Kotaku: hot flashes

Google Launches Its Own Second Life

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 18:40:04 MDT

Google launched Lively today, a 3D virtual world that can best be described as the search and advertising giant's take on Second Life. Currently, the service is for Windows users only and requires Internet Explorer or Firefox, as well as a Google account, to take part in. We quickly downloaded and fussed about with Lively earlier this afternoon, a process that was rather simple, but did have a minor registration hiccup. It was also painfully slow on my Windows box, which is by no means state of the art.

Lively is already loaded with hundreds of virtual rooms of varying themes, not to mention thousands of furries, one of the stock avatars that one can then further customize. Navigating around the world, which also seems to feature some light game like elements, took some getting used to. The novelty wore of quickly for me, as chatting with strangers on the internet is more frightening than in real life, but we'll have to dig deeper to see what Google has in store.

We'll check back in with it soon.

Lively by Google [Lively - thanks, DaveKap!]

Back to the Present with Chronotron

Owen Good — Sat, 28 Jun 2008 18:00:00 MDT

My favorite part of "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure" came when they figured out the paradoxes of time travel and, simply by saying "Must remember to bring a trash can!" one appears in Ted's hands and he stuffs it over a bad guy's head.

Not that you can do any of that in "Chronotron," but the idea is the same, think in the present, giving orders to yourself in the past. Sort of. In Chronotron, the idea is to Clone multiple versions of yourself, using a time machine, to get through a puzzle level. The catch — all past versions will spawn and recreate your actions, so you need to think in chronological order for each step of the puzzle, and leave enough time for your final self to get through the gates and ride the risers to your objective.

It's a hell of a fun flash game — my co-worker showed it to me yesterday, so I can vouch for its productivity killing effect.

Chronotron [Addicting Games]

The Making Of Puzzle Farter

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 19:00:54 MDT

You may remember our link regurgitation of Puzzle Farter last week, Pet Tomato's debut platformer featuring a farting mechanic that really resonates. Mike Nowak of The-Inbetween, whom we regularly check in with for interesting things, briefly interviewed half the Puzzle Farter team, providing great insight into the Flash-based freebie.

It touches on all manner of interesting topics, such as character design challenges ("We go to the bar.") and plans for the future ("...the next version will also allow people to create and submit levels.") that Puzzle Farter fans will find rewarding. If not, maybe you'll just give the game another go or for the very first time.

Inside ‘Puzzle Farter’ [The-InBetween]

Puzzle Farter, A Musical Hoot

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 15:40:50 MDT

Pet Tomato's debut indie game Puzzle Farter is as high brow as you probably suspect it is. And if you're still amused by the sound of passing wind as we are, you'll probably find it endlessly amusing, even if the gameplay is rather straightforward. There's not much puzzling to be done, but the farting comes through in spades. No, there's no music and Puzzle Farter is more of a platformer than it is a traditional puzzle game—it's more like N with ninja-strength gas—so I guess we're both guilty of misleading titles.

Puzzle Farter [via del.icio.us]

Retro Sabotage's 20th Edition: Missile Command

Owen Good — Sat, 14 Jun 2008 16:00:00 MDT

Our disturbed friends at Retro Sabotage are all suspender-popping about their 20th sabotage since the site launched shortly before New Year's Eve. Remember, these are flash games that play normally (or close to it) before something goes horribly, comically wrong and beyond your control.

The latest is the "Missile Command Docudrama" although its message is, surprisingly, kind of serious. Tof from Retro Sabotage explained to me in an e-mail: "We wanted an "anti-sabotage" to celebrate the 20th release, and it's kind of a mirror to Mockumentary (though we got mails of people who somehow believed in that one)."

In the past I know we've linked to some of their other clever redos of classic arcade games. The Xevious Autopsy in particular is worth a look, and I think it's new since RetroSabotage last got a mention here.

Missile Command Docudrama [Retro Sabotage]

Rose and Camellia Are BACK

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 11 Jun 2008 02:30:00 MDT

How do you improve on what's probably the best game ever made? You make it bigger. Badder. More woman-slappier. Yes, Rose & Camellia is back, this time as Rose & Camellia 2, featuring all-new ladies, all new stages and all-new woman-slapping action. It's great! So great there's a catch: you've got to finish R&C1 first (the shockwave version, linked below) to gain access to it. A little harsh, perhaps, but the bigger the reward the tougher the toil.

Rose & Camellia 2 [Nigoro, via IndieGames]

11 KB Super Mario Kart

Owen Good — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 16:00:00 MDT

Got this far and realized we've had no hot flashes this weekend. So here's a super-slimmed down Super Mario Kart, done in 11 KB of pure javascript goodness. Pick from Mario, Luigi or Peach and then race on two different maps. It even has a soundtrack.

You'll be beaten off the line easily every time, but if you race the second map and take advantage of the turns, you can get into first pretty quickly.

There's no timer or lap count and your opponents seem to float in the air until you overtake them. Still, I killed a few minutes with this while going off on a reverie, wondering if I'll be 55 and playing a slimmed down javascript Assassin's Creed or something.

Javascript Super Mario Kart [nihilogic]

Outrunning Doom in Dino Run

Owen Good — Sun, 01 Jun 2008 17:00:00 MDT

Reader Rob H. pointed out this nice little mid-Sunday diversion: Dino Run. After you get the hang of it you realize nothing in the environment will kill you, just slow you down on your panicked quest to outrun extinction. But most importantly, it's a flash game with multiplayer across three servers, although I waited forever for a game to start up.

Still, to the designers, hat-tip for rendering it like an old 4-bit PC game. I dunno, the tone just seems to deserve that kind of treatment. And also note how your dino farts after you chow down on less fortunate sauropods. Hat-tip for that, too.

Dino Run [Pixeljam, thanks Rob]

Execution Tests Your Conscience, Not Your Reflexes

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 20 May 2008 05:30:00 MDT

Not technically a Hot Flash since you need to download it, but it's only 2MB, so it's close enough. The name of the game's Execution, it was made by Jesse Venbrux, and it's worth the 3.5 minutes of your life both downloading and playing it will cost you. Know that while it's a tiny, short game, there's also a charmingly simple punch to it all. Be sure to play it twice to get the full experience.

Execution [via TIGS]

20-year-old Memories of a Life Not Lived

Owen Good — Sat, 17 May 2008 18:00:00 MDT

Gamers of my generation may remember Activision's Alter Ego, released in 1986. It was a text-and-graphics, choice-based somewhat-precusor to later games like The Sims or Second Life. The game fascinated me, even as a 13-year-old, with the idea of living another life — and helping to create such a rich narrative — or just living that far forward. I feel like I actually have memories of the virtual lives I led in the game:

• As a toddler, gorging on a can of aerosol whipping cream and throwing up.
• As a young man, my girlfriend posing for "Genthouse" Magazine (for the record, I was cool with it. We married.)
• Playing in an old-timer's baseball game as a senior citizen, going back for a long fly ball, collapsing to the ground and dying peacefully as my friends gathered.

Well, here's a site where you can play Alter Ego online. It's been up since 2005, so probably some of you have stumbled onto this before. I scoured Kotaku to make sure we haven't featured it yet. It was truly a beautiful and well written game, created by Dr. Peter Favaro, and worth a look anyway. If you played it when you were younger, looking forward to life as an adult, now you can play it when you're older, to relive simpler days.

Alter Ego [theblackforge.net]

The Ultimate Sandboxer

Owen Good — Sat, 10 May 2008 12:00:00 MDT

Quite literally. "The Hell of Sand" is a brilliant time-waster of a flash game. "There are many dynamics to this game but no goal. Play around for a while and you'll get the hang of it." Great premise.

You play with four streams of colored sand using 18 different effects, some of them working in awesome combinations with each other.

C-4 and Torch, for example, wasn't too hard to figure out. I've also been making little cups of gunpowder and blasting them to hell with torch. But can someone tell me what "plant" does? Does it grow in the water? I can't figure it out.

The Hell of Sand [AndysLife.org]

English Of The Dead Flash Demo

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 08 May 2008 22:30:00 MDT

Oh Sega. What, you don't know that the mere premise of teaching people English by having them type zombies to death guarantees sales? It does. So while the flash demo you've provided of one of the game's cheesy tutorial levels (the real typing of the dead comes later) is greatly appreciated, it's not really needed. Thanks anyway, though!

English Of The Dead Demo [Sega, via Siliconera]

Make Your Own Damn Ben 10 Game

Mike Fahey — Mon, 05 May 2008 19:00:00 MDT

Worried about what D3 Publisher has in store for their upcoming Ben 10: Alien Force game, based off of the relaunch of the hit Cartoon Network series? Well then head over to the Ben 10: Alien Force game creator and make your own damn video game. Launched today at Cartoon Network's website, the flash game allows players to creator and share their own action adventure game creations with the community, where they will be weighed, measured, and assigned a rating based on how awesome they are or aren't. They've already got several entries ready for you to test out, or dig right in and create your own. It's a bit limited of course, but it is also completely free, so it balances out. Head over to CartoonNetwork.com to check it out!

Cartoon Network Launches New Build-Your-Own Ben 10: Alien Force Game on CartoonNetwork.com
New Ben 10: Alien Force Game Creator and Current Record-Holding Ben 10 Digital Offerings Build Excitement for Newly Revamped Series of Hit Animated Show

ATLANTA—(BUSINESS WIRE)—Cartoon Network New Media today launched Ben 10 Alien Force: Game Creator, a new, free online game that merges the popular animated action franchise with user-generated content, marking the first game of its kind.

Beginning today, fans can access the tools and animations they need to build their own action-adventure game featuring the new series Ben 10: Alien Force, which premiered with record-breaking ratings April 18 on Cartoon Network. The game is based on the new Ben 10 series, which advances the plot five years into the future. The Ben 10: Alien Force Game Creator lets users easily build their own online games and share them with fans everywhere. Players choose their own hero from four of Ben's new aliens — Swampfire, Humongousaur, Jetray and Spidermonkey — each of which has unique powers and abilities that impact game play. Completed games can be shared with friends and sent to CartoonNetwork.com's game gallery for other fans to play and rate.

Ben 10 games are consistently among the most popular of the 190+ free games at CartoonNetwork.com. Most recently, the first game based on the new series, Ben 10 Alien Force: Forever Defense, smashed records on the site, scoring more than five million game plays in its debut week of March 10 - 16, 2008. The previous game-play record-holder for the site was also from Ben 10 with Ben 10: Savage Pursuit, which grabbed more than four million game plays its first week online in October of 2007.

"This year we will launch thousands of new games — or, rather, our audience will," said Paul Condolora, senior vice president, Digital for Turner's Animation, Young Adults and Kids Media Group. "Ben 10: Alien Force Game Creator gives kids the power and creative freedom to build and publish their own games and is a first step in our ambition to become the number one online destination where kids go to create, play and share games."

Ben 10 games currently dominate the top 10 most popular games at CartoonNetwork.com, holding five of the top ten spots, including Ben 10: Alien Force Forever Defense at No. 2; Ben 10: Alien Force Action Packs at No. 3; Ben 10: Battle Ready at No. 4 and Ben 10: Cannonbolt Pinball at No. 5.

Ben 10 characters are also part of Cartoon Network New Media's upcoming foray into the massively multiplayer online gaming market with Cartoon Network Universe: FusionFall. In addition, Ben 10 has invaded the mobile space with its title on Cartoon Network's games channel on Smashing Games for Verizon subscribers. Ring tones and wallpapers for mobile devices also are available at CartoonNetwork.com.

Ben 10 premiered on Cartoon Network in January 2006 and has consistently been the network's #1 show on Saturday mornings. Along with the new series, Ben 10 has also spawned a tremendously successful toy and video game line as well as two hit television movies. The live-action movie Ben 10: Race Against Time set record ratings for the network when over 13 million viewers watched during its 2007 Thanksgiving weekend premiere.

The newest Ben 10 series, Ben 10: Alien Force, premiered Friday, April 18, 2008 at 8 p.m. (ET, PT), and was the most-watched original series premiere in Cartoon Network history. The new series began the next chapter in the Ben 10 saga five years later, when 15-year-old Ben Tennyson chooses to once again put on the OMNITRIX. He discovers that it has reconfigured his DNA and can now transform him into 10 brand new aliens. Joined by his super-powered cousin Gwen Tennyson and his equally powerful former enemy Kevin Levin, Ben is on a mission to find his missing Grandpa Max. In order to save his Grandpa, Ben must defeat the evil DNAliens, a powerful alien race intent on destroying the galaxy, starting with planet Earth. Ben joins forces with other young heroes to save the galaxy and his Grandpa Max, while passing along his knowledge to a whole new generation.

Hot Flashes: Castle Crashing The Beard

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 02 May 2008 18:20:05 MDT

While we wait (and wait and wait) for Castle Crashers to make its Xbox Live Arcade appearance, we'll have to settle for a simple, hirsute 2D throwback known as Castle Crashing The Beard. It pits the player against a manly beard of dedication attached to The Behemoth's Tom Fulp, which is the best last name I've heard in years. Perfect for making the last ten minutes of your work day disappear.

Castle Crashing The Beard [Kongregate]

Hot Flashes: Typeracer

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 16:40:07 MDT

Can't post. Busy playing Typeracer. Like Typing of the Dead but online multiplayer. Type quotes from books, movies as quickly as possible. Fun. Need more competitive typing games. More Typing of the Dead, too. You play. Is good. Playing now.

Typeracer

Hot Flashes: Doeo, The Best Doeo Touching Sim You've Ever Played

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:20:09 MDT

There really isn't any more accurate way to describe Doeo other than "whack-a-mole with Katamari Damacy's aesthetics"—as Rock, Paper, Shotgun already has—so we shan't try! It's an addictive, pleasing to the eye and ear diversion, with only a tiny room for improvement (more levels! quicker restarts!) and worth your valuable Hot Flash time. I'm going shopping for one of those Razer mice that has three bazillion DPI laser accuracy to up my score.

Doeo [Kongregate via RPS]

'The World's Hardest Game' -- But Is It Really?

ogood — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 11:00:00 MDT

Now, just because I am teh fail at this flash game does not mean I accept that it is the World's Hardest. Because when I suck at something I call in reinforcements and in that case it's Kotakopolis.

But here is the self-styled "World's Hardest Game" and I've only finished one level of it over a week of trying during down-time at work. I get the concept on the second board but not how to grab the dot. The solution to the first one is pretty apparent.

I'm certain that someone with uncanny pattern-recognition abilities could shut this game down inside of 5 minutes. Unfortunately, the solutions do not materialize as easily for me. So maybe that someone is you. Take a crack at it. And then, to take a break, play Ikaruga.

The World's Hardest Game [One More Level]

C-C-C-Combo Game Breaker!

ogood — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 18:00:00 MDT

Hey! You got your Pong in my Breakout! You got your arm rasslin' in my Tetris! I swear, the only way to make ~~boring~~ classic video games playable and entertaining in modern times is to rig them to insane controls or pair them with another classic. Here are two.

Earlier this week I found Pongout — which actually has some replay value as you can't accept losing to such a ridiculous concept. And then TechEBlog discovered "Tresling," (left) a version of Tetris played by slamming an arm-wrestling opponent's arm into a controller. I like the video, complete with "Eye of the Tiger," but that was the theme to Stallone's "Rocky III" not his arm-wrestling vehicle "Over the Top" of 1987.

Here's the combo game I want to see: NCAA Hitman 08. As Agent 47, you begin as a top defensive back prospect in high school. Before the big rivalry game, you garrote the other team's star receiver, steal his uniform, line up at his position and nab 6 interceptions for TDs, winning the Heisman in the process.

Pongout [All Games All Free]
Tresling - Tetris and Arm Wrestling [Hacked Gadgets via TechEBlog]

And Now ... Cello Hero: Legends of the First Chair

ogood — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 09:00:00 MDT

Alright ... there's "Bark at the Moon" on expert, and then there's "The Swan" by the Berliner Philharmoniker's number one asskicking cellist, whomever that is. Considering that success in this genre involves at least knowing the major riffs before you play it, I'm thinking that this flash game is more difficult by half than anything Guitar Hero or Rock Band has ever cooked up.

The game helpfully advises us that there are "one million possibilities to get tones from a cello." I am definitely expert on the first: a sphincter-clenching, fingernails-against-the-chalkboard grind.

Post your high scores in the comments. I can get to about 455 points before I start writing apologies to everyone who has ever handled this graceful instrument.

Cello Challenge [Berliner Philharmoniker, via Reddit]

Compelled to Play "Compulse"

ogood — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 16:00:00 MDT

Told you we'd have another Hot Flash. And here's a sweet one right in your hot little hands: Compulse, which excels as only a flash game can: stupid-simple premise, a thought-provoking challenge, addictive replay and best of all, entrancing Asian-theme music. Best of all, it will save your progress (specific to your IP address). And when you start, it tells you "A game has been created in your honour." It's like being pampered at a gamer's day spa.

Compulse [jmtb02 Studios]

Cool Flash Game Music is Now Yours, Free

ogood — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 10:00:00 MDT

Remember the hand-holding satire "You Have to Burn the Rope" from last week? If the game play was a little ... unsophisticated, then at least the soundtrack got a solid thumbs up from the peanut gallery here. "It's like Still Alive epic!" said commenter Bokusatsu_Tenshi. t0yrobo called it "better than the Portal song."

Well, now it's online under creative commons license, which means you can do as you please with it. There are three tracks: "Cave," "Lethal Intro" and "Busta Buss." If anyone cuts a ringtone from any of these, let me know.

(Also, this is not the Flash Game Cookie Break. There will be a regular one of those later on.)

You Have to Burn the Rope - Behind the Music[Reachground]

The Last Canopy Wins Casual Gameplay Contest

Brian Crecente — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:00:00 MDT

JayisGames announced the winner of the Casual Gameplay Design Competition, number five, with more than $10,000 in cash and prizes handed out to indie Flash game developers.

Top of the heap was The Last Canopy, a shump which makes up for sketchy art direction with addictive play and the ability to absorb an enemies attack.

HIt the jump for the full list of winners and make sure to visit Jay Is to check out the games.

And the Winner Is... [JayIsGames]

Winners
* First Place
($3,500 + Adobe Flash CS3):
o The Last Canopy by Easy Only! Games
* Second Place
($1,750 + Adobe Flash CS3):
o Super Energy Apocalypse by Lars A. Doucet
* Third Place
($1,000 + Adobe Flash CS3):
o Gride by ooPixel (Jussi Kari, Marko Taali)
* Best Use of Theme
($1,000):
o Pieces by SoybeanSoft
* Viral Award (most game views)
($1,000):
o Gride by ooPixel (Jussi Kari, Marko Taali)
* Audience Prize
($500):
o The Last Canopy by Easy Only! Games

Hot Flashes: Magic Pen

Michael McWhertor — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 18:20:00 MDT

Sure, it may borrow wholesale from Independent Games Festival finalist Crayon Physics by Petri Purho, but Magic Pen is much more multi-platform friendly, requiring but a short download via your web browser of choice. Perfect for those of us not willing to walk from our Macs to our Windows boxes. You'll draw primitive shapes—circles, triangles and rectangles—as well as pins, hinges and swing-arms to move a red ball to each level's flags. It's fun and physics accurate and has a very soothing looping guitar ditty.

Magic Pen [Fizzlebot via Jay Is Games]

Mekuri Master (ie Schoolgirl Skirt ATTACK)

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 23:30:00 MDT

Simple premise here. You run down a hallway lifting the skirts of Japanese schoolgirls. As one does. Your lifting prowess is assessed according to both your speed and accuracy. Be careful not to touch the grown-up women, though, because touching the women gets you in trouble. Amazing stuff, but bear in mind, it's totally not suitable for work.
Mekuri master [Nigoro, via IndieGames]

Throw Water At Paul McCartney!

Brian Ashcraft — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 23:00:28 MDT

Sir Paul McCartney not only got a divorce but a flash game about his divorce. Lucky him! In the game, players take on the role of The Beatles' ex-wife Heather Mills and try hurling a glass of water at Macca and is lawyer Fiona Shackleton. (Earlier this month, Mills threw water over Sir Paul's lawyer after being awarded only £24.3 million of the musician's fortune, saying the attorney had been "baptised in court" for making "unpleasant comments". Originally, Mills demanded £125 million.) The flash game isn't a very good game. That's okay. Mills isn't a very good person.
Play Mucca Chucka [Enterprise via NME]

Fist of the North Star Fighter

Brian Crecente — Fri, 21 Mar 2008 13:00:42 MDT

Back in the day I was a HUGE fan of Fist of the North Star. So when Julien emailed me to let me know that he had just finished his new fighting flash game, Hokuto No Ken, I was pretty psyched.

The game includes 10 characters, a pretty bitchin soundtrack and some amazing graphics, all packed into a flash game you can play on your keyboard. The controls are a bit awkward because they force you to move with the arrow keys and attack with the number pad, but I got used to it pretty quickly.

Hokuto No Ken

Alan Probe: Amateur Surgeon

Mike Fahey — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 09:40:36 MST

The Cartoon Network's Adult Swim is back with another irreverent flash game to help you while away a lazy Monday morning. This time around they're taking on the Trauma Center series with the game Alan Probe: Amateur Surgeon. Join Alan, a pizza delivery guy whose truck's faithful meeting with a former doctor leads him to give up his day job in favor of performing unauthorized surgery in a dirty clinic. Open the patient with your pizza cutter, remove glass with salad tongs, close them up with your stapler and then cauterize the wound with your Zippo! Other available tools include a corkscrew, a car battery, and an Etch-A-Sketch? All the fun of surgery with none of those silly hygiene guidelines - plus his name is an anagram for Anal Probe! Top quality.

Alan Probe: Amateur Surgeon [Adult Swim Games - Thanks king_e_dawg!]

Lego Indiana Jones The Flash Game

Mike Fahey — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:20:18 MST

Hungry for some Lego Indiana Jones action but don't want to wait for the console game to come out? Head over to Lego.com and try out the new Lego Indiana Jones flash game! Developed by advergaming company Three Melons, the game features Indy on the run from a giant killer boulder after the classic idol-swapping scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark. While you don't control Indy directly, you do click on flashing obstacles to get him to duck, whip, and jump his way towards the temple exit, collecting treasures with your mouse pointer along the way. Filled with secrets and hidden areas to discover, it's an excellent way to look busy as you wait for the week to officially end.

Lego Indiana Jones Flash Game [Lego.com - Thanks Fyren!]

Nothing Like Pointing and Clicking Through 18th C. Crime

Brian Ashcraft — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 06:40:21 MST

It's not everyday that we get to play a flash game set in mid-1700's Georgian London, where early policing tactics were introduced by the Bow Street magistrates. It's not everyday that we get to play a flash game made by Alice over at Wonderland! Dubbed Bow Street Runner, it's set in Covent Garden, which was overrun with prostitutes, booze and crime. (And we're trying to STOP this?!) It's a point and click detective game — and a really great one at that!
Bow Street Runner [Wonderland]

Hot Flashes: Untangle

Michael McWhertor — Tue, 12 Feb 2008 18:20:10 MST

We love a good Flash game, especially when it takes about .05 seconds to understand the gameplay concepts involved. To wit, I'm loving—and pulling my hair out to—Untangle by Chris Benjaminsen, which couldn't be simpler to get into. Unfortunately, I'm finding it increasingly damn hard. You may remember the creator's previous work on Multiplayer Asteroids, but if not, don't fret as they bear no relation. All one need do to win a round of Untangle is move the points around until none of the puzzle's lines intersect. It's a fun little diversion that can only be made more complete with the inclusion of a timer, a move counter and a more obvious puzzle reset button (hint hint!). Let us know how far you get.

Untangle [Nonoba]

Samurai Movers

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 07:20:00 MST

Oh Granny. Somehow, all her furniture's ended up outside her house! Outside and near the catapult. Guess you're going to have to do to get it all back inside. Did I mention there's a catapult? One click starts it swinging, another releases the furniture. That pic above? Total accident. I swear.
Samurai Movers [via IndieGames]

Shift (The Game, Not The Key)

Mark Wilson — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 13:20:15 MST

I'm not sure if McWhertor will have qualms with me stealing his "hot flashes" designation, but Shift is a fairly warmer than room temperature flash platformer by Armor Games with a simple mechanic: navigate your way through a level avoiding spikes by jumping and "shifting" at appropriate times. With each level in half black and half white, you choose which path to designate as solid, flipping the level upside down at will...as if you become a shadow. Give it a try if you like flash games, free stuff or hitting the "shift" key.

Shift [Armor Games via FreeGamesNews]

Hot Flashes: Tri-achnid

Brian Crecente — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 09:59:58 MST

I ended up doing a nearly all-nighter earlier this week so I could play through the finalists for the Independent Games Festival. There are, as always, a number of fantastic games in the mix. Most of them, unfortunately, can't be played by the public. What can be played are the finalists for best Web game. My personal choice for the best of the lot? Tri-Achnid.

In the game you control a three-legged spider by clicking on its feet and moving the legs. The feet cling to things you touch them to and the ball of a body sort of follows along. Later on you also get to spin webs and attack things. The object of the game is to care for your egg sack, typically by carrying it from place to place in your mouth. Yes, the idea gives me the willies too, but at least it doesn't involve accidentally drinking an entire spider.

Tri-Achnid

Drudge Report Attacks Presidential Flash Game

Brian Crecente — Wed, 23 Jan 2008 08:08:46 MST

The Drudge Report this morning, too busy apparently reporting on the bird flu fears of India and Hackabee's cash flow problems to do any digging, threw up a headline this morning on their site decrying the Presidential Paintball flash game we posted yesterday.

The headline: Online shooting game lets kids target presidential candidates... doesn't really paint a accurate picture of the cartoony paintball game most likely created more for readers of the Drudge Report than for the Dora set.

The link jumps you to The Smoking Gun's write up of the miniclip flash game which describes it as a highly trafficked game that "allows kids to train a rifle scope on six presidential aspirants and squeeze off a hail of shots." I guess it's important to say it's a game for kids, because, you know, adults don't play political flash games. I guess kids are the ones playing the game being created for the New York Times too.

The Drudge Report

Hot Flashes: Presidential Paintball Has You Shooting the Candidates

Brian Crecente — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:00:39 MST

It's about time someone's come up with a video game that lets the presidential hopefuls face off in a forum befitting their partisan manner: Paintball. Presidential Paintball pits your candidate of choice against the other presidential hopefuls in a rolling paintball match that takes place in and around the White House. While the game is fairly easy to beat, I never get tired of watching a huge-headed Clinton or Romney roll across the floor. Oddly enough, when I got to McCain, he kept standing up and shooting at the floor by his feet. Statement or coding mistake?

Hot Flashes: SteveNote Expo

fdemarco — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 12:00:00 MST

Today's Hot Flash is really more of a timely novelty than a truly innovative Flash game, but with MacWorld Expo right around the corner, it's at least good for a larf. In SteveNote Expo, you take on the role of Apple magnate Steve Jobs on your way to do your keynote speech at MacWorld. You must collect a list of items that includes your trademark black turtleneck, the new iPhone prototype and the latest stock quotes, all the while avoiding industry spies and skeevy journalists who are out to steal your industry secrets. Be extra careful of the journalists, we all know what thieving bastards they are.

[via Engadget]

Fancy Pants Adventure 2

Mike Fahey — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 13:40:45 MST

Fancy Pants Adventures is one of my favorite flash games of all time, so ever since March of last year when Flynn posted about the demo level for World 2 of Fancy Pants, I've been eagerly awaiting the full release. Now Armor Games has the mostly complete version of World 2 online, featuring Mr. Fancy Pants in a life or death struggle with the vile...bunny thing. Mr. Pants must retrieve the mystical...ice cream cone before the rabbit uses it to fill his stomach with creamy goodness. Okay, so the plot is thin and the music - my favorite part of the first game - doesn't quite exist yet. You can't play music while you're playing flash games on your employer's time anyway.

Fancy Pants Adventure World 2 [Armor Games]

Hot Flashes: Cursor*10

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 15:20:00 MST

Cursor*10 may feature the graphical wonder of echochrome and gameplay length totaling in the minutes, but I'll be damned if this isn't the most clever Flash game of 2008. It's currently the top contender for Hot Flash of the Year, introducing many to what will probably be their first timeshifted single-player co-op experience. The game's mechanic is too clever to spoil here, but make sure you, at the very least, give it a few lives. And if you make it to level 16, help me out with a tip, wouldja?

Cursor*10 [nekogames via The-In Between]

Hot Flashes: Chain Factor

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 14:40:00 MST

With this year's list of stellar releases, you shouldn't be wanting for games to play, but if you've found yourself dead broke or simply stuck in your cubicle with nothing to do today, direct thy browser to Chain Factor, the best beta puzzle game I've played all day. The concept—and art direction—is brilliantly simple. Drop a disc onto the playfield and, if the number of discs in that column or row matches the digit of a colored disc, it will disappear. If it weren't for Desktop Tower Defense, Chain Factor may have taken the prize for best Hot Flash game of the year. At the very least, it will probably walk away with the Hot Flashes Award For Musical Achievement.

Chain Factor

BSG Advergame Channels Every Extend Extra

Mike Fahey — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 09:40:59 MST

Casual game developer Blackdot has created one of the best Battlestar Galactica video games ever by taking a proven concept and slapping on Battlestar graphics. Raptor's Revenge, the free to play advergame created to coincide with the release of Battlestar Galactica: Razor on DVD, is pretty much Every Extend Extra. Your Raptor is out of guns and has switched to nukes, seemingly detonating itself amidst waves of Cylon forces, creating chain reactions that take out massive numbers of enemies at a time. It actually plays pretty well, and would be quite enjoyable if not for the long, unskippable trailer that plays out before every game. Annoying, but necessary. Them DVDs ain't gonna sell themselves now.

Raptor's Revenge At Kewlbox [Kewlbox.com]