Top 10 Most Played Mochi Flash Games of 2008
Top 10 Most Played Mochi Flash Games of 2008
gigaom.com is reporting today a list of the 10 most popular games on the Mochi ad network.
All 10 are very well done, addictive games. The list includes 3 of my favorite games of all time:
Bloons
I guess it is no surprise that these well done games are addictive and popular given how fun they are, but it is nice to see the entire list of 10 in one place.
The most interesting one to me was a game that I had never played called Paris oh Paris, where you basically throw food at Paris Hilton (hopefully she will eat some I guess).
Congrats to everyone whole placed on the list. Check out the entire list of the gigaom.com site.
Flash Game Forever Hunted #8 in Time Magazine Top Games For 2008
The Flash game Forever Hunted, by Canadian university student, Evan Miller, has been named one of the Top Video Games of 2008 by Time Magazine. Most of the other games on the list were developed by teams of people and appeared on major console or PC platforms. Nestled in between Star Wars Force Unleashed at #7, and Field Runners (an iPhone game) at #9 is Evans' beautiful looking and playing, stylized platformer at #8.
You play it for yourself at Kongregate.
You can also check out more of Evan's games at his Kongregate profile page.
New Star Soccer 4 Chronicles #2: 8bitjeff season 2 start
New Star Soccer 4 Chronicles #2: 8bitjeff season 2 start
Note:
New Star Soccer 4
(NSS4) is a brilliant independent game by Simon Read. It was released
on Windows and Mac platforms in early November and I am spending some
of my free time with it, grinding out a career as a professional
footballer. The game includes a full 3d match engine where you can play
out your career in semi-real time, as well as one of the most in depth
personal career management systems ever put into a computer game. The
early stages of the game are very much akin to a "grind-it-out" role
playing game. I am still in that stage right now. Everything described
below is a narrative version of actual in-game events.
One other note: I got an email complaint from someone who didn't like
my characterization of the low quality of MLS and especially
the Galaxy in my last post.
I was taken back by some of the language used in the email mostly
because they usually save those comments for Jamie Trecker.
I want to assure anyone who reads this that I have been a Galaxy and
MLS supporter from day one. I was one the the 70,000 who attended their
first game, and I have attended at least 5 games a year since. I watch
every televised game with my 82 year old father, and we yell at the TV
the entire time. I also am a HUGE USA nats fan, and I watch
every game on TV and attend every local match they play (usually in
January, but this year also in July). I have done this from all the
back in he early 80's. There will be many who claim that they attended
the 1-0 Costa Rica loss at El Camino
college in 1985, but my dad,
brother Steve and I were actually there. Contrary to reports,
the crowd 40% USA fans and 60% Costa Rica fans. It was not 75% Costa
Rica fans. I am by no means what you would call an American Eurosnob
(not my characterization, but one used by many USA fans). My
characterization of the Galaxy as needing any player who can kick a
ball and tie his boots properly was a joke made by someone who knows
that is it not actually true. More or less, it's all they could afford
this year though. Now, that's been said...
When we last left 8bitjeff he was warming the bench and getting limited
playing time with the LA Galaxy of MLS. He had scored only one goal
in real competition, had no assists, no tackles, and only a handful of
meaningful passes completed. His confidence was at an all-time low and
his luck with the ladies was snake eyes all the way. He needed
a change badly and one came in an offer to play continental semi-pro
football in the outskirts of England's lower leagues.
8bitjeff packed up his only meaningful belongings (a full set
of gym equipment, surf board and mobile home) and trekked to the
outskirts of English football for a loan spell with Stelybridge Celtic
of the Northern Continental League.
Once on the ground in Merry ol' Engerland, 8bitjeff spend most of his
free time gambling in the casino and playing 5 aside (plus a keeper)
matches in doors to keep out of the British Winters. He was given the
opportunity to start a few matches because of his impressive training
regime and by the end of the campaign had actually scored a couple
goals and had 1 assist. It was enough to be offered a 5 year stay, but
with his sights set on the big time, 8bitjeff accepted a move to Spain
to play for B league leaders Codiz CF.
The entire summer off season was spend in his new swimming
pool, working on endurance, and running around cones on the practice
pitch in an attempt to turn his natural speed into dribble prowess.
When the new campaign started, Codiz wanted to see what their young
American was capable of and 8bitjeff didn't didn't disappoint with a
spectacular goal. Unfortunately, with the fire power already available
to this top table club, he was treated to a bench stay in
reward for his play. After a few fruitless substitution performances,
8bitjeff earned his first ever Man of the Match award for a goal in his
start against Lacena. After 6 matches, Codiz sits top table with 5 wins
and 1 draw. 8bitjeff hopes to keep impressing the manager in training
so he will get more chances to shine, as even a Man of the Match award
will not guarantee a starting spot on this competitive club.
8bitjeff's current financial situation is better than ever, but still
not great. Now that he is earning $2300 a week with only about $250 a
week in expenses, he has been able to save a little dosh.
This frugal lifestyle has absolutely NOT proven enough impress the
lovely Spanish ladies as 8bitjeff had not been on one date since his
move from England (he had 2 disastrous dates there, one girl left as
soon as she saw his clothes). 8bitjeff hopes to score enough
goals to impress a boot sponsor. If he doesn't, he will need to store
his pennies until he can purchase the $40K power car that will
hopefully be enough for a date to stay more than 3 minutes with him.
He only has $27K in savings, and with a selection of friends
and family hangers-on sapping his cash reserves all the time, he will
need to stay pretty frugal to get there.
8bitjeff had his $16K mobile home shipped from the Midlands to Spain,
and it is obvious to him that he will need to get at least a small
apartment before any ladies will give him a second date (it they get
even passed driving in his $8K car that is). It will cost $81K for that
small apartment, but it will be well worth it when it he has the
resources to indulge.
In training, 8bitjeff has successfully been able to complete some
advanced passing, dribbling, and tackling drills, but the
shooting and heading drills (what he needs to be a competent striker)
are just too taxing for his weak frame. He will continue to work with
his full selection of workout gear that he stores under a giant tarp
next to his mobile home, and swim in the giant portable pool that he
dragged from England to Spain. Hopefully if he works on
speed, endurance and strength, he will be able to start more matches
and get the eye of some sponsors.
The next fixture for Codiz CF against 8th place Marbella will hopefully
be another opportunity for 8bitjeff to shine. Until then,
he'll go hit the race track with some friends and try to win enough
money for that car to entice the ladies...
Outstanding shoot 'em up Polarity added to the 8bitrocket Retro Showcase
Outstanding shoot 'em up Polarity added to the 8bitrocket Retro Showcase
WOW! And that's a pretty powerful WOW! Thomsampson, Jeb (www.stimunationgames.com), Vengeance (www.gamesgamesgames.co.uk) and Squize (now at GamingYourWay www.gamingyourway.com) teamed up to put this game out a while ago, and it has just hit Mochi. We couldn't be more happy that it did. Polarity is a reflection of what happens when incredibly talented game designers, artists, and programmers mix their craft with a study of the best that 16 bit games had to offer. If this had been put out on the Amiga in 1990, they would have been Bitmap Brothers level super stars. In the vertical flying, shooting, blasting, big boss kick-ass genre, this is the one Flash game that out shines all of the rest. There is no need to play any other. If you want to learn what it takes to make a simply great Flash retro game, here is the example. Don't miss it, and don't waste the opportunity to learn from the masters.
Play Polarity in the 8bitrocket Retro Showcase!
Fresh Kill : Spike Arcade Edition
Fresh Kill : Spike Arcade Edition
Spike.com, the web arm of Spike TV has launched an arcade filled with
games that they claim are just for men (women will get a kick out of
some of t these too I am sure). The arcade currently
contains 5 titles that will probably look familiar to you if you have
spent any time on addictinggames com. While certainly
not "Fresh",
these titles do offer some great entertainment. We take a
look at three of them below:
Beat
Me Up
Beat
Me Up is a rag doll physics game
where the player is tasked with trying to inflict the most damage
possible on a stick polygon man within the given time limit. The game
begins with your poor on-screen dude falling from the sky and impaling
himself on a tall sharp object attached to the bottom of the screen.
Once he has been suitably impaled, your job is to use the mouse and
fling him around the screen, aiming for a number of the sharp objects
in almost a pinball like fashion. The better you are at flinging him
into on screen ordinance, the more blood he will spew and the higher
your score will be. You can used the [+] and [-] keys to
control falling debris which inflict even more damage.
This title was originally created by Will
Perone, and I have seen it
around the net for a while now. It is nice to see it collected together
with other games targeted at dudes with time on their hands while at
work.
8bitrocket take: Beat Me Up certainly is not for the faint of heart or
young children, but there is an undeniably addictive quality
to
flinging the hapless on screen man around the screen. This is due to a
very nice use of physics to create an almost rag-doll pinball machine
effect. I liken all of these types of games (including the series
of clone games where you launch a helpless hero scrolling horizontally
down the screen and try to see how far he will go) to the wonderful
game that
was the Javelin throw game in the classic Track and Field by Konami.
While Beat me Up is fun, it isn't without a few problems that can
easily be rectified. The game is solid, but the UI and instructions are
almost non-existent. It took me a few plays just to figure out the
basics, and I still don't know exactly what the [+] and [-] are used
for. I certainly had fun trying to figure it out though.
Riff
Master II
Riff
Master II is the Flash
equivalent of Guitar Hero. Notes fly down the screen and
using the ASD and JKL keys you attempt to play the right notes that
corresponds to the associated key in time with the song.
There are Easy and Normal Editions for 1 or 2 players. In a two player
game, one player uses ASD and the other the JKL keys. The
game is very polished and well programmed with nicely drawn and
animated characters.
This game was originally launched on to addictinggames.com by Freaky
Tiki Productions.
8bitrocket take: Riff Master II is F**King hard! You can see above
that my score when taking the screen shot was -325. That
being said, it is a very well made game. I had a lot of trouble getting
the keys to time properly, even in the easy mode.
I am a huge fan of Guitar Hero, but find keyboard versions
lacking. That being said, Riff Master II is a great reproduction of
the Guitar Hero style of game play with a keyboard. I just wish I
wasn't such a lame ass at it.
Negotiator
Negotiator
is almost like a text adventure of old, but with nice visuals to go
along with the well text. Actually it is more like a
linear choose your own adventure book where you must negotiate with a
bad dude until he gives up the location of a bomb, releases hostages,
etc. After a mission briefing, the player is given a nice cut screen
intro into the current situation, and then is presented with a screen
containing the scene (including on or more characters that need to be
negotiated with). Using the arrow keys the player selects questions to
ask the perp. After the first question or statement is selected , the 2
minute timer starts. There is also a radar screen at the bottom of the
play area that is used to signify progress. the goal is to ask the right questions/say the right things before the situation gets out of control.
Negotiator was originally released by Games2win.com
8bitrocket take: Negotiator is a very cool, unique concept. The
illustrations and animations are done very well, and the "radar"
screen at the bottom of the play field seamlessly changes into what
every is needed for the current level. There doesn't seem to be a lot
of replay value in the levels after they have been completed a first
time, but I'm not sure there was an intent to have people replay them,
as making them random would probably not have made them an better and
would probably have made them worse.
3d Space Shooter Star Force added to 8bitrocket Retro Showcase
3d Space Shooter Star Force added to 8bitrocket Retro Showcase
Star
Force, a very well
made 3d first person perspective space shooter has been added to the
8bitrocket Retro
Showcase.
In the game, you pilot a space fighter against hordes of enemy pilots,
asteroids and other baddies. It has the feel of the great Atari ST game,
Star Glider.
Onemangamestudio.com
(Mochi user Arcade Quest) has put together an impressive game here. I
hope to see more from them in the future.
New Star Soccer 4 Chronicles #1: 8bitjeff mid season 1 report
New Star Soccer 4 Chronicles #1: 8bitjeff mid season 1 report
Note: New Star Soccer 4 has been released by Simon Read and his team at
Newstargames.com. Being a supporter of both the world footie
game and independent computer games, especially Read's Masterpiece, New Star Soccer
3, I have been spending an inordinate amount of my time playing the new
version. To prove to all readers the depth and brilliance of the game, I will
periodically give updates based on real game happenings.
8bitjeff started his professional soccer career as an 18 year old with the
LA Galaxy on training contract. Finances were very tight on just a few
hundred dollars a week, and the early season constant training put a huge
strain on both his personal and professional life. He had two disastrous dates
with local girls who were disgusted to see that his tiny apartment was filled
with only the cheapest gym equipment he could afford and nothing else. Having
no car and no time to spend with family and friends, all he could talk to his
two dates about was the training ground, and it was obvious that neither girl
was interested enough to last more than a couple minutes with poor 8bitjeff.
On the field he faired only slightly better. The first 10 games were a
trial, and although he possessed some very raw talent, an eye for the goal and
some nice passing skills, after 900 minutes of action he only had one goal, and
handful of passes completed, no assists, and very low confidence. Even though
he was not very impressive in his stint, this is the MLS, and the Galaxy are
hurting for almost anyone who can don some boots and kick a ball in the right
direction. So, after the signing the $1200 a week offer, 8bitjeff found himself
cast to the bench while Galaxy stars like Lendon Denovan (sic) ( the game
changes names on purpose for legal reasons) light up the league tables just as
in real life.
30 games into the season, the Galaxy (just as in real life) is mired at the
bottom of the Western Conference table, and 8bitjeff has seen limited minutes
as a sub with no more goals and still no assists. Fueled by NRG drinks and low
confidence, he has been giving his all in training, though participating mostly
in 5-a-side indoor matches rather than attempting the training challenges that
he finds difficult to master. He saved enough money to add a treadmill to his
growing stable of indoor gym equipment, as well as purchase a surf board and a
cheap car. With still no dates on the horizon and the limited game action, he has
spent his ample fee time with friends and family. He is enjoying his first year
of professional football, but with his confidence as low as it is, he is going
to have trouble proving to the manager that he should get more game time.
Jeff's next step is to continuing training hard and trying to compete for a
spot in the starting 11. With some hard work, and a little luck (that means
you, Alen Gurdon, getting injured), he will hopefully start scoring goals soon.
He can't make it to the Premier League by ogling Devod Beckhom's wife and Katie
Holmes from the bench, he has to get on the pitch and show his stuff. (note
Victoria and Katie are NOT in the game, but everything else described is).
New Star Soccer 4 is coming Nov 7th!
New Star Soccer 4 is coming Nov 7th!
I don't write too many coming soon articles on PC games, but there is one game that is so good, and the wait has been so long, that I just can't contain my excitement. What game? You ask? Well, the title of this article says is all. New Star Soccer 4 from New Star Games is set to be released this Friday. It will be the first computer game I have purchased since Alien Shooter 2 last December (although I have purchased many Wii and PS2 games in that time span). Playing web games and working on my own has taken up much of my game playing time, but come this Friday, all will change. New Star Soccer 4 will first be released for Windows and will shortly be followed by a full Mac OS X release (another reason why author Simon Read is way ahead of most of the rest of the industry). I don't even own a full blown XP machine anymore, so I will be trying the demo release on my iMac in Parallels before the OS X release is even ready. If that doesn't work, I'll drag the file over to the lone PC box in the house (I just use it to store old files now), dust off a GamePad and give it a run through.
Let's not get ahead of ourselves, as I have not played one second of New Star Soccer 4 (NSS4) yet, so I have no idea what it will actually be like (check out the YouTube videos below for some hint). So, what I will do is describe to what made New Star Soccer 3 (NSS3) so great. NSS3 was like Anco Kickoff Player Manager + Sensible World of Soccer + Fifa + Ultima IV. You started off the game as a young footballer who must train in multiple skill games (passing, tackling, heading, shooting, set pieces, plus general game awareness like vision, aggressiveness, flair, positioning, etc) just to get a tryout with a lower division team. Once on the bench, you would need to train extra hard just to get in as a sub and then progress from there. It was a sports role playing game in the best sense of both words. All matches were played in real-time with minimalist but effective graphics and animations. The game play was the drawing point. Simon had some how mastered the greatest combination of on-field control, mixed with incredible team AI and sheer playability ever put into a sports game. From minute one I was hooked and gladly paid my $20 for the full blown game experience. The player names, team names and logos, and leagues were all generic, but independent 3rd party packs were available for download in the community to update everything team logos and names. This was August of 2006 and at that time NSS4 was being discussed as a late 2007 release.
I started my NSS3 footballer career as a 17 year old Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder. I scored a handful of goals the first campaign, but as I trained more, the goals and assists started flowing in season two. With those came sponsorship offers, girlfriends, drinking binges with teammates, gambling sessions, and lifestyle purchases from a list of items that would have made the original Wheel Of Fortune pale in comparison . Soon I was playing for clubs in Germany, England, Spain, and I was even able to guide the USA to a win in the World cup. I did all of this from a simple, yet beautiful interface that Simon had cooked up for between match training and life options. I even used too many enhancing drugs one time, needed to go to rehab and was dropped by boot sponsor. Soon, though, I was out, playing in Madrid and winning Footballer of the year. To top it all off, there was a full blown relationship engine built in that affected moral of you and your teammates. You needed to keep your family and friends happy, as well as your team. Shoot too much when teammates are open in front of goal, and run the risk of not getting any more passes from them. Stay out late with your girlfriend and run the risk of the manager benching you for a match. I played that original campaign for close to 300 hours before finally hanging up my career and starting over at a higher difficulty. The last game that I spent so many hours on was Phantasie I for the Atari ST back when Steve and I spent an entire two week period in the summer doing nothing but playing that grind it out role-player.
Here are some screen shots from New Star Soccer 3. These images all come from www.newstargames.com
What's in store for NSS4.
New Star Soccer 4 has everything in NSS3 plus many added enhancements. None is more breathtaking than the new Blitz Basic 3d Match engine. Gone are any excuses that you might have about being embarrassed to have your kids watch you play with those little toy men on the screen. You now have a full blown 3d version of one of the most engrossing computer game experiences ever. Simon has included 90 world leagues and over 30,000 players. As well he has included a set of 50 achievements for you to tackle (sic) such as Young Footballer of the year, Golden Boot, and of course Footballer of the year. There is now horse racing (and ownership) as a way to spend your time and money away from the pitch, as well a a full blown casino for you to blow some cash in. I will have a full review of the game after I play through a whole campaign, but for now, check out these pics directly from www.newstargames.com:
Supposedly, NSS4 will be released this Friday (Nov 7). You can find out more by visiting the game page on newstargames.com.
Check out the NSS4 channel on youtube, for some amazing game action. It's simply impossible that this entire game was made by one person, but it was.