Here’s a great list of games that are a blast to play and will waste massive amounts of your time! Here are games 1-4:
Puzzle Pirates
One of the more popular free games on the ‘net, Puzzle Pirates is a persistent MMO with a very casual bent. You create a cute pirate that looks like a Playmobil figure, and sail the seven seas in search of pieces ‘o eight. The catch is, each activity (and there are many, from manning the guns to repairing the ship to bilging out water) is performed with a simple puzzle game. Everyone on the ship plays their puzzle at the same time, and the cumulative performance determines how well your ship does. There are tons of community features, lots of help and tutorials, tournaments, clans, etc. There is a money angle, though—you can play for free forever, but you can also purchase a subscription or buy doubloons to access more advanced features.Freeciv
It’s Civilization, and it’s free! Okay, so maybe this free and open-source strategy game “inspired by” the beloved Civ doesn’t have all the nice UI features or pretty graphics of Civilization IV. Maybe Freeciv has more in common with Civ II than the modern entries in the series. Once you come to grips with the keyboard commands and the way the game presents information on research, diplomacy, and cities, it’s really just as addictive as any other Civ game. Just…one…more…turn.TribesNext
Remember Tribes 2? There was still a hardcore community of players when Vivendi shut down the authentication and game list servers last year. Fortunately, there’s TribesNext, a free patch to restore multiplayer functionality with a new free authentication server and lobby. Oh, and the game’s free too, so you can just go download both the client and patch at the TribesNext site. What are you waiting for? Party like it’s 2001!Ikariam
Take control of a town on a small Mediterranean island in this browser-based strategy multiplayer game. The pace is leisurely to the point of being something you only need to check in on from time to time. Set your people to gather some resources and start construction on a new building or two, then check in on your little corner of the world in a few hours. Ikariam is built for this—close your browser window whenever and your workers continue to work, your researchers continue to research…you get the idea.You’re playing with other real people, so there is opportunity for diplomacy, trading, and armed conflict. You can spend real-world money to buy “Ambrosia” which you then exchange for increased resource gathering rates or advanced features that let you see more of your buildings at a glance, but the whole game is essentially playable for free. It’s actually a fairly deep, yet accessible game that’s quite easy to play without a lot of time investment.
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GOG.com (http://www.gog.com), or Good Old Games, the digital distribution site with DRM-free PC classics, has announced another new deal that will add more games to the site’s growing catalogue. The deal with games emulation leader, DotEmu, brings a compilation of Robinson’s Requiem and its informal sequel, Deus, to the classic games site. The two action-adventure games were created by Silmarils, a French developer that created more than 20 titles in various genres for several platforms before ceasing operations in 2003.
Both games places the player in the boots of explorers who find themselves stranded on mysterious alien planets with a mission to survive. The notoriously difficult games put players’ survival skills to the test as they need to manage every aspect of their character’s body in an attempt to survive the hostile world. Thanks to GOG.com, playing these games on modern operating systems is easier than finishing them, thanks to XP and Vista compatibility, a lack of DRM and the unbelievably low price of just $5.99… for both games. We’ve probably mentioned that games at Good Old Games are cheap, right?
“Silmarils’ games are the ones our younger audience probably won’t remember, which makes this a great occasion to bring back these very difficult – and very fun – games to every RPGs, action and adventure game fan,” said Adam Oldakowski, Managing Director of GOG.com. “Thanks to DotEmu and our programming team, everyone can experience the ‘fight for your survival’ atmosphere on their modern computers.”
Robinson’s Requiem Collection (http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/robinsons_requiem_collection) is now available at GOG.com. More titles, as well as announcements of additional publishers, will follow in the coming weeks. Go to GOG.com and dive right into the world of classic PC gaming.
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A new pilot program by AllState Insurance is checking to see if there is a correlation between playing computer games and lack of car accidents. The study will see drivers aged 50-75 play specially designed games with the thesis that age-related cognitive decline can be reversed, and driving improved. Read more…
GOG.com or Good Old Games, the new games-on-demand platform offering all-time PC classics, is turning a new leaf, entering a new chapter, going where no site has gone before.
From Monday, September 8, onward, the closed press beta will come to an end and the Early Access Beta will begin. Anyone who has signed up at www.gog.com will receive an access key during the next week, granting them access to the ever-growing catalogue of tantalizing classic games at GOG.com.
Due to the incredible and unexpected reaction from gaming media and the gamers themselves to the announcement, GOG.com has decided to open their doors to anyone who has signed upinstead of granting access to a small group.
“We want to reward everyone who showed us support, and thus decided to give everyone access to the beta site. Of course this meant we had to add all sorts of finishing touches to the site and test the new payment system, which caused a small delay. We used that extra time well and now we can provide players with the best GOG.com experience possible…until you know, we make it even better,” said Adam Oldakowski, Managing Director of GOG.com.
To find out more information read here.
The computer games industry has launched an unprecedented assault on illegal downloads, demanding payment from thousands of families who obtained the latest releases over the internet without paying.
Five of the world’s top games developers will serve notice on 25,000 people across the UK, requiring each one to pay £300 immediately to settle out of court. Those who refuse risk being taken to court. The companies will target their initial legal actions on 500 people who ignore the letters. Read more…
According to The Times
In the middle of a week full of earning reports from gamemakers–including Sony, Nintendo, Capcom, and Electronic Arts–THQ today opened up its financial books. For the quarter ending June 30, 2008, the company posted net earnings of $137.6 million, $33.1 more than what it took in a year ago.
THQ’s increased earnings came in very large part to its game based on WALL-E, the critically acclaimed computer-animated film from Pixar. Released for the Mac, PC, DS, PSP, Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3, the game sold over a million copies as of the end of June, despite receiving only middling reviews. Read more…
According to Tor Thorsen
Classic children’s adventure novels to be remade into a series of adventure games; first to be released this autumn.
With the original Hardy Boys book released in 1927, the adventures of teenage brothers Frank and Joe Hardy stand as the longest-running children’s book series. Now JoWood Productions and The Adventure Company want to turn the duo into a similarly enduring series of adventure games.
The games will all be released on the PC during the next five years, beginning with Hardy Boys: The Hidden Theft (originally called The Tower Treasure) in autumn. Jesse McCartney (Alvin and the Chipmunks, Summerland) and Cody Linley (Hannah Montana, Cheaper by the Dozen) will provide the voices of the two brothers.
The story starts with a robbery at the vault of the Spencer Mansion, with the police calling on the crime-solving duo to help them out. From there, Frank and Joe travel all over their home city of Bayport, as well as the big smoke in New York City. Read more…
According to Emma Boyes
Electronic Arts (EA) on Tuesday announced the release of Spore Creature Creator, a software application that serves as the introduction to the highly-anticipated game Spore, which will be released in September.
Spore Creature Creator — available for both Mac OS X and Windows — enables users to create creatures using design tools taken from Spore, a virtual life game created by Will Wright, designer of Sim City and The Sims. Spore takes the Sim City and The Sims concepts to an extreme, where you create a life form from its first stirrings in primordial ooze all the way up to an intelligent, spacefaring civilization.
Spore Creature Creator is one small part of that game — a design tool that lets you craft your own critter, paint it, apply textures to it, and even take it out for a spin, so to speak. Using the built-in tools, users can shape, paint and play with their creatures, take snapshots, record movies that can be uploaded to YouTube, and then share them with others through their “Sporepedia,” which connects to the Spore Web site. Read more…
According to Peter Cohen
Montreal, Quebec, Canada – June 5, 2008 – Meridian4 (http://www.meridian4.com) is pleased to announce that they have signed a global digital publishing agreement with Dialogue Design for their highly-addictive tank action title; Tank Universal.
“Dialogue Design is pleased and excited to be working with Meridian4 on the digital distribution of our new action title Tank Universal.” said Phil Jones of Dialogue Design. “We believe Meridian4 to be an exciting and dynamic publishing partner and we look forward to bringing quality 3D tank blasting action to the masses!”
“Tank Universal is one of those rare titles that you instantly take a liking to,” said Steve Milburn, Marketing Director at Meridian4. “It takes you back to when games were simple, fun and addictive, but didn’t have a multi-million dollar budget behind it. Independent gaming lives on, long live the Indie developer!”
About Tank Universal
Tank Universal creates a huge virtual ‘Tron-like’ world where you take part in immense 3D tank battles involving scores of units both friendly and not so friendly in wide open levels!
Players can bombard the enemy from a distance or close the gap and dodge shells point blank - all in an immersive first person perspective.
- 20 levels of highly addictive and intense tank battles
- Some missions require you to leave the safety of your tank and explore the world on foot
- Ability to upgrade weapons and tank equipment
- Fight alongside allies against highly intelligent and numerous enemies
- Spectacular looking virtual world and eye-popping particle effects
- Take the battle in any direction with wide open levels allowing freedom of play
- Intriguing storyline switching between the ‘real world’ and the digital virtual world
About Meridian4
Meridian4 is an interactive software publisher located in Montreal, Canada. A new publishing company, with new ideas and a different approach to forming partnerships with developers, Meridian 4 aims to actually form a partnership – a true relationship characterized by mutual cooperation and responsibility to achieve the best possible performance for developers’ products. For more information, visit http://www.meridian4.com.
About Dialogue Design
Dialogue Design is a small independent studio dedicated to bringing exciting and creative ‘indie’ games to an emerging market. Based in Hamilton, New Zealand, Dialogue Design has just released its first title, the acclaimed action tank combat game - Tank Universal. For more information, visit http://www.tankuniversal.com.
from BigDownload.com:
Rumor has it that Capcom’s latest entry in the Street Fighter universe will make its way to next-gen consoles and the PC this winter. According to a story from French gaming site Jeuxvideo, Capcom inadvertently announced the platforms for Street Fighter IV on a site reserved for the press.
It is well-known that PC development is very similar to that of Microsoft’s Xbox 360, this coupled with console peripherals utilizing USB technology for input could lend some weight to the rumor.
Unfortunately, Jeuxvideo did not provide a link to the supposed site that broke the news and our various scans of Capcom’s press sites have come up empty handed. For now, we’re rubber-stamping a big rumor badge on this one until we hear more information from Capcom.
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