Every Day The Same Dream is a short but sweet adventure game, "a slightly existential riff on the theme of alienation and refusal of labor," in the artist's own words. And it comes from Molleindustria, creators of fine Flash-based games like the contentious Faith Fighter and Oiligarchy.

Mess around with this experimental title, enjoy what it has to offer—including an actual way to "beat" the game!—and let us know your thoughts.

Every Day The Same Dream [Molledindustria via IndieGames]

Canabalt is a game of escape, a simple, one-action platformer that—from a gameplay perspective—is little more than careful jumping, an accelerated sprint across rooftops, through windows and over tower cranes. As the highwater pants-wearing star of Canabalt, a black and white escapee with impressive stamina, players must avoid obstacles that can slow their sprint and bombs that will turn them into a fine mist as they run away from... something. Players must also avoid running face first into a wall and plummeting to their death.

There's a free Flash version of Canabalt and an iPhone port available through the iTunes App Store. Canabalt is worth playing, but is it also worth buying? (Yes, but humor me and read the review anyway, OK?)

Loved
The Best Graphics Six Colors Can Buy: Canabalt's minimal graphics don't skimp on atmosphere. From the smoothly animated runner, to the hulking monstrosities in the distant background, to the little touches, like the shatter of windows and rooftops lined with doves, the game's simple presentation does well in telling a more interesting story. There's no narrative to speak of, but Canabalt's high-altitude world gives an impression of a fascinating sci-fi disaster happening around you.

The Maximum Awesome Effect: The iPhone version of the game prefaces the experience with "For maximum awesome, headphones recommended." That's good advice, because Canabalt's attention to detail in the sound department deserves proper attention. When the game's catchy, high energy electronic soundtrack takes a pause and turns to a moody whine, the player can hear the plink of footsteps on metal, the quiet grunts of the protagonist's exertion as he jumps from building to building. The sudden sounds of bombs dropping and alien ships zooming by make the rooftop-to-rooftop action that much more tension filled. Canabalt simply sounds spectacular.

Gaming By The Minute: The Flash game is a fine distraction from doing real work. The nearly identical iPhone app is just as addictive of a diversion, offering two-minutes and under opportunities to play a video game, a brief opportunity to improve one's Canabalt run—then brag about their score on Twitter—when the moment strikes.

Canabalt's a straightforward, simple action game with an impressive presentation that belies its hasty creation. It's incredibly short and offers no ultimate goal other than extending the length of your daring escape. And despite its brevity and its sometimes frustrating randomness, it's the iPhone game I've dedicated the most time to in 2009 due to its incredibly addictive appeal and sharp visual design. There's always another escape attempt, just a tap (or click) away.

Canabalt was developed and published by Semi Secret Software iPhone on October 2. Retails for $2.99 USD for iPhone and can be played in a web browser for free. Attempted too many daring escapes to recall, but maxed out at 3600 meters. (Wait, just played again and reached 4225 meters.)

Confused by our reviews? Read our review FAQ.

NOTE: Throughout the month of December, Kotaku will review some of the games that we missed earlier in the year. We're catching up.

Kneebouncers is the brainchild of Jim Robinson, the father of three non-brain children who was frustrated that his slightly older children could play on the computer while his young daughter could not. His solution? Kneebouncers, a collection of web-based video game activities that only require that the baby or toddler playing be able to hit the keyboard.

Most of the activities are simple flash animations with colorful characters that animate when a button is pressed, almost like turning the page in a storybook. They are primitive, and barely even games as we define them, but it's less dangerous than crawling about on the floor eating plastic and licking electrical outlets, so I approve.

Bring your drooling offspring to http://www.kneebouncers.com to play. It's free, though a percentage of donations and proceeds from the sale of shirts and plushies goes to the Children's Aid Society.

EA 2D's Ethan Levy unveiled the game in a post on Wednesday; he did not give any date of release, even ballpark. Levy did they've been working for nearly a year on a "three chapter, single player, tactical rpg delivered in Flash.

"Right now we're hard at work finishing the first chapter, Dragon Age Journeys: The Deep Roads. The game will introduce you to the dwarven city of Orzammar and the Deep Roads surrounding it where the dwarves face a persistent threat from the darkspawn hordes," Levy writes.

I know I've given Dragon Age a hard time, all in fun (at least I hope it's been seen as such. And hey, I've preordered it.) Seriously, Dragon Age: Journeys is not just a great way to extend a game's reach; it's encouraging news to gamers to see work by serious developers, backed by big names, on deeper and longer-lasting browser games.

Dragon Age: Journeys [BioWare Blog via Game Stooge]

The Sonic the Hedgehog level editor, a creation of Mediatonic, lets VIP members of PlaySega create Sonic levels relatively easily. Using a simple interface creators lay down scenery tiles, place obstacles and enemies, and set starting and ending points, resulting in a somewhat primitive but definitely playable Sonic the Hedgehog level.

The bad news? You can only create your own levels if you sign up for a VIP subscription to PlaySega, which starts at $5.95 a month. The good news is that even free members can play the levels, and should you choose to upgrade, a three-month subscription for $14.95 nets you the free Sega Saturn-styled PC controller, seen below.

Worth it?

Sonic the Hedgehog Level Player [PlaySega via GameSetWatch - Thanks Carolina!]

Two things to note. One, my best performance is some 3500 meters. Likely easily crushed with the right randomly generated set of rooftops on which to jump across. Two, it took me a shamefully long time to see what it was I was probably running from. Don't be like me. Be better. Play Canabalt. And turn the volume up.

Canabalt [Adam Atomic via Waxy]

The Great Flu casts the player as the head of the fictional World Pandemic Control. Pick a strain of flu based on difficulty level, and use your budget to help stop the spread of a potentially deadly disease. Should you distribute masks to the public, or broadcast public service announcements warning of the potential update? Should you start manufacturing vaccines, improve research facilities, or bring in a group of specialists? Even at the lowest difficulty the game delivers a sense of just how difficult it is to handle and contain the spread of a dangerous virus.

It does so with great charm though, with vibrate pink and orange graphics, and adorable smiley-faced skulls to represent difficult levels. They've even included the Gamers Flu as the second most difficult virus to contain.

After an international gaming convention lots of participants got infected. The virus spreads faster than expected.

Good luck at Gamescom, Crecente and McWhertor!

The Great Flu [Official Website]

If that elephant looks familiar, that's because This Is The Only Level's pachyderm protagonist is the same from the similarly excellent Achievement Unlocked, also developed by meta-game masters Armor Games.

Go on, shirk your duties with 30 levels of the same level, all to a fabulous repetitive musical loop. You'll likely feel a level of accomplishment greater than any single-level completion to come before it.

This Is The Only Level [Armor Games]

The Christian Science Monitor wraps its arms around a long list of "news games," from the lighthearted "Swinefighter" (pictured) to more thoughtful efforts covering Hurricane Katrina, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the global economic slump.

The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation has been funding news game ventures, seeing them as a potential moneymaker that reconnects news sites to their audiences. The state of "news games" now isn't near that kind of success, says a foundation vice president, but it will get there,

"There hasn't been a breakthrough in terms of a digital news game the way that the crossword puzzle was a breakthrough for the daily newspaper 100 years ago," said the foundation's Eric Newton. "That hasn't happened yet, but it will."

But with mainstream news brands everywhere taking a beating in an advertising slump, don't look for a fad to become a serious trend or feature of news sites anytime soon. The Knight Foundation recently honored a Pittsburgh developer for a series of 127 free games in which players could learn about current and historical events. The dev has hoped to sell off the popular series to a news organization, but has had no luck.

Video Games That Let You Play with Your News [Christian Science Monitor]

In Today I Die, players must manipulate the game's characters and a few lines of ever present text to progress. Benmergui is able to tell a superb little story with less than 25 words, offering players a memorable experience and by way of a clever mechanic. There's also a lovely little soundtrack, courtesy of Hernan Rozenwasser.

If you have a few minutes to spare, I'd highly recommend it. If you find any difficulty getting started, I'd recommend toying around with the jellyfish.

And if you enjoy yourself, you may want to experiment with Benmergui's other games—and maybe offer a donation to fund his next game while you're at it.

Today I Die [Ludomancy]

At first Mr. Wong's Laundromat was a mystery, but the gaming detectives over at MTV Multiplayer soon cracked the case, discovering the following text on the GameSpy page describing exactly what they contributed to Chinatown Wars.

Once at the Rockstar Social Club, registered users can also play Flash games like Mr. Wong's Laundromat to unlock additional cash that can be spent back in the game. GameSpy's custom work links money earned out of game straight back into your in-game funds to spend on bigger guns and more ammo (and you can never have enough of that).

Since your copy of Chinatown Wars has to be linked to the Rockstar Social Club in order to participate, it's a simple matter to get the Club to wire you money from a web-based flash application. Neat!

The GameSpy text is backed up by the teaser text on the Rockstar Social Club site itself:

These features are just the beginning for the Chinatown Wars section. We will be adding activities here that allow you to earn extra in-game cash as well as other special unlockables. Check back soon for more announcements.

And they would have gotten away with the secret too, if not for that MTV Multiplayer team and their talking canine companion, which doesn't exist.

‘GTA' Mystery Seemingly Solved: What ‘Mr. Wong's Laundromat' Is [MTV Multiplayer]

The object of the competition is for people to create a Flash game about teen dating violence prevention and to do so without violent content or a violent theme.

First prize has been bumped up to $1,500 and judges, besides myself, include Simon Carless, director of the Independent Games Festival; Stephen Totilo, of MTV and huge brain fame, Libe Goad, editor-in-chief of AOL GameDaily, and Dr. Elizabeth Richeson, a psychologist, Texas Psychological Association Board member, and my mom.

The contest is open to anyone, not just those in the U.S. and runs through May 15. Hit up the site for the full details. Last year's winners here.

2009 Life. Love. Game Design Challenge

Yes, very sorry about that, Mr. Crecente. But this is a fantastic diversion if you're stuck gazing into a monitor all day. Simply arrange the pieces on whatever platform is provided, ensuring that nothing falls down. Thinking caps will be required. I'm currently about halfway through the game's 40 levels and it's beginning to venture into slightly maddening territory.

Just don't get fired playing Perfect Balance today. In this economy, they're looking for excuses to can you.

Perfect Balance [Kongregate]

Originally envisioned as a 3D MMO that users would be able to interact with directly via flash game content, an announcement yesterday on the Meteor Games website reveals that creating a 3D MMO was a bit more than they could handle.

A lot of things have changed in the last few months, we've taken a few steps back and realized that creating a 3D MMO is really, really hard, especially in this economy. We've come so far with the design, quests, and lore, but we feel that it's just a really risky and bad time to try and follow through with our plans and complete the game. Donna and myself have a much stronger background in 2D content (at least that's what it says on our resumes) and this is the direction we feel the company should pursue.

I suppose when all else fails, go with what you know. Still a pity though...the original concept was extremely intriguing. Perhaps someone else can grab the ball and run with it.

A Slight Change of Plan [Twin Skies Forums via Massively]

The flash game has the player controlling the Israelis, portrayed as a powerful and resourceful group overreacting to Palestinian Qassam rockets, which ineffectually swoop in the air, barely ever hitting a target. The goal of the game is to build missile silos, barracks, headquarters, and airports, using them to attack the Gaza Strip in order to kill the most Palestinians in 3 minutes. You start off with 10,000 Sheqel to spend, but can call out for aid at regular intervals to receive more cash. Bonus points are awarded for hitting police stations and hospitals. The whole affair is made even more ridiculous by the music in the background - The Carpenters' "Close To You".

I know it's supposed to be a political statement, but the whole thing leaves me feeling a bit ill. How about you folks?

Raid Gaza Flash Game [Newgrounds]

You too may want to wash away the day with hard liquor and be delighted by what Auditorium has to offer. Its creators describe the Flash game as a "process of discovery and play." It's one of those titles where outlining how it plays spoils some of the fun — figure it out on your own.

The Auditorium site teases that the developers may be convinced to port it to the iPhone or consoles, given the right encouragement and, of course, proper amount of funds via donation. We'll see.

Auditorium [Official Site via RPS]

I love my little Eee - it is incredibly handy for a blogging from the sofa or carrying about to events - but a games machine it is definitely not. It does do Flash though, and I have certainly enjoyed a spot of Tower Defence on the little fella. Market pundit iStockAnalyst, however, reckons things could get even bigger for the small.

"They cannot store and run big and complex games internally. They make up for this by having brilliant connectivity. So they are the perfect tool for playing online games such as MMOs and the contents of all the casual gaming portals."

Netbook boom bodes well for casual gaming [CasualGaming.Biz]

The MyRacer is an oddly named handheld games device from Korea. It comes with a 320x240 color screen, an MP3 player, subway map and the ability to play Adobe Flash Lite files. It ships with Mini game heaven, Super Action Hero, Penoa jeongi, Punupunupong, and Come2us soccer 2006.

The 1GB of storage can hold up to 1000 Flash Lite games. Actually, I'm not sure there are 1000 Flash Lite Games. Maybe use it for MP3s instead. If you can't contain your enthusiasm, this will set you back 90,000 Won ($70-ish).

Korean Portable Game Player, MYRACER

According to the update notes, the firmware update will introduce full-screen support for Adobe Flash Player content in the web browser, meaning you'll be able to full-screen your choppy internet porn instead of just sitting really close the the TV and squinting.

The writers from the future on the PlayStation website mention that firmware 2.53 was released on November 26th. Our time stream should be catching up to theirs shortly.

PLAYSTATION®3 System Software Update [PlayStation.com]

Sound is a little wonky — there's no music either — but we can't lodge complaints against this version of Doom. If you've never powered through the thing, here's just one more option for the pile. It's as promised. Doom. Flash. Playable.

Doom [Newgrounds]