Time Wasters for 2010

Posted by: Dignan

Time Wasters for 2010 - 02/03/2010 20:32

As long as we're doing threads for videos and TV, I thought people might be interested in a thread that groups all the online games that have been recommended.

Here are the ones I've posted so far that I could find:

Blosics 2
This Is The Only Level
One Button Bob
Creeper World

I really friggin' love Creeper World. I wouldn't have thought that I liked tower defense games, because usually I don't like games that are very nerve-wracking. I do, however, love strategy, so that's probably what draws me to them. My favorite game on Android is Robo Defense, and I bought the full version of Creeper World and finished every one of the missions. I also seriously got into Plants vs Zombies, having only purchased it from Steam on Saturday, and already finished everything but some of the survival modes and purchasing items in the store.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 02/03/2010 20:32

And here's a new one. I'm not sure whether I recommend it or not. I love the interesting gameplay ideas it creates, but the collision detection occasionally gets so annoying I stopped playing. Definitely worth checking out though, if you like new gameplay ideas:

Invisible Runner
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 09/03/2010 14:11

Steambirds

Pretty fun turn-based aerial dogfighting. I can't imagine how to beat 1949, though.
Posted by: petteri

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 09/03/2010 16:02

Originally Posted By: Dignan
Steambirds

Pretty fun turn-based aerial dogfighting. I can't imagine how to beat 1949, though.


Looks fun, but it won't let me past the first level...
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 20/03/2010 17:08

Demolition Dude - pretty fun, but I'm glad they occasionally give you skips, which I used twice. It's also nice that they give you an in-game link to Youtube tutorials on how to get through the levels. Kinda cheating, but sometimes you just get fed up smile

Paper Cannon - a similar game. also fun, also occasionally frustrating.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 23/03/2010 14:05

My apologies if this thread annoys anyone smile Just figured some folks might like one or two of these games.

Brick Yard 2 - great idea, essentially the opposite of Tetris, where you're attempting to stack the pieces as high as possible.

Japanese breakout game - barely even a game, and about two minutes in it's not even difficult, but it's pretty fun to watch the colors go. Probably even better if you're on something...
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 23/03/2010 14:08

No, I totally love the games you mention. Keep it up!
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 23/03/2010 14:11

Originally Posted By: wfaulk
No, I totally love the games you mention. Keep it up!
Thanks! Happy to do so!
Posted by: msaeger

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 23/03/2010 21:42

Yeah I play them I just never actively go looking for any so I don't find any to post. Keep posting for us lazy people smile
Posted by: petteri

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 23/03/2010 22:00

Ditto, keep up the good work!
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 24/03/2010 02:36

Thanks folks.

BTW, this isn't one of my usual games I recommend, but if you have a Wii, I can't recommend highly enough the game that came out this week for Wii Ware:

Cave Story

The only apprehension I have in recommending it is that I haven't played it on the Wii, and they've done a lot of work to get it on there. I played it for the PC, and it's one of the best 2D platform gaming experiences I've ever had.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 25/03/2010 22:23

Brick Yard becomes much easier after you unlock the bottom slot.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 25/03/2010 23:50

Originally Posted By: wfaulk
Brick Yard becomes much easier after you unlock the bottom slot.

I tend to be a somewhat "care-free" mouse clicker, and as such gave up on that game, however much I enjoyed it. I just couldn't get past the hard crash when I accidentally right-clicked. And unlike other flash games that save your progress (using cookies I assume), this one appears to make you start over.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 26/03/2010 02:26

It saves progress for me.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 26/03/2010 17:01

Taberinos - It's like a weird game of billiards, really requiring you to think out where your shot will end up. The only negative I have for it is that it's the type of flash game that starts over if you fail. I prefer the kind that saves your progress (like Brick Yard apparently does if you're not me smile ).
Posted by: msaeger

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 26/03/2010 18:56

Did you buy Cave Story yet ?

I am going to get it tonight when I get home. Everything I have read has said it is still good and if you don't like the new graphics I sounds like you can play it in the original mode.

Edit:

I have been playing for a couple hours and it's still good. I have only used the new graphics and sound. The only annoying things I have found so far are they only let you change the sound and graphics options from the main menu so if you are playing you need to save and exit to the main menu.

So go buy it Wii owners smile
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 27/03/2010 02:31

Yeah, that's definitely on my to do list for tomorrow. It really is an amazing game. One thing I'm worried about is the control scheme. When I played on the PC, I was actually using a weird USB controller, but I'd mapped the buttons exactly how I wanted them, very customized to how I played the game. I'm curious to see how it carries over.

They really put a lot of care into making this "port." It's almost not a port anymore, what with the improved graphics and all the other work that went into it.
Posted by: msaeger

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 27/03/2010 02:44

1 is shoot 2 is jump the button on the bottom switches weapons. Having to use the button on the bottom is kind of annoying. I don't think you can remap anything but I didn't look either.

I guess it works with the classic controller too but I haven't tried that so I don't know how those are mapped.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 28/03/2010 14:02

Holy cow, Cave Story is as good as I remember, and probably even better now that it's on the Wii. The graphics and sound are perfectly updated. Just enough so that it looks good but still gives that faux-retro feel.

And the gameplay... oooohhh man... This seriously has some of the best gameplay I've ever had from a 2D platformer. Just beautiful. I love that right out of the gate you can do cool moves like jumping over enemies while firing down at them. Then things get out of control once you get the lvl3 machine gun. YES!

So, yeah, this is probably my favorite Wii game now. And it's just a WiiWare title! I'll have to check some more WiiWare games out. I really loved Lost Winds.
Posted by: msaeger

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 28/03/2010 18:04

I have been playing a bunch all weekend and it has been great playing something that doesn't try to hold your hand all the time. I have actually done some things out of order from what the game expects.

This is the first wii ware game I have bought too but I have a bunch of virtual console games. That's pretty much all I do on the wii.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 28/03/2010 19:23

Originally Posted By: msaeger
I have been playing a bunch all weekend and it has been great playing something that doesn't try to hold your hand all the time. I have actually done some things out of order from what the game expects.

It doesn't do that, but there were a few points where I really had to strain to think what to do next, and I didn't always enjoy that. Still, lots of fun.

Quote:
This is the first wii ware game I have bought too but I have a bunch of virtual console games. That's pretty much all I do on the wii.

Actually, I've bought a WiiWare game before. Check out Lost Winds. And I believe the sequel is out or will be soon. I have to check that out.
Posted by: msaeger

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 28/03/2010 23:57

I just really like when I can explore that's why the first Legend of Zelda is still my favorite game. They just drop you there and you have no idea what to do.

The reviews of Lost Winds look pretty good I will have to try it after I get done with this one.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 05/04/2010 11:17

wOne - kind of a weird game where you're a spinning wheel, trying to collect barrels (for some reason). It's kind of refreshing to have only two buttons for control.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 05/04/2010 11:35

Starlight 2 - rotate the stars until the image appears. After the tutorial levels, the first level I was dumped into on my own took me a crazy amount of time to figure out and get the hang of it, but after that I blazed through the rest, spending about 3 seconds on each. My favorite was "Gregory House" smile
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 05/04/2010 15:43

That one was a little too easy. There was (to me) an obvious trick:

Click to reveal..
Just point all of the big jaggies towards yourself.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 05/04/2010 19:07

Originally Posted By: wfaulk
That one was a little too easy. There was (to me) an obvious trick:

Click to reveal..
Just point all of the big jaggies towards yourself.

Yeah, I was a tad disappointed too. Like I said, it took me about a minute to get the first one (I kept trying to rotate it TOO much, and moving the mouse off the screen), but once I figured it out they were pretty much all the same exact thing, and each one takes about 3 seconds to figure out. Even when you get really close to the result, you don't even have to see what the image is to finish, you just have to straighten up the lines. I typically didn't know what the stars made until I finished each puzzle.

And wOne is okay, but a tad annoying. Not my best finds, I know wink
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 08/04/2010 18:45

Tiny Castle - The level design in this one is pretty fun. There are a couple annoying points, and the humor at the end is not that funny, but the rest is a good time.

Effing Hail - my favorite name of any game I've posted here. I always love seeing new gameplay elements, and this one is fun. It sort of just...ends, though. I wish they'd let you play in the sandbox for a while.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 10/04/2010 20:01

Imperfect Balance - Brick Yard was like the opposite of Tetris, and this one is like the opposite of Brick Yard, but not at all like Tetris smile
Posted by: Phoenix42

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 10/04/2010 22:37

Blokus
Quick play lets you play against 3 computer players, or you can play as guest against other people. This is assuming you don't want to register and spend loads of time there.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 12/04/2010 03:08

Woah! That one's tough to get my head around! Thanks for posting that!
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 13/04/2010 13:01

Synopsis Quest - humorous, if you played 8/16 bit RPGs. One or two of these really annoyed me, but I finished them smile


*edit*
And I don't know why they made the game so small. It's tiny on my 30" monitor. Thank goodness Chrome will zoom in on flash elements. That's pretty cool. Don't know if other browsers do...
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 15/04/2010 17:03

This Is the Only Level Too. More of the same. This one seems a little easier.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 16/04/2010 15:23

Bloons Super Monkey - Seems pretty silly at first, but quickly gets pretty challenging. I could only get to stage 3, wave 2

*edit*
And man oh man do I get discouraged when I see other people's scores. I got 36,052 points, today's high score is 308,413, and the all time high score is 22,167,920.
Posted by: RobotCaleb

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 16/04/2010 16:48

I played through that twice in a row when it came out. Can't recall my score. Just played through it again with a high score of 106,417. I've never failed to complete it, however. Are you upgrading? I think upgrade path plays a huge role in success.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 16/04/2010 18:36

That could definitely be the case. How do you usually go? Do you upgrade one thing throughout, or do a mix? I was trying to do a mix. I also sense that my strategy is not as good as it could be.

*edit*
I'm definitely not upgrading correctly, and I think that has the most to do with it. One game I tried ONLY upgrading the darts, and I lasted two about 3 waves. This last time I tried upgrading more strategically, and got to the laser beams smile
Posted by: RobotCaleb

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 16/04/2010 20:23

Well, you want to optimize your bloon popping ability. Double darts is a big help, but expensive. This last run I started with one lightning and then moved to the boomerang, then to the double darts. I think double before boomerang might be better, though. I definitely spread it out.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 17/04/2010 10:35

Okay, I'll try that the next time. I got much further the last time, but despite my best efforts I still couldn't pop enough bloons, even though I thought I was right on in my flying.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 17/04/2010 10:35

Here's a little unusual flash game post.

First, there's an xkcd comic.

Then, someone actually made a flash game based on it!
Posted by: frog51

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 20/04/2010 20:32

Haha - very good. Although I couldn't get past level one...

:-)
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 21/04/2010 01:31

Penguins Attack 2 - I'm always a fan of tower defense games. This one seems a little too much on the difficult side to me, but maybe I'm just not playing right...

Monster Evolution - kind of easy, and the controls are a bit stiff, but still pretty fun and appealing to the Rampage lover inside of you.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 22/04/2010 21:36

Torus: Another Tetris-alike, the difference here being that instead of being a bordered plane, you can cross from one side to the other, and lap pieces over the border. Oh, and there's no border, because it's actually presented in 3d!

It's really a simple version, but, niftily, it is not implemented in Flash or Java, but all in totally standards-based HTML5. Which means that you'll need a modern browser to run it: pretty much any current-release browser except IE8. (It might run there, but I doubt it, and I haven't checked.)
Posted by: tonyc

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 29/04/2010 13:55

Super Mario Crossover
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 30/04/2010 03:35

Originally Posted By: tonyc

Um...I love the concept, but it doesn't seem to be working for me. I get the initial menu up, I choose New Game, it tells me to use the arrow keys and enter. I press enter and it takes me back to the main menu. The furthest I've been able to get is by turning tutorials off, then I can get to the character select screen, but pressing enter on any of the characters does nothing...
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 30/04/2010 11:04

"Press Z to select a character"
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 30/04/2010 17:43

Originally Posted By: wfaulk
"Press Z to select a character"

Odd, I tried the game again, and I got that message. It wasn't working last night. Like I said, until I turned off the tutorials, I couldn't even get past the main menu.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 04/05/2010 12:13

Hands of War - In case anyone wanted a flash game RPG that will immediately suck hours of their life away. I thought "hey, I'll check this out for a bit," and two hours later I seriously need to start my day, but I can't break away from this thing despite the bad visuals and occasionally awkward controls.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 12/05/2010 02:17

The Codex of Alchemical Engineering
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 14/05/2010 20:30

Enough Plumbers - Pretty fun gameplay, though I can't seem to get past level 13...
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 21/05/2010 14:29

Give up, Robot - Do you like epileptic seizures and grappling hooks? If so, try this game out! Plus it has a GLaDOS-esque voice taunting you whenever you die. 42 and 50 (the last one) were the hardest for me.

Here's my scores the first time through:
Time:
39:01.88
Score:
18,594,870

Gluey - This one was a little more relaxing at first, and by now you know how I love Tetris variants, but there were a few levels that started jacking up the difficulty big-time. Levels 1-9 were a walk in the park for me, but then I must have played level 10 at least 25 times before I just barely got enough points to go on. Finally, I just gave up on level 16 smile
Posted by: canuckInOR

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 21/05/2010 15:42

Originally Posted By: Dignan
Gluey [...] Finally, I just gave up on level 16 smile
Ah, that was the last level. Beating that unlocks the zen level.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 21/05/2010 17:09

Darn! Maybe I was just tired from Give Up, Robot. I'll give it another try sometime.

*edit*
Ah, there we go. Took me about 12 tries that time to beat 16. Level 10 is still annoying to me, though.
Posted by: frog51

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 23/05/2010 10:02

Still haven't got past 16, and I have tried about 20 times - keep getting close!

Must try give up robot, but it is 24 degrees outside, so not just now!
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 02/06/2010 22:17

Gem Grab - A fun puzzle game. I like how it changes things up a little every few levels. It really starts tricking you late in the game... smile
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 03/06/2010 10:20

Age of War 2 - sort of a tower defense game, but different. I quite enjoyed this one. A little difficult at first, especially on easy mode, but towards the end I was like two civilizations ahead of the computer. This would be fun two player game.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 03/06/2010 15:03

Soccer Balls - has nothing to do with soccer (or football) smile It's pretty fun, though. At first it looks like a Gorillas clone, but it's really not. You're just trying to hit the ref with the ball. At first I was holding the mouse button down to get harder kicks, thinking that my score depended on how hard I hit the ref, but holding it down doesn't do anything, and you just have to tap the ref with the ball to make his head explode smile
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 03/06/2010 15:52

Is it just me, or did Gem Grab turn into nothing more than a version of "Operation!", just trying to not touch the edges?
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 03/06/2010 16:23

Originally Posted By: wfaulk
Is it just me, or did Gem Grab turn into nothing more than an version of "Operation!", just trying to not touch the edges?

Did you go through the whole game trying to not touch the walls with the gem? If so, kudos to you, because that must make it very challenging!

You can slam that gem against any surface as hard as you want.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 03/06/2010 16:45

No, I was talking about the levels with the spots that create or delete a wall. It seemed like it was getting to the point where the puzzles weren't any harder, but they only gave you a few pixels to eke the gem through, and if you touched the wall, it would twist the gem and push it into the activation spot. So it got to be, for me, move a pixel, arrow to rotate the cube, move a pixel, arrow to rotate the cube, move a pixel, arrow to rotate the cube, flash hangs up and it rotates it 45°, making me have to start over.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 03/06/2010 16:46

Interesting. I didn't have that experience at all. There are definitely levels, though, where there is more than one solution to the puzzle.
Posted by: frog51

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 03/06/2010 20:53

Yeah - I quite liked Gem Grab but it was for me a very fast game, with too many levels a quick 'lift up something, then fling the gem through a gap before gravity makes it impossible' sort of idea
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 22/06/2010 21:41

Kill Me! - A wacky puzzle game where you essentially kill yourself to progress through the levels. Very weird but pretty fun.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 23/06/2010 04:50

Asteroids - Come on, you know Asteroids! I really suck at it, though...
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 28/06/2010 15:38

Fat Slice - slice the areas to a small enough size while trapping all the balls. I've played games like this before, and this one is pretty fun aside from two levels. The spider and the T-Rex drove me insane, and I didn't finish the latter...
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 29/06/2010 19:22

Goldie's Revenge - Fun little game where you launch an object to try to hit another object. It's been done hundreds of times before (and the graphics of this one aren't fantastic), but it's a mechanic I tend to enjoy.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 30/06/2010 14:39

I finally got the T-Rex, but I was about to give up. The thing that irritated me the most is that sometimes the balls would fly out of the shape completely, making it impossible to complete.

The method I used:
Click to reveal..
First, slice off the arm, the lower part of the "rear" leg, and the end of the tail: the extremities that are not protected by a wall. Then slice off the front leg, starting at the gap at the upper thigh. Clean up any leftover from the lower part of the leg. Now slice off the bottom wall, starting at the rear leg stub and going to the front leg stub. This is a long cut, the angle doesn't provide much leeway, and the balls are almost constantly in the area you want to cut through. Now cut off the head. You can do this in two different pieces, if needed. Now cut off the walls protecting the chest and torso. Another long cut, but not as awkward as the bottom one. Now cut off the butt wall, then the bottom of the tail wall. As quickly as you can, clean up the tail area so that there's no "meat" left next to the wall. It's very common for a ball to get trapped there. You're now down to a single, albeit long and curved, wall. Now it's just a matter of attrition. Cut off pieces away from the wall as much as you can when you can. You'll eventually get there.

This is all from memory, so I might have forgotten something.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 30/06/2010 14:57

Yeah, I noticed the balls leaving the image too. That was super annoying.
Posted by: hybrid8

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 30/06/2010 18:06

I thought for a moment yesterday that the T-Rex might just be a joke and impossible. I cut it down to a pretty small shape before fsking up and ending that round. After a few more tries I gave up.

I've seen other divide/trap games before, but I quite liked this one. None of the other actually involved a chopping "swoosh" sound, nor eliminated the pieces you chopped off.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 30/06/2010 20:06

Originally Posted By: hybrid8
I've seen other divide/trap games before, but I quite liked this one. None of the other actually involved a chopping "swoosh" sound, nor eliminated the pieces you chopped off.

Yeah, that's what I liked about it. There's a game on Android called Trap! that I've played practically since the G1 first came out. That one made it difficult by forcing you to time your divisions, because they went slowly, so you lost if a ball hit your dividing line.
Posted by: frog51

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 02/07/2010 12:41

Didn't ever see the balls leave but yeah, found the t-rex difficult. had more trouble with the spider though (just fat thumbs) and took me ages to get the japanese reference

(and I'm supposed to be a geek!)
Posted by: Roger

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 02/07/2010 14:35

Originally Posted By: frog51
Didn't ever see the balls leave but yeah, found the t-rex difficult.


The balls sometimes escape via the tail. I've not managed to do the T-Rex yet, but I'm close. I'm this close. Honest.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 02/07/2010 19:05

Japanese reference?
Posted by: frog51

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 04/07/2010 10:36

Originally Posted By: wfaulk
Japanese reference?


The only way to win the game on the little wave level. Had to really dig deep in my gamer past for that one :-)
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 04/07/2010 11:41

Wave? Are we talking about the same game?
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 04/07/2010 14:50

Um...yeah, I've got to say I'm not on the same page either...
Posted by: frog51

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 05/07/2010 08:25

The final level of the slicing game - where you get to the spiral with the japanese wave. Beating it gets you the lightsaber...

[help]
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 05/07/2010 13:52

Originally Posted By: wfaulk
I finally got the T-Rex, but I was about to give up. The thing that irritated me the most is that sometimes the balls would fly out of the shape completely, making it impossible to complete.

The method I used:

Bitt!! Thanks for the tips! I finally got the desire back to try to beat that stupid level, and despite my need to punch the creator of this game in his little white bouncing balls, I finally finished the level. I freaking hated that one. It took me 63 slices...
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 05/07/2010 13:57

Originally Posted By: frog51
The final level of the slicing game - where you get to the spiral with the japanese wave. Beating it gets you the lightsaber...

[help]

OOOOOooohhhhh!!! I get it now wink
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 05/07/2010 16:54

This space intentionally left blank.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 05/07/2010 17:58

Originally Posted By: wfaulk
This space intentionally left blank.

There's a level after the T-Rex that just has a spiral.
Click to reveal..
The text inside refers to Konami, and asks you to enter the Konami code, which turns your cursor into a light saber. There is no end to the level, it just lets you cut up the spiral.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 06/07/2010 18:16

Action Turnip! - Simplistic but worth perhaps 5 minutes. The one major offense, though, is that I don't feel that the controls are responsive enough, which in this type of game is deadly...
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 09/08/2010 11:33

The Pinball Adventure - I've never gotten into pinball, but this was pretty fun. The flippers are a little too slow, though...
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 10/08/2010 19:18

Vox Populi, Vox Dei(a werewolf thriller) - This is a bit of an odd 2D platformer/puzzler in which you're a ninja who absolutely destroys werewolves.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 16/08/2010 11:25

Solipskier - I like the gameplay mechanic, but I'm not good at it at all! smile
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 16/08/2010 14:51

That one is cool. Very different gameplay. I feel like he should be Iceman, though.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 16/08/2010 19:03

Globs - Path of the Guru - A straight-up color matching puzzle game. Pretty straightforward, but fun for a little while smile
Posted by: frog51

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 17/08/2010 10:11

Matt - if you like tower defence type games, this one kept me amused for the last couple of weeks:

Cursed Treasure
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 17/08/2010 14:56

Thanks for the recommendation! I do like it a lot! I've played this type of tower defense before, where the enemies follow a path to steal a stockpile of something and then take it back along that path, but I hadn't enjoyed it as much as this one. I'm only about 6 levels in so far but I'm liking it. I occasionally feel like I don't have enough gold to really continue building at a pace that matches the increasing number and power of enemies, but for the most part it seems pretty well balanced.

Thanks again! I'll be playing this one for a while smile
Posted by: frog51

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 18/08/2010 08:14

Originally Posted By: Dignan
I occasionally feel like I don't have enough gold to really continue building at a pace that matches the increasing number and power of enemies, but for the most part it seems pretty well balanced.


Some levels definitely need to be revisited with better firepower, and I've been through the full thing twice using different powerup plans to get a feel for it. The penultimate level was the hardest - Boss Ninjas take a lot of damage...some interesting tactics required to ensure the right towers have the right strength.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 18/08/2010 11:06

How do you deal with those boss ninjas? It seems like they're invisible until they've stolen a jewel. For example, I'm trying to get "brilliant" on level 7, but I get to the very last champion and he doesn't become attackable until right before he steals a jewel. I'll admit, it took me a while in the game to realize that the ninjas become invisible as soon as they're first attacked, so I put towers right at the beginning to give myself enough of a chance to get them later.

Anyway, I'm currently up to the penultimate level, so I'll see how I like it. I currently have 7 brilliants, 3 excellents, and 3 goods at level 20.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 18/08/2010 11:33

Rory, I have to ask, is it just me, or are you also occasionally unable to click on the spells? There have been a couple dozen instances where I try to click on a spell and it just won't let me click it! It's extremely frustrating and maddening...
Posted by: frog51

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 18/08/2010 20:14

Boss Ninjas - whup up with a maxed out snow tower on entry, and then use fire towers closer to the treasure. In the meantime, smack em with 4 meteor strikes. Also helps if you have your powerups maxed on freeze and fear as that slows them down!

I only got all brilliants at level 45 (the last four took a while)

Haven't had the no spell thing - sometimes I am hovering there waiting for my mana to reach the right level, but no glitches like that
Posted by: JeffS

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 21/08/2010 01:38

Fun game. Just beat it at level 21. Going to work on Brilliants now. I have 1-10 and 13. From reading though looks like it'll take a while.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 21/08/2010 04:17

It took me to level 40, but I didn't realize until around level 34 that I could hold down the shift key to repeatedly apply spells or towers. That's what helped me beat the ninja bosses. Before I was clicking the spell, clicking the bad guy, and repeating, which was seriously nerve-wracking.
Posted by: frog51

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 21/08/2010 18:34

Ooooh - wish I had known about the holding shift down thing. I was having to do the click, select, click again thing too!
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 21/08/2010 18:52

Originally Posted By: frog51
Ooooh - wish I had known about the holding shift down thing. I was having to do the click, select, click again thing too!

I know, right! That was freaking annoying, and the ninja bosses were just too fast for me, plus for some reason the spell button would frequently simply stop working for me. I would click on it and it just wouldn't select, so I'd get screwed over every time.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 25/08/2010 03:14

Zombie Balloon Heads - The game is quite buggy, at least it was for me, but pretty fun.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 13/09/2010 14:15

Sushi Cat: The Honeymoon - I enjoyed the first Sushi Cat, which is basically Peggle with slight differences (and is free). This one is pretty fun too.

Doodle God - You have to match elements to create new elements. Some are far more obvious than others. Basically, this game involves an insane amount of clicking, and I'm still not certain it's fun smile
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 13/09/2010 23:07

Originally Posted By: Dignan
Doodle God - I'm still not certain it's fun smile

I'll help you out. It's not. It also needs to come with a stern warning for compulsives not to play it.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 13/09/2010 23:38

Originally Posted By: wfaulk
Originally Posted By: Dignan
Doodle God - I'm still not certain it's fun smile

I'll help you out. It's not. It also needs to come with a stern warning for compulsives not to play it.

Yeah, that's what I concluded. Eventually I just decided it wasn't any fun and followed a cheat guide to finish most of it. Even that wasn't fun.
Posted by: frog51

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 14/09/2010 07:09

Originally Posted By: Dignan
Originally Posted By: wfaulk
Originally Posted By: Dignan
Doodle God - I'm still not certain it's fun smile

I'll help you out. It's not. It also needs to come with a stern warning for compulsives not to play it.

Yeah, that's what I concluded. Eventually I just decided it wasn't any fun and followed a cheat guide to finish most of it. Even that wasn't fun.


Me too - so annoying! Leave well alone, I reckon...
Posted by: Robotic

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 14/09/2010 13:39

Originally Posted By: Dignan
I also seriously got into Plants vs Zombies, having only purchased it from Steam on Saturday, and already finished everything but some of the survival modes and purchasing items in the store.

My brother recently introduced me to Plants vs. Zombies and I'm not sure yet whether to forgive him. I've lost two nights sleep with that game.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 14/09/2010 14:54

I friggin' love it. Similar to you, I'm not sure whether I want Popcap to release an Android version, because I'd play it all the time, everywhere I go.
Posted by: Robotic

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 14/09/2010 16:28

The last time I was seriously hooked on a game was 1990 or so.
My sister had a game on her PC where some young alien was lost on a planet. You had to navigate the screens left-to-right and get past obstacles. The alien had suction-cup hands. I can't remember the name of the game at all, but I do recall the day I beat the last level. Maybe the name of the alien child had two Os in it?

edit-
Whoa- ok, flood of memories. I also played Duke Nukem on that machine as well as some other one where the protagonist was a whiz kid. Can't remember the name of that one. edit2- Commander Keen!

And, to be honest, I have been caught by other games more recently. Specifically the series of Hidden Expedition and Mystery Case Files from Big Fish Games (all due to my brother, bless or curse him).
Posted by: Phoenix42

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 14/09/2010 23:16

Commander Keen still lives.
Posted by: canuckInOR

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 15/09/2010 16:54

Originally Posted By: Phoenix42
Commander Keen still lives.

Ooh, fond memories. We used to play that (and Duke Nukem) as a multi-player game by splitting the keys up. One person left/right, the other jump/shoot.
Posted by: RobotCaleb

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 15/09/2010 20:55

Originally Posted By: canuckInOR
Originally Posted By: Phoenix42
Commander Keen still lives.

Ooh, fond memories. We used to play that (and Duke Nukem) as a multi-player game by splitting the keys up. One person left/right, the other jump/shoot.


That sounds horrible! smile
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 16/09/2010 04:19

Because this thread is titled "Time Wasters" and not "Flash Time Wasters," I'm equal opportunity when it comes to productivity killers.

Biolab Disaster - I'm also a sucker for 2D platformers, as long as the controls and gameplay are good. This one is good enough, even if it's an extremely basic and very short game. It's also done entirely in HTML5, and those games are starting to have a sort of vibe to them that's hard for me to explain. Maybe it's the resurgence of sprites or something.

Anyway, like I said, it's really short, but it might be fun to try speed runs.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 28/09/2010 19:27

Sieger - Basically a first person Angry Birds.
Posted by: andy

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 28/09/2010 21:05

Originally Posted By: Dignan
Sieger - Basically a first person Angry Birds.

Far, far too easy. Just play all the way through in a few minutes, no comparison to Angry Birds.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 28/09/2010 23:22

Originally Posted By: andy
Originally Posted By: Dignan
Sieger - Basically a first person Angry Birds.

Far, far too easy. Just play all the way through in a few minutes, no comparison to Angry Birds.

Yeah, I had the same experience. I just meant the gameplay was essentially Angry Birds (although Angry Birds wasn't the first game with that design either).
Posted by: Robotic

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 28/09/2010 23:23

Originally Posted By: Robotic
The last time I was seriously hooked on a game was 1990 or so.
My sister had a game on her PC where some young alien was lost on a planet. You had to navigate the screens left-to-right and get past obstacles. The alien had suction-cup hands. I can't remember the name of the game at all, but I do recall the day I beat the last level. Maybe the name of the alien child had two Os in it?

Cosmo's Cosmic Adventure from Apogee
http://www.retrothing.com/2010/04/ultimate-apogee-software-gaming-guide.html

Trying to remember that name was driving me nuts.

edit-
complete synopsis here (wikipedia)
Posted by: msaeger

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 29/09/2010 00:01

That game reminds me of playing this one as a kid.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/246545/crossbows-and-catapults
Posted by: Robotic

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 29/09/2010 14:59

Zap webpages with an Asteroids-style bookmarklet!
homepage
Gizmodo blurb
Posted by: tman

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 29/09/2010 15:57

Anybody tried Minecraft?

Its an odd game. At the moment the guy is still writing it but you have the ability to dig/mine and anything you mine can be collected as raw material. You either build something with it or use it as a component to create a tool or object.

So collecting wood lets you make a wood mining pick. That lets you collect stone and coal. Stone lets you make a stone mining pick. That lets you collect iron ore. Stone lets you make a furnace. Iron ore + coal in the furnace gets you iron ingots. Wood + iron ingots lets you make an iron mining pick. etc...

Some people have made crazy things with it like a working 16 bit ALU or the Enterprise from Star Trek.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 30/09/2010 15:32

Continuity is a pretty cool concept. I think it would be better if you could control the panels and the character at the same time rather than having to zoom in and out.
Posted by: Tim

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 01/10/2010 10:45

Originally Posted By: tman
Anybody tried Minecraft?

I have a few friends who play Minecraft. They refer to it as either an Autism Simulator or the 'cool Facebook game', or something similar to that. One of them has a live feed set up to watch him build, which is just scary to me.
Posted by: Phoenix42

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 01/10/2010 11:41

Are there some instruction for Minecraft? I couldn't figure it out.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 01/10/2010 11:41

Originally Posted By: wfaulk
Continuity is a pretty cool concept. I think it would be better if you could control the panels and the character at the same time rather than having to zoom in and out.

I like it! Very cool design concept, combining those little plastic puzzles with a video game.

The only problem I had with it is that there are several points where it's not clear at all that you can't go from one tile to another. I'll forgive it when the openings across the tiles are different sizes, because that can at least be explained as part of the matching puzzle element. But when both openings are the same size and you get that annoying buzz that you can't go across, it's kind of a bad design.

Other than that I loved it.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 01/10/2010 11:43

Originally Posted By: Tim
Originally Posted By: tman
Anybody tried Minecraft?

I have a few friends who play Minecraft. They refer to it as either an Autism Simulator or the 'cool Facebook game', or something similar to that. One of them has a live feed set up to watch him build, which is just scary to me.

Minecraft looks like the most boring game ever invented. I'd rather play Desert Bus.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 01/10/2010 11:47

The entirety of the touching edge has to match. So if there's a gap or wall somewhere that is irrelevant to your little dude, it still prevents moving between the sides.
Posted by: Tim

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 01/10/2010 12:41

Originally Posted By: Phoenix42
Are there some instruction for Minecraft? I couldn't figure it out.

I think they said there was a Wiki for it or something. I'll ask tonight.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 01/10/2010 17:59

Originally Posted By: wfaulk
The entirety of the touching edge has to match. So if there's a gap or wall somewhere that is irrelevant to your little dude, it still prevents moving between the sides.

But that's what I'm saying. Early on there were a couple of levels where two "slides" had identical edges, but I wasn't allowed to move between them. Even worse, in a couple instances there were matching drops, but when I'd jump into them I'd die, and that's just bad design. Other than that I had no complaints.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 01/10/2010 20:23

Strange. I did not have that experience. Sometimes they come close to matching up, but don't.
Posted by: Tim

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 03/10/2010 19:41

Originally Posted By: Tim
Originally Posted By: Phoenix42
Are there some instruction for Minecraft? I couldn't figure it out.

I think they said there was a Wiki for it or something. I'll ask tonight.


http://www.minecraftwiki.net/wiki/Main_Page
Posted by: hybrid8

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 03/10/2010 20:45

Originally Posted By: Dignan
Early on there were a couple of levels where two "slides" had identical edges, but I wasn't allowed to move between them.


Hmmm... I played out to level 11 and didn't notice that. When I couldn't walk it was because the sides definitely didn't match up. A couple of times I caught myself as I thought they matched, but didn't. One of the last levels I played had multiple tiles that matched, yet were all useless, except for one. I liked that little trickery. smile

All in all, really creative - it's actually quite amazing how quickly and intuitively one can move the slides around too.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 04/10/2010 16:15

I just tried Fruit Ninja since it was recently release on Android. I have one question:

How on earth is this the number one game on Android and the iPhone?

On Android I can understand because gaming on Android sucks, but there are plenty of other games on the iPhone. Fruit Ninja has a single gameplay element and it's just plain boring. I got bored after about five minutes.

Thankfully, Android lets me get refunds on apps...
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 30/11/2010 20:09

Matt, lately you're doing a lousy job of optimizing my time wasting. Shape up! wink

Epsilon
It's like a 2D Portal, plus Braid, sorta.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 30/11/2010 20:13

My apologies! I've come across some games, but most of them are pretty dull.

That, and maybe all my casual gaming time was taken up by Angry Birds. There were several times where I'd kick back in front of my computer to take a break and kill some pigs.

But I've unlocked all the golden eggs now, so I'm ready to waste my time with other games smile

*edit*
ps- cool game! My head is starting to hurt, but I'm enjoying the challenge. They did a nice job with the aesthetics, too.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 30/11/2010 20:40

There's an interesting list of games here.
Posted by: wfaulk

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 30/11/2010 20:42

Angry Birds was oddly addictive. The new "theme" for Android, with the fat cardinals, was awful, though.
Posted by: frog51

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 30/11/2010 20:45

And I have been quite enjoying this little flash game: Bunny Flags which has a bit of tower defence as well as a couple of other genres, as well as being full of fingers, thumbs and whole hands.
Posted by: Dignan

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 30/11/2010 20:58

Originally Posted By: wfaulk
Angry Birds was oddly addictive. The new "theme" for Android, with the fat cardinals, was awful, though.

The update made their game nearly unplayable. It boggles my mind how they thought they were making good changes there.

I had no problem with the whole ad-supported thing when the app was first released for Android. The ads came up once every 2-4 level attempts, and generally wouldn't stick around. Once every 40-50 level attempts, a full-screen ad would come up, usually with annoying video, but was easily skipped.

After the update, they moved the ads from the bottom-right corner of the screen (which was fine) to the top-right, which means it frequently covers the flight path of your birds! Yes, you can zoom out, but in my experience that decreases accuracy. Even worse, the ads now stay there ALL THE TIME. They never disappear, they just hover over the top-right, sometimes even obscuring your score so you can't tell how well you're doing on a level.

The frequency of the full screen ads has increased to around once every 20 levels attempts (so it's doubled). Again, this wouldn't be so bad if the ads obeyed the mute setting of the game. No, instead I'll be quietly playing a game and all of a sudden an ad will start blaring at me if I can't get to the "skip" button fast enough.

Rovio completely screwed up their game, and they seem completely deaf to their users (though granted, they have a heck of a lot of users).
Posted by: frog51

Re: Time Wasters for 2010 - 06/12/2010 19:58

I was playing with a friend's iPad at the weekend, and Rock Band for iPad is actually very good. It felt quite natural to me - managed to play Megadeth's 'Peace Sells...' on Expert.

Still not persuaded to get one, but that is the single best thing I have found so far, even beating the ebook reader, which is so much better than the Kindle and the Sony offerings.

If it was £100 then I would get one now.