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3 Fun Games To Start The Year With A Bang

via MakeUseOf.com by Simon Slangen on 1/8/09

A new year has begun and though it is still pretty much the same, some things are different. A line is drawn between the past and the current day and New Year resolutions make up a big part of this.

Now, in what twisted way do resolutions have to do with gaming, you might wonder.

I made three resolutions this year, which is a great deal more than last year. To temper my arrogance somewhat is the first one, the second is to put more effort in my work, and the third one is to - in spite of the first two resolutions - also have a lot of fun this year.

For this reason (my third resolution), and because it's never a bad time to discover new things, we'll show you three great and free games to start the year with a bang.

And Yet it Moves (Win & Mac)

"And Yet It Moves" is a really fun and innovative indie game from ImpulsProgramm productions.

It's a run-and-jump platformer, in which you can turn the world ninety degrees at any given time. This creates some intensive platforming gameplay and keeps the game interesting from installation till finish.

The game's concept and physics engine are really interesting. While rotating, all objects get frozen in time, whereafter they continue with the same velocity as before, but with a different gravitational direction. This can be exploited by the player in various situations, from reaching those tough spots to manipulating your surroundings.

If games are art - a discussion that continuously arises these days - AYIM is a schoolbook example. All the visuals in the game are built up like a collage, with layered rips of paper. This makes the game not only fun to play, but makes it great eyecandy as well.

The game is available for download on Windows and Mac systems. Please note that this is still just a prototype of the final game, and that errors can still emerge while playing.

de Blob (Win)

The above page is the official site - in Dutch. The English installers of the game can be downloaded from here or here.

This game was (just like Killzone) developed not far from my home, in a place that some people call 'the low lands', but is generally known as the Netherlands.

Initially, nine students started working on this game for a school project, and from there it even made its way to the big players in the industry. On this day, deBlob is also available for the Wii console, recently released by THQ. The original game is still available though.

In de Blob, you play with a big 'blob' of paint, your main goal being to paint all the different landmarks on your map. On your way, you can grow and change colour by absorbing other blobs of paint - it gets called "katamari with paint" for a reason - and collect the coins that are spread throughout the level.

In short, this is a really fun game, both for fanatic- and non gamers.

N (Win, Mac & Linux)

N: Inadvertently Homicidal Robots, Evasive Ninjas and A Whole Whack of Style.

N is for ninja, I guess. It's a brilliant 2D platformer, in which you got to get to the exit by jumping up walls in mid air, and meanwhile collect every last one of those golden marks. The concept in itself is not very remarkable, but the game's engine and gameplay are wonderful.

The game started out in flash (you can play it here), but is now also available for download on Windows, Mac and Linux systems. It has won various awards and is worthy of every last one of them.

At the moment, N+ (the successor) it has also become available for the Xbox 360 (Live Arcade), Nintendo DS and Sony PSP.