=============================HAPPY NEW YEAR=============================
Here’s a whole bunch of games that I’ve either just found thanks to community members such as Albesir and pavid (was that a typo?). You’ll find a couple of big name freeware and abandonware games as well as a ton of other games from several genres. (Well, mainly shooters, platforms and point and click adventures, lol) There should be something for everyone, which was the idea behind posting a bonanza crop of games for the New Year. I’ll introduce the post with the three I consider big name games. The first has already been posted in the forums last year and is well buried, so I thought this would be an ideal opportunity to bring it back to the fore. Well actually the download includes three games, but I wont bother mentioning one of them. You can find that one out for yourselves. Suffice it to say that it’s a sort of 3D shooter, but the graphics are very blocky and the game is ancient. (I suppose many of the games we post here are as well, lol).
Most of the games come without installers apart from the first four games, so you’ll need to unzip the contents of each zip file into a pre prepared and named folder. You can either place the folder first then unzip or unzip and place the folder, then you’ll need to create a shortcut. There’s a short demo in the games discussion forums that tells you how to do this for both a desktop and start menu shortcut.
Also most of the smaller games are keyboard only games, though not exclusively. I’ve prepared the following in rather a hurry for reasons I’ve already mentioned previously, so I wont bore you with them again, so sorry if I don’t go into great detail about installation procedures and key board commands for mot of the games. If you do have problems please post your queries in the forums, thanks. Please do enjoy the New Year and I hope you find at least a couple of games amongst the ones I’ve posted today that you’ll like. I highly recommend the first four, but especially the two GTA games and Beneath a Steel Sky. Cube 2 is good, but I have too many of the latest shooters such as Crysis and both of the last COD2 games , plus most others that have been released over the last three or four years, so I’m not as impressed as I would have been a few years ago. If you don’t have any FPS games I highly recommend it though.
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The games I’m talking about are Grand Theft Auto I and II. Rockstar made them free to all a few years ago once the 3D side of the franchise became firmly established, though they never made the London expansion pack free (which I have from the original discs, hehe):
Grand Theft Auto I & II
I remember getting the first one and was fascinated with the whole game. There’s a multitude of cars you can snatch, either stationary ones, or by stopping ones on the road. You’ll also find secret areas where you can find a variety of weapons including rocket launchers and even a tank, which is great fun. There’s an overhead railway that you can hijack as well. The game is based around loads of missions, but you can just drive around and create mayhem if you wish. This is as good as any micro racer game in my opinion, and to be honest I’d still buy it if I had to. Though I did buy them all when they were released.
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xumYrzi8pZw
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=3CM2ItGDFbs
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6RitmxbCwZ4
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zcWNzzlKa8A
Download link:
http://www.rockstargames.com/classics/
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Beneath a Steel Sky: (71Mb)
There’s a free version available from one of the abandonware sites, but pavid told me about this a couple of weeks ago. This version has had the graphics enhanced so I thought it better to post this rather than the original (which is still fabulous. (anyone having problems getting it PM me for the alternative link). You do have to sign up for a news letter, but this can then be cancelled once you’ve got your free games. There’s two available from the site. (the second one I’ve mentioned below the three big ones (of which Steel Grey Sky is one)
Robert Foster is an innocent outsider stranded in a vast city where oppressed civilians live and work in soaring tower blocks... while the corrupt, covetous and rich lie underground, shielded from all pollution. Alone, save for a robot circuit board, Foster must fight for survival... and discover the sinister truth behind his abduction...
Paranoid population. Psychotic criminals. Power hungry corporation. Big Brother government. Haves and have nots.
In the not so impossible future. In the melting pot of Union City. All man's social problems are coming to a boil. Under the claustrophobic lid of a steel sky.
From the pit of the industrial level to the belly of commercial sector, to the spheres where the rich and powerful play. It's Man against Man. Man against Machine. Man against Time. In an urban hell only you can liberate... Maybe.
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pm7V-VrlJuo
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=hAJfieLLALI
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=5YVvmM6Gn14
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=SYVqxlNajpU
Download link:
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/beneath_a_steel_sky/
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Cube 2: (292Mb)
This is a great First Person Shooter, well worth downloading if you’ve got the time. There’s versions for Windows, Mac and Linus (on dial up)Sauerbraten (a.k.a. Cube 2) is a free multiplayer/singleplayer first person shooter, built as a major redesign of the Cube FPS.
Much like the original Cube, the aim of this game is not necessarily to produce the most features & eyecandy possible, but rather to allow map/geometry editing to be done dynamically in-game, to create fun gameplay and an elegant engine.
Videos:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1WPLKFI_ilE
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RY39fWwIIZs
Download link:
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Lure of the Temptress: (12Mb)
Trouble is afoot in the once peaceful land of Turnvale... Skori warriors (vicious mercenaries under the control of the mysterious Temptress) have arrived. But who is the Temptress, and more importantly, where is she?
From the creators of the Broken Sword series, Revolution Software, comes the first in a series of 'Virtual Theater' adventure game. Non-playable characters will walk around and perform different actions regardless of your interaction with them. There is a variety of options and commands, including the possibility of interaction with a supporting character, whom you can give orders in order to solve some of the game's puzzles.
Lure of the Temptress has an intuitive point and click system. Everything you need to do (movie, talk, search and fight) is controlled via the mouse and its two buttons. It's all you need to explore a large and complex game world with over 60 screens to explore... more than 25 intriguing characters to interact with... and of course, Selena - the Temptress.
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NavDtTGQG1c
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HxJLMsIDork
Download link:
http://www.gog.com/en/gamecard/lure_of_the_temptress/
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Gene Rally:
You require at least DX8 to play this game, though if you have XP installed you should already have it installed. If not you can download it for free from Microsoft. There’s a bunch of language files available which supports all the major languages and lots more.
THE GAME
GeneRally is a racing game for one to six players. You'll be racing on various tracks in time trial mode or against human and/or computer opponents in championship mode.
INSTALLATION:
Create a new folder, name it as GeneRally (or whatever you like) and extract contents of the .ZIP file, including all sub-folders, to the folder you just created. GeneRally requires DirectX8 (or newer) installed on your computer. Latest version DirectX is available on Microsoft's website at:
http://www.microsoft.com/directx
PLAYING THE GAME:
Use the slider on top to set the length of the races.
Select players from the drivers list on the right by clicking on the driver's name. The list will contain only one driver, when the game is launched for the first time. You may create new drivers by clicking the 'Create driver'-button under the list.
Selected players are listed in the list next to drivers list. On left to player's name you will see the name and picture of the car that player will use. Click on the car to select a different car for that player.
Available tracks are listed under the players list. Click on track name to select or unselect it. SHIFT and CONTROL keys can be used to ease the selection process.
Now you are ready to go. Click on 'Start' to begin the season.
Some keyboard commands used in the game:
ARROW keys Control the car (configurable)
ESCAPE In-game menu / Cancel / Exit
ENTER Proceed / OK / Start
F1 Help (where available)
F11 Screenshot (custom format)
F12 ScreenshotRECOMMENDED SYSTEM CONFIGURATION:
200 Mhz CPU
16 MB RAM
Few megabytes of hard disk space
DirectX compatible display adapter
Windows 95 or newer with DirectX8
Mouse and keyboardNote: This is not minimum required system
configuration. Tests have proved that P120
can run the game relatively well.
Reference: http://generally.rscsites.org/readme.shtml Accessed 24th Dec 08
Videos:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fEdgfmkBbHA&feature=PlayList&p=448C891A1FC5AB53&index=0&playnext=1
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=fq4-ZqiR9T0&feature=PlayList&p=448C891A1FC5AB53&index=1
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=0k0qoK-ENP8&feature=PlayList&p=448C891A1FC5AB53&index=6
Download link:
http://generally.rscsites.org/download.shtml
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Cottage of Doom:
To quote the game-maker: “...the chilling terror of a modest forest dwelling beset by the hordes of the undead!” The videos tell it better than I could any day. This is one of those infrequent freeware games that actually comes with a full installer that gives you the option of installing a shortcut to the desktop.:
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=tnQ-vHOpJLg
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cvif0HNk8Vw
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=nx8YsrQWrqQ
Download link:
http://www.pixelrage.org/download/Cottage-of-Doom--Full-Free-Game-Download-3886.html
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Hurrican: (38.6Mb)
German programmer Poke 53280 has just released a freeware remake of the classic Commodore 64 game Turrican for the PC. The Metroid-esque title (that feels a lot like Contra at times) Hurrican is packed with vast, non-linear levels filled with weapons to find and swarms of enemies to use them on. The control scheme is a bit complex with several button combinations to memorize, but us old-school gamers are used to putting in effort to squeeze more fun out of our games. This is one of those infrequent freeware games that actually comes with a full installer that gives you the option of installing a shortcut to the desktop.
Reference: http://www.joystiq.com/2007/06/25/turrican-remake-released-rocks-you-like-a-hurrican/ accessed 24th Dec 08
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=-jk3DNTYx_w
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2B-6Yce7Io4
Download link:
http://www.greatgamesexperiment.com/game/Hurrican
alternate link:
http://www.poke53280.de/download/download2.php?id=9
another link where you can also get a levels editor, so if you like the game there’s the potential to make as many levels as you want:
http://turrican.gamevoice.de/hurrican_site/
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The Sewer Goblet:
A roguelike starring the Wu-Tang Clan. Choose one of the Wu and take them into the sewers to rescue the Wu-Tang baby from the clutches of the evil wizard.
Winning awards for the most absurd and, consequently, absurdly long name ever, The Sewer Goblet: The Wu-Tang Clan and the Wu-Tang Baby . Made by the talented developers behind Barkley, Shut Up and Jam: Gaiden: Chapter 1 of the Hoopz Barkley SaGa, that was posted yesterday. Sewer Goblet is a textbook rogue-like game. Where it differs is that instead of stereotypical fantasy settings, you play as a member of the Wu-Tang Clan in search of a mystical baby being held by an evil wizard underground. Yes, I know, it makes no sense. But if you like rogue-likes, it's definitely worth a look, as it's a hilarious take on the genre.
Reference: http://db.tigsource.com/games/the-sewer-goblet accessed 24th Dec 08
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=TiavgyEHMTk&feature=PlayList&p=17FDCCE1EC67DA8D&playnext=1&index=71
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=TiavgyEHMTk&feature=PlayList&p=17FDCCE1EC67DA8D&index=71
Download link:
http://www.gamingw.net/forums/index.php?topic=71364.0
or
http://db.tigsource.com/games/the-sewer-goblet
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Paroxysm:
You have fallen into the Dungeon, and there is no way out, except to go through it...
Make your way downwards, avoiding fiendish traps such as swinging axes, lava and crushers. Test your skill in Immortal Leper and Single Life mode.
Don't want to start from the beginning? Restart from either of the 4 stages on the map screen, but only if you've been in that stage before. Your progress will save automatically.
Be quick, be smart. Your life depends on it.
Controls are as follows:
[Menu]
Up/Down - Select menu item
Enter - Confirm selection
[Game]
Left/Right - Move left or right
Shift/Ctrl - Jump/Climb ledges
Up - Climb ledge
Down - Crouch/Drop from ledge
Down+Jump - Slide
Be sure to read the notice boards properly if it's your first time.
Includes full screen mode. Be sure to exit all other applications to increase performance. I know some people had problems with the demo, if it still runs slow, then I'm not sure what's wrong, I apologise. I'm sure the performance issue is fixed, though.
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=7OtBunw1mSE
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=NYRPtGXZwPs&feature=related
Download link:
http://demonews.com/download-3519.html
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Liberal Crime Squad:
A group of players is continuing the development of LCS as an open source project over at Source Forge. You can find their release announcements and download links in the Curses forum.
WARNING: The scope of this game is narrower than that of real life. We have attempted to include foul language, graphic violence, politics, religion, sexual references, adult situations, narcotics, prostitution, bodily functions and bad pickup lines, but Bay 12 Games recognizes that there might be omissions which will make some players uncomfortable. In light of these facts, use your discretion when making decisions about downloading LCS.
Download link:
http://www.bay12games.com/lcs/
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Cave Story:
Cave Story is an incredibly polished action shooter with an engrossing story, fun weapons, and simple but well designed 8-bit graphics. This file is the full game, faithfully translated from Japanese.
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=mJbAs-sSX4A&feature=PlayList&p=E2720991AA31A845&index=0&playnext=1
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4uFUXiBKueM&feature=PlayList&p=E2720991AA31A845&index=1
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Tbl0GdZJP6I&feature=PlayList&p=E2720991AA31A845&index=2
There’s a whole series of walkthrough videos – too numerous to post here, but the following link takes you to them all:
http://uk.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=E2720991AA31A845
Download link:
http://www.fileradar.net/files/view/Cave-Story_Cave-Story---Full-Free-Game/3838
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Heroine Iysayana:
This one was found by Albesir, who PM’ed me the link. Thanks Albesir - nice find.
In some multiverse there is a disk-like world called Byteria. It is home to many different people and bizarre creatures. Our story takes place in Súramir, a large continent where many different creatures use to live and give each other good thrashings. According to elven chronology, it's the year 9992 Lyr. Somewhere near the northeastern shore lies a town called Ashford, capital of a small kingdom of the same name.
Our title character is Iysayana, the only elf in Ashford. For her, life is nothing but a great party. She really doesn't think about anything else than bashes, boys and booze - until now, when the goddess Yw'nafob forces Iysayana to become a heroine. Now Iysayana has to bear the company of annoying people who actually think they could better the world. Their task is to save Ashford from the ominous Lord Shadmyr and find the lost King Magnus. During their adventures they discover a plot to fundamentally change the face of the world, using some really extreme methods ...
Heroine Iysayana is a Japanese-style role-playing game. Most of the time the game will be played in a 2-D perspective. This is where you walk around and explore the land, talk to people, visit shops, explore dungeons, search for treasures and so on. Whenever the party runs into monsters the game will change to a special turn-based combat screen. If you defeat your foes, your heroes will gain experience and money. At first Iysayana is on her own, but during the adventure other heroes will join your party. The different characters have different abilities, e. g. one may be a healer and another one a warrior, so make best use of them.
When characters have gained enough combat experience they will grow stronger and learn new magic. You can use spells to attack monsters, but also to heal or strengthen your characters. But note that your magic energy is limited and must be refilled from time to time. Talk to the people in the towns to gather more or less useful information. Take a rest in an inn to restore your characters' health. There are stores where you can buy and sell weapons and armors. Other items can be used to heal the heroes in mid-combat.
The game can be played using the keyboard or a joystick and comes with a detailed help file. You can save and load at any point. Go out and become the heroine the world needs!
Heroine Iysayana consists of three parts, and we strongly recommend to play them in order - everything else would just spoil the story. Windows 98 or higher is required.
Download link:
http://www.skullbyte.com/iysayana.php
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Within a deep forest:
Within a Deep Forest is a freeware 2D platform game for Windows, that according to the author features challenging gameplay, beautiful music, an evil doctor, infinite cuteness, and a deep forest. I'd agree with some of those. It reminds me of another game called N-Ball; with very similar game play, though doesn't have the white neon like graphic og N-Ball. Great thing about this is that it's free. There are tutorial levela that introduce you to the keys that you will need to remeber. there's only the usual cursor keys for movement and a few others such as S for jump (why S I don't know ??? - spring maybe). there are also secret levels to unlock. There's an interesting intro to the game where the story is told via a cartoon depiction of a slideshow. I only played the game in windowed mode; but didn't notice whether you could play it in full screen. I don'yt usually play in windowed mode, but it didn't bother me in the least. the graphics were crisp and sharp unlike the fuzzy N--Ball (which I'm still tempted to buy, lol)
The Story:
Two attempts has been made to build a bomb, capable of freezing the entire world into ice. The first was a failure, and resulted in a living blue ball. The second attempt was a success. Now the clock is ticking, and the world is in grave danger. That is, unless...
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=CyOoEMnusOk&feature=PlayList&p=CEA572997BF60631&index=0&playnext=1
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=_oEPAq1vqiU&feature=PlayList&p=CEA572997BF60631&index=1
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=y_UlFFv5iUU&feature=PlayList&p=CEA572997BF60631&index=2
There are 17 video walkthroughs available via the following link:
http://uk.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=CEA572997BF60631
Download link:
http://files.filefront.com/Within+a+Deep+Forest+v111+Installer/;6350465;/fileinfo.html
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Cloud:
Requires you to give a name and Email before the download link appears. If you don't like giving such details, someone posted a link to a site that generates temporary Emails that you can use for such games as these. I do suspect ulterior motives wwith respect to selling off your Emails when theya re asked for in situations like this as it is one way of generating cash; though I always use a disposable Email anyway, so once the spam get's too much I dump the address. Though that said, it could be totally innocent, or maybe a security measure to ensure robot downloaders are not at work.
Take to the skies and drag the clouds into puzzle-solving shapes. Very genteel. This wont appeal to many, but do check it out as it's very unusual. You never know, it may be the best game you've ever played. This is one of those infrequent freeware games that actually comes with a full installer that gives you the option of installing a shortcut to the desktop.
You can watch a video and download a pdf document all about the game by following the download link below:
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=j9hSI-Md-e4
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=JoVXR-LBFB4&feature=related
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=eI1GbKnFeBU&feature=related
Download link:
http://intihuatani.usc.edu/cloud/game.htm
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Harmotion:
I don’t normally include multiplayer only games in the project, but I actually really like this one, and it’s almost like you’re playing single player anyway because Harmonium is a massive online world, with bot AI included, so you can attac and score points from game controlled elements as opposed to having to play against other humans. If you don't like playing online then try Echoes which I've posted yesterday in another Week 16 thread.
Here's what the author said:
Harmotion is an intensive top down online multiplayer shooter (shmup). Each fight is a collaboration between the two opponents; a collaboration of sound and colors.
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=InTV7sDqE80
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=TKz-zs8LTzA&feature=related
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=4WFMOSdM59g&feature=related
Download link:
http://files.filefront.com/Harmotion/;6352029;/fileinfo.html
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Nanazoa:
Nanazoa is a unique shooter that will take you on an amazing trip through the human immune system. In the game you'll be piloting a nano-vehicle that is designed to help the human body in its battle against disease and infection.
Nanozoa will also give you a unique view on it all through the perspective of realistic medical equipment. The graphics are gorgeous, and really add to the realism of your voyage. So, go ahead and download this fascinating and fun game, which best of all, is absolutely free!
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=rk63kcKIcUc
Download link:
http://www.download-free-games.com/freeware_games/nanozoa.htm
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That’s it for today folks. Not too many games to play with, lol. I’ll be back to just one or two a day from tomorrow, with a few exceptions. I hope that you found at least a few decent games that you want to keep over the Christmas period. I’ve posted quite a few. :)
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