Cema Online

With plenty of open source physics engine’s to choose from, platform games are becoming more and more common. At occasion, some manage to shine above the others. This is the case in Pacman Platform 2. What I first thought might just be a generic Pacman copy turned out to be a great platformer.

Pacman Platform 2 begins smoothly. Choose from either adventure mode or minigames. Once there, have fun. The in-game design is crisp, and doesn’t interfere with gameplay. The camera is controlled well, and gameplay is crisp and smooth. There aren’t any bugs in-game that I have encountered so far, although when I exited out of minigames I was left on the minigame screen. The platforming is well done, and has a well done difficulty. And scoreboards mean that you can play multiple times to beat your old highscore.

The game has few shortcomings. The most obvious is the lack of difficult levels. Overall, the game is fairly easy, but occasionally feels too easy. Sometimes this is caused by the game’s ‘fetch quest’ nature. The level design is fairly straightfoward, and there isn’t any level that had a standout design. Online highscore boards would have increased replay value, but without them it doesn’t lack heavily.

Pacman Platform 2 is definitely worth your time, with its quick platforming gameplay and straightfoward design. Those looking for a difficult game might want to look elsewhere. If the levels had a bit more difficulty, and a few of them had extremely good designs it would be an incredible platforming experience.

84% / 100%

( Play it here! )

As soon as I saw the game, it intrigued me. It said it accomplished a well polished ‘Super Smash Bros. Melee’ feeling with minimal lag. Being that I love SSBM, (And Brawl was the sole purpose I originally got a Wii.) I had to give this game a testrun. I found out it was well worth it.

Fight for Glorton boasts some of the best features of any flash fighter I have played. Change control schemes, item frequency, stage, and so on. The game is really solid. It boots up into an AI fight splash screen, which I thought was both entertaining and well placed. The menu is easy to navigate and minimal. Before you begin to play, you can choose either 1 player or up to 4 player simultaniously. The control scheme for each is customizable, and fairly well balanced. There is only so much you can do with 4 people on the same keyboard. As for the in-game AI, it’s functional.

On the negative sides, Fight for Glorton does not have difficulty settings, which would have been great for AI single player battles. In addition, it lacks highscore boards, which would have been great for comparing kills per minute in endurance mode or such. In addition, there is only 6 total charecters, and some share the same movepool, so there isn’t enough variety. Some bugs and poor camera control occasionally bother gameplay as well.

Overall, it’s a solid fighting game. Combat is fast and furious, and the engine is great. Control scheme customizability is awsome, and multiplayer is great with friends. Its few short-comings are often in fighting games, and it would have been great if this one fixed them for a change.

86% / 100%

( Play it here! )

At first, I thought little of it. Just another flash game, platformer style, trying to do what was out of it’s league. I was wrong. Portal: The Flash Version is an incredibly well rounded game for hours of fun.

My first thought when I began playing it was, ‘Wow, what doesn’t this have?’. A video walkthrough, great level design, plenty of length, autosave, in-game console, nice art, and some of the most advanced options I think I’ve ever seen in a flash. And you can move with either the arrow or WASD keys. Simply mindblowing. The game plays like a 2D version of Portal should play, and it feels great. All the same tactics and manipulations are there, and more. And it’s a blast from beggining to end.

However, the game does lack some minor things. For example, in certain parts of the game, I would experience heavy lag, making the game almost unplayable. It resolved after a couple of seconds of ’stand still and hope for the best’, but still made the game a nuisance at parts. Another big problem was the bugs. Along my crusades I fell countless times to the fault of bugs. Once the bug actually helped me, but regardless it is a problem. It’s good to know the designers have noticed and are taking action about it.

Portal: The Flash Version is easily one of the best flash games to grace the internet as of recent. With its well done platforming and incredible features, you’ll be hooked from beggining to end.

95% / 100%

( Play it here! )

When I first saw Neves, I was hesistant. Generally speaking, puzzle solving games aren’t up on my list of anticipated games. Now, Neves looked like it might be different, it has a glimmer of originality. Neves might not be exactly what I was waiting for, but it is a surprisingly complete package.

Neves is a stylish puzzle game on the DS that has a straightfoward premise: slide the pieces into the diagram so that they form a picture. Surprisingly enough, this proves to be one of the most addictive puzzle games since Tetris. It’s difficulty is set just right, a perfect blend of ‘I’m so close!’ and ‘This is aggravating me’, so that you finish the puzzle just before you might become aggravated. There is plenty of puzzles to choose from, and the game is great for a quick jump in and hop out. It’s a great on-the-go game, and holds plenty of hours of gameplay. Local multiplayer with either one or more carts is great too, and the autosave feature throughout the game is really nifty.

Neves is definitely a great game, but it isn’t perfect. Although it has local multiplayer, I would have loved to see online multiplayer as well as online highscore boards. Occasionallty the pieces don’t slide in together as one might hope, and sometimes controlling the pieces is messy.

Overall, Neves is a comfortable quickplay game that will last in the long run. If only it had online scoreboards.

91% / 100%