Politics, horror, rampant cloning and a living will – October is off
to a very good start. So as you gather the harvest (or pop to Tesco to
buy cans of frozen veg), and prepare your costume for Halloween (I’m
going as Kay Burley, the fabled Sky News monster), don’t forget to
unwind with a webgame or two. We’ve collected the week’s best below.
Play it online here.
Even the sound effects seem to be taken from Zelda. The only thing missing is, well, Zelda.
On the games-that-are-a-bit-like-Zelda scale, Legend of Pandora is
peeking over the top. Don’t let the weirdly Conan-esque title screen
fool you, or the character portraits (ripped from RPG Maker). Despite a
few concessions to the RPG genre, this is a Zelda clone through and
through. Luckily, it’s also a well-executed and fairly enjoyable one,
even if lacks an identity of its own.
Play it online here.
Dodging fire requires careful timing. One teensy act of immolation and you're toast.
Nitrome’s turn-based Roguey puzzle game put a stupid grin on my face
after about three seconds. I think the trick to eliciting that hideously
rictus face is to combine blown-up little pixel people with a beautiful
chiptune soundtrack and at least one interesting game mechanic. The
diminutively lovely Turnament twists the roguelike into a smart little
puzzle game, shoving a surprisingly emotive tune over the top. Turn your
attention to it forthwith.
Play it online here.
Nobody actually gets killed during the political battles, but many egos are bruised.
If you missed the great Romney/Obama debate the other day, you can
catch up via this strategy… er, strategery game, which recreates the
event exactly as it went down, as a series of Advance Wars-style
turn-based battles. It sounds like a lightweight comedy game but it
really isn’t; it’s more like a flawless cover version of Intelligent
Systems’ classic strategy title, with an additional layer of political
lampoonery. Dedicate a bit of time to this one, because it’s well worth
it.
Play it online here.
Horror pro-tip: If you're in a creepy house and you hear the telephone ring, let it go to voicemail.
If Lone Survivor put you in the mood for more grainily pixellated
indie horror goodness, then Deep Sleep should scratch that itch. It’s an
adventure game that has you exploring a creepy, abandoned house that –
twist! – appears to reside inside your head. Saying much more would
spoil it, but special attention must be paid to the wonderful sound
design, which accounts for about 90% of the atmosphere.
Play it online here.
Proof that IF games don't give good screenshot.
There’s some great stuff being created for the 18th Annual
Interactive Fiction Competition, including the beautifully written
Howling Dogs,
but a particular highlight is Mark Marino’s Living Will, which uses the
form of an interactive will to tell a story. It’s a novel approach, and
one that begs multiple replays as you deal with the bequeathments from a
number of a different perspectives. There’s also a good Downton Abbey
joke buried in there somewhere, which we don’t get to say often enough.
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