
I actually finished Space is Key....with 1586 deaths.
i feel pretty awesome about my space is key score: 587! there was a "your terrific" or something similar in there though, that made me cringe. still an amazing game overall.
I just made the mistake of opening Angry Birds and Infinite Tower at the same time, with the volume on my headphones turned up, in an otherwise completely quiet house in the middle of the night. Ouch. Once I found the respective mute buttons though, both games were quite fun.
(just to be clear, this isn't at all meant to be a jab at either game's music)
Ya know, when Angry Birds got so popular, I had friends so excited explaining it to me and I said, "Oh, like Crush the Castle?" And they had no idea what I was talking about.
Now that I've actually played Angry Birds (assuming this is like the real version), I have to say, the Crush the Castle series is much better.
Still fun, though! Absolutely one of my favorite game types.
801 deaths, I thought for sure it would be much higher. I never want to play that again.
I've played Angry Birds a lot and it's much more in depth than crush the castle when you get all the other birds. This flash demo really doesn't do it justice.
I got 501 deaths in Space is Key but I was a bit annoyed by that. I would have liked tighter or refined controls (I mean, I must have died close to 100 times because I held space a second too long and then completely screwed up my rhythm).
I also would have liked an indicator of where I had been, à la Super Meat Boy, so that I could gauge where to jump and not (that or the tightened controls). I imagine that a line indicating where you had jumped exactly would be balanced enough as eventually the lines would overlap to a level that makes them useless.
... I'm going back to try and beat the ~250 mark (as that's what the creator got).
... Well, 319 is about as close as I'm willing to get to 250 to be honest. I had the same problem the second time around as I did above. Also, I hated the "your pretty good".
I wasn't a great fan of Infinite Tower RPG. I think Progress Quest is much better specifically because it involves less interaction. I actually felt that I needed to monitor Infinite Tower RPG a bit too much to see what sort of stats I needed to upgrade.
the angry birds flash edition looks... unofficial to hilarious levels. Completely non-functional main menu info and sound buttons, non functional back to main menu button, laggy bird flight, level menu does not keep track of stars or even completed levels...
something fishy indeed.
Space is key for me was primarily a confirmation of my theory that I am willing to put up with more and more unfair platforming the further I am in a game (There's only 2 levels left, I can't quit now!)
Space is the key was frustrating & fun at the same time.
Must admit I'd seen the Angry Birds game on Reddit however (and don't take offense I'm just stating my thoughts) that I'm slightly surprised that you listed it here on JiG seems a little out of integrity for your usual standards as I really can't see that being an "officially endorsed" version.
I finished Space is Key! With 2187 deaths.
Progress Quest is better than Infinity Tower RPG because Progress Quest is much deeper, with better storyline and much more complexity.
About the fishy Angry Birds Flash:
Let's compare it with the iPhone Angry Birds.
They added non-functional buttons.
They got the physics wrong.
They got the scoring wrong.
No stars. No tutorial.
Not so high-quality graphics.
There is only one world, world 1, no matter what button you click.
Translation of title menu says:
Angry indignant aim small bird
...275. I reached Floor 275 in Infinite Tower RPG. Apparently I'd have had to get over twice as high just to make the top fifty.
Space Is Key didn't hold my interest--it just felt like a retro take on City Jumper.
Calling Infinite Tower an RPG is like calling Rock Paper Scissors a strategy game. You can't even call it an action game, because there is no action. At best it's a simulation game, and even then it's not well defined or designed, imo. Too much random luck, there's not actual "advancement" to it, just get a couple more points in each stat and hope that it's enough to beat the exponentially increasing stats of the semi-random enemies you face. Early on you're better off trying to die and using a continue because you a disproportionate amount of "advancement points".
I was thoroughly unimpressed. This is a prime example of WHY RPGs get a lot of flack. Your review was spot on, other than, at least in my opinion, it made it sound much more fun than it actually is.
Looks like you need a Facebook account to play Infinite Tower...? Guess I'm going back to Space is Key.
Space is Key was pretty fun. 519 deaths my first try. Unfortunately, the fact that holding the space bar down makes you jump automatically means that if you die holding down the spacebar (say, because you jumped a second too late), then you'll respawn and immediately jump to your death. So a lot of times you die twice for the same mistake. If they would just put a little delay between when you die and respawn, this wouldn't be a problem.
Okaayy.... This is either a weird random happening or the creator of Infinite Tower is messing with us... I found an orc with 1337 of each stat... he wasn't very leet when he met my level 45 rogue.
Stuck on what appears to be the last level of Milk Quest. I flipped the switch and don't know what next to do.
Ah. Got it. I needed to see where the wires went.
Got 427 on Space Is Key, and I'm not too keen on the -250 mark. There were a couple parts where holding down the space key was necessary in order to make the next jump just that much more instantaneous.
264 deaths on my second try of Space Key. Woo!
I got 186 on my third try of Space Key!!!
Ha! 573 deaths on my first try of Space is Key! WOO!
I did it! I beat Space is Key!!! 917 deaths. xP But, hey, I did it! Honestly though, the vast majority of those deaths were because, once I missed a jump, the game often auto-jumped as the block revived, then I had to die several times just to get back in rhythm.
Particle Wars is excellent.
I managed to get a "failed frenzy attempt" (i.e. It gave me the "entering frenzy mode" messages, and then frenzy mode never started), but I have no idea how... up till now frenzy mode just happened periodically. I didn't realize something I was doing was giving me "successful" frenzy attempts.
space is key 872 death =\ not too bad
I think the trick is to just look ahead over the hurdle and feel when to jump instead of concentrating too much on the timing spot.
LoL
The toothpaste frenzy joke killed me..
I know I'm talking against a wall, but "RPG" should be reserved for any kind of game where you take a role, take decision on the traits of your character etc. Not any game, that has a stat called "health" and "strangth".
Gotta echo dora's sentiments on robo-sockets. It's a great little game, with nice visuals and polished music and sfx, but it loses some playability with the crates and overwhelming proportion of single-link pieces (even on the easiest setting). Unless I missed something, the strategy component could be improved quite a bit if they simple previewed the next piece (or several pieces ala tetris). Otherwise, a very pleasant addition to the random-time-waster-bookmark-folder. Well done.
351 deaths on Space is the Key. I think it's acceptable for a first timer. I would have loved to go under the 200 bar, though..
257 deaths in Space, first try.
Around floor 330 in Tower, first try (with a rogue).
I feel pretty good about myself. =)
Angry Birds Flash isn't loading for me. I've tried from other sites with the same result.
Is it working for anyone?
Thanks
[It's loading for me. -Jay]
184 deaths on Space is Key, second try. Wish the game was a bit longer, but it's still quite fun regardless!
Are you kidding me? I was almost done in Milk Quest when I clicked on a banner ad by mistake. And it opened in the same window! And the game doesn't autosave. Come on Jay, if you're dressing up the game with ads, at least make them open in a new windows.
[I'm sorry that happened to you. Unfortunately, I have no control over that. Google insists on opening them in the same window. They pay the bills around here, so all I can do is apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for your support and patience when dealing with that. -Jay]
Okay, if someone like ME can get less than 250 deaths in Space is Key, then either I've gotten a lot better or the game deserves a tougher sequel!
(Probably both.)
Just say "no" to the speed upgrade in Space is Key. If only ...
I finally gave up on the bottom level where you first have to get the pixels. Dang, I was doing so well up to there, but three obstacles in a row at that speed? Nope.
118 deaths on Space is Key. So very wanted below 100.
Happy being the best on here, though. (at least, until further notice !)
@Jay: Ah, okay. Didn't know that. Sorry for the rage. :)
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