I can’t tell exactly, what is so cool about Saintrooper, but there is some magic included to this freeware game for Windows. This platformer got plain level-graphics like Boulder Dash has for example, the controls and action reminds me little bit on games like “Gargoyles Quest”. You can jump, climb on walls, have to find keys, unlock doors, rescue friends and defeat big boss enemies. Sounds like arcade? Yes! The game also feels a little bit of a Japanese action game – no wonder. It is from Japan, so find your way through the foreign letters at the download page. Some hours of action-arcade fun will be guaranteed to you!
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Over at the Atari-Website you can play really, really official vintage Atari-games like Lunar Lander, Crystal Castles, Asteroids and Battlezone online. They load in an applet (I has some issues with loading times and hangs), but it is worth it. The games are still fun. Play them at Atari Arcade.

In December new works from Pixelate are coming up. I am sure, that you are already familiar with some of their works. They made some months ago the outstanding “Understanding Games” series – short flash-animations, that tell about game design in general. Lately the iPhone-game Mr. Bounce made the round, with a stress on unique gameplay, graphics and soundtrack. Oh, soundtrack in general. The Pixelate-guys like to mix up gaming-experiences with electronic sounds and often the soundtracks are available as separate downloads. PS: I just experienced, that Mr. Bounce is also available as flash-version online.

Ok, back to the original topic! The next work from Pixelate will be “The Black Forest“. It is a collection of four small experimental games – each will be released every week in December. The preview looks promising. Clean design, a neutral electronic soundtrack. Can’t wait to get my fingers on this small games.

Flood Fill

Flood Fill is a game, that belongs to the category “mostly harmless”. It’s nice puzzler, with an interesting idea. Your mission is to fill the whole playfield with colors, but the same colors should never touch. You got 4 colors to select from. Sounds easy, eh? The music is very relaxed, rounding up this soothing game-experience. Go for it!

RepliCat

Mindless Labs have a small inspiring game on their website. In RepliCat time and space are disturbed. In result you are haunted by shadows of yourself from the past. Your misson is to collect all items as fast as possible… and at the same time avoid crashes with your shadows of the past at any cost. It sounds more complicated than the game really is. It is a “pick-up-and-play” flash-game in the true nature of “pick-up-and-play”. So check it out!

I am glad to annouce the preview from Krystian Majewskis upcoming game “Trauma“, that will be released for free later that year. He worked at it for really a long time now – and renamed the game now from “Illucinated” to “TRAUMA”. The game is a little bit like a “point and click adventure”, but it focus is on “creating a rich experience rather than an elaborate puzzle challenge”. The game is meant to be played by a literate and mature audience. The game features an unconventional approach, telling the story of a woman, that tries to get herself after having a car accident. Watch the video, to get convinced, that this game follows more higher reasons, than just to please for some minutes of fun.

Majewski submitted TRAUMA to the Independend Games Festival (IGF). The good news are: in any way, this game will be available for free in a Flash-enables browser near you by the end of 2009.

Uh, I almost forgot… The game features real pictures from the Cologne-cityscape. There are work-in-progress pictures available.

Star Guard is a little, but well rounded platform-shooting game. You fight your way to 9 levels with yellow walls. The red guys are the enemies, the green guys are the good guys. Background is black, weapons white. You don’t need much more to do a pretty straightforward platform-shooter. Animations, sounds, gameplay… all nicely done and liquid as hell. At the end also some solid made boss-fights are waiting!

Inspiring little free-game. Star Guard is available to download for Mac and PC.