FREE GAMES... THAT DON'T SUCK

[Ralbane]

No, this isn't a copy of my freeware list. This is a, much smaller, list of games that I think that you should seriously play rather than a comprehensive list of them. Yes, some of the games on this list have had their own threads recently but that doesn't change the fact that they rock. Anyway, uhhh... enjoy!

Cave Story



Cave Story is an amazing old-school side-scrolling adventure that is reminiscent of games like Castlevania or Metroid. Created by some Japanese guy who calls himself Pixel over the course of four years, his hard work and creativity has come together to create a game of utmost quality. I'm not just speaking for myself here, this game has quite a cult following. As far as I know, this is the only freeware game that has spawned it's own high-quality music remix project.

If you're into old-school games at all, you should download this game. If you're not, you should download it anyway.

The game doesn't really have an official site so the only places it can be downloaded are third-party sites. I recommend the following because it already has the english patch installed. Oh, and having a gamepad wouldn't hurt, but I've beaten the game on a keyboard so it's not impossible.

www.caiman.us/scripts/fw/pageN.php?nr=1699&f=CaveStory.zip

Frets on Fire



If you own Guitar Hero, you can probably pass on this one. Frets on Fire is an very unique and entertaining Guitar Hero clone for PC. To play, you actually hold the keyboard like the guy in the image above. Or if you have a Guitar Hero guitar and a PS2/USB adapter you can hook it up to play. While the game only comes with 3 songs, there's plenty of custom songs that you can download. Sadly, the quality of play you'll get out of each custom song varies heavily. You can also take one of your favorite songs and put in your own frets if you'd like.

But yeah, if you're looking for something fresh as far as PC games go, you should definitely give this game a download!

louhi.kempele.fi/~skyostil/uv/fretsonfire/

Trackmania Nations



Racing doesn't really get too much more off the wall than Trackmania Nations. Trackmania Nations is really just about anything but your standard racing game. Break-neck speeds, huge jumps, loops, wall-riding... Yeah, I think you get the point, it's crazy! One of the odd things, however, is that in online play you don't collide with other cars. I know why they did this, but it would be nice to at least have it as an option.

Racing game fan or not, this game is likely to please. Also, it comes with a track editor so that sends the replayablity through the roof!

www.trackmanianations.com/indexUk.php

Within a Deep Forest



Within a Deep Forest is a Metroid style game with a unique twist... You play as a ball that can only bounce. No attack, not nothin'. Just bouncing. Surprisingly, it's actually really good! You use your amazing bouncing powers to explore the world and collect different ball materials to get into more areas and so on and so forth. Also, the game has some really neat music that will immerse you into the game. It's all electronic but it gives the game a really nice atmosphere.

If you're looking for a challenge, you've found the right game.

withinadeepforest.ni2.se/

Star Control II



While Star Control II is not the actual name of the freeware game, but the actual name makes me lose smartness.

So anyway, Star Control II is a mixed-genre space adventure (originally released retail in 1994) that many (including myself) say is one of the greatest games of all time. You're the captian of a potentially powerful spaceship and it's up to you to free Earth and the universe from the grasps of an evil alien race. To do so you will need to do many things, including: Talk with many interesting alien races to get them to join your ranks, slaughter those who refuse, collect minerals to build more ships or upgrade your flagship, and rely on information you get from aliens to complete tasks and solve puzzles.

All and all, Star Control II is an excellent, lengthy game that has a great story and over 20 different ships to fly in combat, each extremely different from the last.

sc2.sourceforge.net/

Toribash has gone shareware and has been removed from the list.

N



While being one of the most frustrating and mind-blowingly difficult games that I've ever played in my entire life, N still manages to be very likable. You control an agile, yet pacifistic ninja (WHAT KIND OF OXYMORON IS THIS???) whose life goal is to collect gold and, well... live to get to the next level. There are more ways to die in N than there is atoms in the galaxy. Now, if I wasn't just clear - you're going to die a lot, but it's quite a good feeling when you actually manage to beat a level.

N is worth a download. However, after a while you won't be able to play anymore because you lit your keyboard on fire due to frustration. I recommend you have some music playing in the backround or else the silence will get on your nerves.

The game also has a built level editor, but I forgot how you unlock it. Look on the N forums or something.

www.harveycartel.org/metanet/downloads.html

Soldat



I had a game just in Soldat in my head for many years and when I finally discovered that such a game existed, it was hard to hold in my excitement. Soldat is an online deathmatch game that's like a mix of Unreal Tournament, Counter-Strike, and Contra. You would think you would be fairly limited in movement in a 2D game, and you would be right were it not for jetpacks. Shootin' bitches up AND flying?! Does it get any better? Yes! Shootin' bitches while flying around with the enemy flag! There's enough variation in modes to keep you playing Soldat for a while.

The site looks kind of shoddy, but you can rest assured that the game itself is quality!

www.soldat.pl/main.php

F.E.A.R. Combat



What's that? You never got around to buying F.E.A.R.? Well, isn't today your lucky day?! Not all that long ago, the multiplayer portion of F.E.A.R. was released for free! While F.E.A.R. multiplayer has never been the best multiplayer around, it's far from the worst. Fatal clost combat moves, intense gunfights, on the fly grenades, a fair assortment of maps and weapons, and mind-blowing graphics make the game one of the best free online shooters available. If you already own F.E.A.R. already, however, there's nothing new to see here.

www.joinfear.com/main

GeneRally



Does anyone remember classics like Super Sprint, Micro Machines, or RC Pro-AM? ... No? Uhh, well okay. In GeneRally you control a little car from a bird's eye view and, obviously, your goal is to get the best time or beat the other little cars. The game is more challenging than other games of the sort because your car actually takes damage when it crashes. When you ram yourself right into a tree, you better hope your not too far from the pit stop because that's the only place that's going to fix you up. There's plenty of different vehicles to choose from and it even comes with a track editor so you can make the race track of your dreams!

If you have fond memories of the games above, this is at least bound to keep you entertained for an after-noon or so. If not, it might.

generally.rscsites.org/

Neverball



If you've played Super Monkey Ball or Marble Madness, you know what you're getting into. If you haven't, you don't know what you're getting into. Basically, you try to get your ball to the goal by tilting the playfield. Sounds easy, right? Well, it really isn't, I'm afraid to say. There's plenty of things out there that can cause your innocent little ball to fall of a ledge. Games like this can get really challenging, but for some reason you won't stop playing!

I can really only see someone getting a whole lot of satisfaction out of this game if they have a joystick. Controlling with the mouse seems a little bit troublesome, but I only tried using it for about a couple of seconds so I don't know. I'd also like to let you know that the production value here is spectacular!

www.icculus.org/neverball/

Penumbra



One thing I can't believe is that there are people out there who think Resident Evil 4 is scary. Apparently they've never played games like Silent Hill, Fatal Frame, or Penumbra. Penumbra is not your standard survival horror game. It's all about puzzle solving since you don't actually get a gun. That's not to say there aren't monsters though. The game has some pretty kickin' graphics for a freeware game which certainly adds to the horror.

Are you man or woman enough to play? Of course you are!

frictionalgames.com/?q=penumbra

Little Fighter 2



Little Fighter 2 has a couple different modes and I'm not really sure which one is supposed to be the main one. My personal favorite mode is the one that plays like Streets of Rage or Final Fight. The game throws generic enemies your way and it's your job to beat the everloving snot out of each and every single one of them. Then there's the mode where you fight characters that are just as powerful as you are. Each character is fairly different and has a couple different special attacks which you need to look up how to do on the main website. It's also possible to play online so you can knock the stuffing out of some dudes you totally don't know!

lf2.net/

Grand Theft Auto 2



If you call yourself a gamer, you know about the GTA series. If you're not a gamer, you probably know about the GTA series also because of all of the controversy. You play as some random thug who is dropped into a large open-ended world to do as you please. Complete missions that you get from different gangs, reek havok on the hapless citizens of the city, or just drive around... whateva. In my opinion, GTA 2 has held up rather well over the years even though the series has been 3D-ified for a while.

www.rockstargames.com/classics/index.html

Black Shades



Black Shades is just about anything but your standard FPS game. First off, it has the blockiest graphics I've seen since the original Star Fox. Some people may be turned off by this, but I like it because it brings me back to a time when games weren't all about graphics. You're a psychic bodyguard whose goal is to protect the VIP (guy in white) by any means necessary from various kind of assasins and zombies. Even though there's almost absolutely no variation in the environment whatsoever, Black Shades somehow manages to keep things fresh by mixing up the enemies you fight and the weapons you can use.

Not only do you get a variety of weapons to protect the VIP, you also get some useful psychic powers! You have the ability to increase your thinking speed momentarily (bullet time), or you can use Soul-release to get a view of the situation.

The only problem I have here is that there's no save feature, so it's either you use the debug mode to skip levels or you start at the beginning.

wolfire.com/blackshades.html

Warzone: 2100



While I'm not a huge fan of RTS games, I like Warzone 2100. At the beginning of the campaign mode, you start with hardly anything besides contruction units and basic tanks. As you move throughout the map, you find artifacts that you can research that allow you to build different kinds of units. And I do mean 'build', because you construct your units yourself by connecting different parts.

If you like strategy games, you should find some fun in Warzone: 2100. Oh, and the game appears to be missing it's Cinematics.

Go to downloads and download the Warzone: 2100 source code, the game will be inside.

warzone2100.strategyplanet.gamespy.com/

Ground Control



Ground Control is an RTS game that's all about combat. You don't even get any workers! No resource gathering, no building contruction. Pure combat. You're probably wondering how that works and I don't blame you. Ground Control is all about using everything you've got to your advantage. Everything from the environment to the lighting in an area will have an affect on combat.

The game is extremely unique as far as RTS games go, if you're sick and tired of the run-of-the-mill RTS experience, look no further.

www.fileplanet.com/promotions/groundcontrol/

Raging Skies



Raging Skies is a challenging and fun Shmup (Shoot-em up) where you play as some guy named Cliff Spoon who is an arrogant yet highly skilled fighter pilot and Earth's final hope against the Talon Lords. Unlike most shmups, combat takes place on an open 360 plane where you can fly anywhere. You also earn cash from every enemy you kill which you can use to buy better parts for your ship.

The game's dialouge is extremely humorous and will keep you playing, the music is pretty darn good, and the combat is fast-paced and challenging. The only problem I had was in the intro when I saw some text that wasn't aligned correctly. That's a real pet peeve of mine in freeware games. Raging Skies is certainly worth a download, if you're into shmups or not.

There's more than one game on the downloads page. You're free to try them but Raging Skies is the only one I've tried.

www.darthlupi.com/?page_id=4#

[Ralbane]

Crack Attack



If you've played Tetris Attack on the SNES, you'll feel right at home with Crack Attack. It's pretty much just a bare-bones version of Tetris Attack but even then it's still a damn fun puzzle game. You move blocks left and right to try make combos and whatnot. In my opinion, it's the best tetris-esque game you're going to get on the PC, even if it lacks any sound whatsoever. You have music to listen to right?

There's online play aswell, but there's no master server or anything so if you plan to play online with anyone you're going to have to kick it old-school by entering in his/her IP. If you're not planning to, there's some AI you can play against but it doesn't seem to show what they're doing.

There's not much meat here but it's an alright clone of one of the best puzzle games ever made.

www.aluminumangel.org/attack/

Tribes



Tribes used to be a game that was far ahead of it's time. Released in the same year as Half-Life, the game featured vehicles, huge maps, highly customizable load-outs, and jet-packs! The real downfall of the game is that it lacks almost any sort of singleplayer whatsoever besides the tutorial missions. But of course the singleplayer was never the point, it was all about the multiplayer. Now you might have some trouble locating servers with people in them, but it would be great for LAN parties!

www.fileplanet.com/140246/140000/fileinfo/Starsiege:-Tribes-Full-Game

Beneath a Steel Sky



These days point-and-click adventure games are few and far between, but back then they were all the rage! In Beneath a Steel Sky, dystopian-future story revolves around a guy named Robert Foster and his snappy robotic companion, Joey. In the beginning, Robert is kidnapped and brought to Union City. He manages to escape and now he's going to have to use his smarts to make it out of this mess. The story is serious but the game's dialogue is funny and interesting.

In order to play, you're going to need to download SCUMMVM: www.scummvm.org/

And the game itself. I recommend you download the CD verson, which has voice overs. The sound quality is poor, but the voice acting itself isn't bad.

www.scummvm.org/downloads.php

Gunbound



While I'm not into Gunbound anymore like I used to be, I have to admit that I used to be somewhat addicted to it. It's a team-based multiplayer semi-clone of Scorched Earth/Worms. You get to select from a variety of vehicles at the start of a round, and the one that you pick you're stuck with unless you're playing tag mode. The game also has an upgrade system, where you can buy different clothing for your avatar which looks cool/adds to your stats in some way. This portion of the game can be quite annoying because I recall these items of clothing to be really expensive.

Also, the game can be very luck dependant. The teammates that you're randomly matched up with when you play, and where you spawn can make all the difference in match.

Overall, though, Gunbound is not a bad game. Not the best, but it should keep you entertained if you're looking for some Worms action and you don't have any worms games.

www.softnyx.net/

Curator Defense



Curator Defense is more or less a free version of those defense games that you've probably played 1000 times before in Starcraft or Warcraft III. For those of you not in the know, the goal of these kinds of games is to build stationary defenses to prevent enemies from getting to the other side of the map. Obviously, unlike the maps in StarCraft or WarCraft II, the game is centered around this entirely, opening up more options than either of the games would probably be able to offer.

The game has a weird story though. You own a musuem and it's under attack by armies of modern art. You need to destroy the crappy modern art before it replaces the masterpieces you have hanging on your wall. Yeah...

Yeah, it's pretty fun though. The only thing it doesn't have that Starcraft or Warcraft would would be multiplayer.

www.davidbhowe.net/cd/main.htm

Clonk Planet



Clonk is like a mix of Worms and an RTS game. You control these little guys named Clonks who can perform a variety of tasks. You can get them to gather minerals, build structures, blow stuff up, command vehicles, etc.. There's a variety of different single-player missions to play, as well as online multiplayer. While my time with the game has been limited, I can assure this is quality stuff.

There's some other Clonk games to download there as well which, of course, you're free to try.

www.clonk.de/contents_en.html?/classics_en.html

Narbacular Drop



While Narbacular Drop might look like a platformer, it's actually the spiritual predecessor to Valve's upcoming Portals. Like Portals, you place down portals on any stone surface, and when you walk into one, you will come out of the other. It's a very awesome concept and it works well. It's a pretty tough game, too, which really requires you to think about how you're going to complete the level.

Narbacular Drop doesn't really have too much in terms of high-intensity action, and it's also really short (however, you can download custom levels which are also on the website), but it makes up for both of those things in total awesomeness.

www.nuclearmonkeysoftware.com/narbaculardrop.html

Vantage Master Online



Turn-based strategy games along the lines of Final Fantasy Tactics or Fire Emblem are a true rarity among PC games, but luckily there's Vantage Master Online. The game is Japanese developed, so it'd be a good idea to expect some engrish. Hell, some of the game's cutscenes are in japanese... but the game's not about the story, it would seem, since it throws you right into the game.

You control a 'Master', or one who is capable of summoning monsters to do your bidding. Your goal for each mission is to kill your opponent's Master before he kills yours. Unlike most tactics RPGS, the only character that seems to level up permanantly is the master. If you're into tactics games, you will definitely find fun in Vantage Master. If you're only into fast-paced action fests, then you can skip this one.

I suggest looking at the manual: www.falcom.co.jp/vantage/manual/index.html

www.falcom.co.jp/vantage/index_e.html

Torus Trooper



I'm quite surprised at how few shmups there are on this list. I though I would shmup it up with Torus Trooper. You're a little ship thing and it's up to you to shoot other ship things for whatever reason. The difference from your usual shmup is that you're playing in a tube and you're moving at insane speeds.

Basically, Torus Trooper has that 'techno music + simple graphics = zen state' kinda thing going on. I'm not sure how long I'd be able to play this if it weren't for that, but in it's current state, you'll have something to do for a couple hours tops, or possibly more if you're really into this kind of thing. It's just that it can really repetitive because there doesn't seem to be that many enemy types.

But then again, shmups aren't really ment to be played for hours on end, so I guess that isn't really a problem. I would say it's worth a look!

www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/windows/tt_e.html

Lyle in Cube Sector



This is a nice little gem that I probably wouldn't have found were it not for Kojjiro. Lyle in Cube Sector is a 2D exploration game where you control a green-haired kid named Lyle whose power is the ability to lift and throw blocks, apparently. The gameplay is fun and old school, and is a bit like some crazy hybrid of Super Mario Brothers 2 and Metroid. It also has great presentation. The graphics and music and both crisp and will make you feel like you're playing a game on an NES that abuses steroids.

If you like side-scrollers, I don't see what there is to hate about this game.

www.sitesled.com/members/bogo/lyle.html

Acidbomb



Acidbomb has the coolest theme that I've ever seen in a puzzle game, no doubt about it. You're a bomb defusal specialist and you have to find the pistons on each bomb and disarm them. It's kind of like mine sweeper but... not. You have a tools called SDUs and you use them to see how many pistons there are in a line.

All in all, this game is awesome. The game has a fun, yet intense feel to it. When the timer starts to count down from ten, you're thinking, "Damn, I really hope I got all of those right..."

www.vertigogaming.net/

Walaber's Trampoline



Walaber's Trampoline is probably the first of it's kind. In my opinion, it's kind of like a Tony Hawk Pro Skater game, but instead of skateboarding, you're on a trampoline. The gameplay is physics driven, so expect your character to injure himself even though when in real-life it could easily be avoided. Aside from that, though, it's pretty awesome. Very fast paced and challenging, and if it's TOO fast paced for you, you can slow things down in the options menu.

If you're up for something slightly different, you should check this one out.

walaber.com/index.php?action=showitem&id=12

****Gate 88****

Screenshot: img166.imageshack.us/img166/1755/1ne3.jpg (I have to link to images now, since I have met the facepunch image limit in this post)

Gate 88 is a very, very strange RTS game. Instead of clicking on units and buildings, then telling them what to do, you control a space ship which is more or less a mouse cursor that can fire lasers. I mean, you don't ACTUALLY use the mouse to control it, but it's what you use to contruct buildings and order units.

The game seems to have influences from many game. The second I start playing, I was reminded of Herzog Zwei. While I've never played Herzog Zwei, I've read up on it and the concept seems similar.

But yeah, if you're into RTS/Action/RPG hybrids, Gate 88 does a damn good job.

www.queasygames.com/gate88/downloads.html

****Zombie City Tactics****

Screenshot: img215.imageshack.us/img215/9749/zct5nf1.png

Who doesn't love killing zombies? Zombies, that's who! Zombie City Tactics is a very simple turn-based strategy game, both in the gameplay and the graphics. Simple is not a bad thing at all, because in Zombie City Tactic's case, it makes planning ahead positively vital. The fastest move range is two squares, most units will die in one hit, and a lot of the time you're going to need to sacrifice units for the good of whole. You're also vastly outnumbered, but thankfully you can spread your influence to build more of 3 different units. Yes, there's only 3 units but all of them have their distinct jobs.

If you're looking for a game that will really make you think, Zombie City Tactics delivers in spades!

secretblender.blogspot.com/2006/08/brains-have-it.html

****Tremulous****

Screenshot: img83.imageshack.us/img83/7572/screenshotss0.jpg

Like shooting aliens? Check! Like cutting through human flesh like a hot chainsaw through butter? Check! Tremulous is a hybrid FPS/RTS (Sorta) where you can either play as the technological humans, or the constantly evolving aliens. Having your team attack stuff isn't going to win you the game. You also need to build structures in order to get upgrades for your team and whatnot. You may be thinking this sounds a lot like Natural Selection... and that's because it IS quite a bit like Natural Selection. However, I hate Natural Selection, but I find this game entertaining. It's more simple and fast-paced.

Tremulous is a great team-based FPS game. I highly recommend it to all FPS fans, especially those that are sick of the standard 'human vs. human' FPS games that are so common.

tremulous.net/


****Line Rider****

Screenshot: img225.imageshack.us/img225/3316/lineriderbetabyfskqv4.png

Line Rider is like the Excitebike of creative people! You draw black lines on a white backround and you watch helplessly as a little man/woman (I honestly can't tell which) on a sled takes on your challenge. The game is good fun, but it is far from flawless as of the writing of this review. I heard there was going to be an update soon, so there problems might be gone by the time you read this. You can't erase lines, and there's no undo button, so the only way you can fix mistakes is to save often and load when you mess up. There also isn't a tool to make a straight line, so chances are the ride is going to bumpy for our little hermaphroditic friend. Aside from these little gripes, though, Line Rider is a surprisingly entertaining distraction if you have a little bit of patience.

I'll link you to both the online version and the downloadable version.

www.deviantart.com/deviation/40255643/

www.deviantart.com/deviation/26674594/ (On the left of the Line Rider image, there should be a tiny picture of a monitor with an orange screen. That's the download.)

****Return to Castle Wolfenstein: Enemy Territory****

Screenshot: img225.imageshack.us/img225/8622/wet06vs1.jpg

Yes, this game is LONG overdue to be put on this list. This game was supposed to be an expansion pack to Return to Castle Wolfenstein, but the multiplayer portion was released for free because the single-player part of the expansion was coming together fairly poorly. As unreassuring as that may sound, the game isn't that bad. It play out like most other team-based online FPSes, except that the game is heavily objective driven. There's a few different classes to choose from, ranging from your standard soldier, to your covert ops who has the ability to steal the uniforms of slain enemies. Your character also levels up as you play, which I personally think is kind of stupid since it gives players who have been on the server longer an unneccesary advantage, but no game is perfect and chances are a fair ammount of people like this mechanic.

games.activision.com/games/wolfenstein/

****Cortex Command****

Screenshot: img135.imageshack.us/img135/2747/dierobotscumvl6.gif

Cortex Command is a very strange game. It's an action/strategy game where you play as a brain in a jar who has the ability to control robots, clones, and rocketships. As far as I can tell, there isn't any goal in single-player mode besides keeping your brain alive as long as possible against AI robots that fall out of the sky. The goal of multi-player is to kill your opponent's brain before they destroy yours. The game is fun but is sort of clunky. The robots/clones you can control are extremely clumsy, just about anything that lives only needs to be shot once before it begins to bleed to death including your brain, things can seem a little overwhelming at first, since there's no tutorial or anything like that, and there's only one map per mode, but I'll let that one slide because this game is obviously nowhere near it's final stage. Overall, however, the game is pretty entertaining. The music is good, the graphics are crisp, and the action is quite satisfying.

datarealms.com/

****WWI Medic****

Screenshot: img149.imageshack.us/img149/7464/ww1scr2db0.jpg

Oh boy! It's another war game! Looks like I'm going to be shooting random soldier #38219... again! Wait, you don't shoot guys in WWI Medic? Say what! That's right! In WWI Medic, instead of shooting people, you save them, all while you try to avoid gunfire, grenades, and various other things that you really don't want to get hit with. The game is done in a style that reminds me of old arcade games, such as Robotron: 2084. It's actually fairly obvious that this is what they were going for. To make the game even MORE like an arcade game, they made the game hard as hell! I would consider you either lucky or incredibly skilled if you lived for more than five minutes on average. Unfortunately, this game only gives you one quarter. In other words, if you die, you need to start from the beginning.

This game, while fun, is not without its flaws. First off, the graphics almost make the NES seem like a powerful machine. Usually graphics don't bug me, but the people who made this game made a poor graphics design choice: the bullets are nearly impossible to see! Second of all, whenever you die the game shows you your overall score, including bonuses. When it does this, it causes your computer to beep, which I find really annoying and stupid. My final gripe with this game is the controls. If you press a direction, your character will keep walking. In order to stop him, you need to hit that direction again or hit a different direction. I have always hated this style of control, and I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Those things aside, this game is generally entertaining. This game won't be for everyone, but if it is] your thing, then have fun saving lives then getting yourself killed in process!

www.bay12games.com/ww1medic/

[Sgtpepper]

Hmmmm, some of those don't seem half bad.

[spr1ntz]

Um. I recommend you all just get a friend. It'll save you a lot of money. In the short term anyways...