From Maximum PC June 2007 issue
It would be good to get feedback on some of these. Have fun.
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Multiplayer Flight SIM
Paper Pilot
Screw the eye of the tiger, you need to thread a needle's eye to succeed in this game.
First, you build your plane using nothing more than virtual paper. Second, you throw your plane using a virtual you. Third, you challange your friends to a winner-takes-all, email-based, single throw death match to see whose nerves are steeliest and who can huck his paper airplane the farthest. Do you have what it takes to out-toss your buddies? There's only one way to find out.
http://www.solidworkspilot.com
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Strategy
Flash Element TD
Flash meets Zerging in this Warcraft-themed game.
The best part of Flash Element TD isn't the endless waves of enemies that run through your little labyrinth, imploring you to kill them with automated, tower-themed weaponry. It's not the witty sound effects that precede each mob, nor the strategic design of the baddies, which truly forces you to rethink your grand scheme as the levels progress. Flash Element TD rocks because you can set your defense, click, play, and get work done while the game chugs along.
http://www.novelconcepts.co.uk/FlashElementTD
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Puzzle
Bauns
A real ball-buster of a game
Many of Orsinal's games seem more like little films, engaging because of their aesthetics rather than their actual gameplay, but Bauns mixes up the equation, offering a straight-forward look with addictive action. A twist on the usual "knock down towers of balls" seen in Bubble Breaker, Chuzzle. and other games, Bauns incorporates a more challenging shooting method and a mix of power-ups; it also has that "just one more game" element that could very well keep you at your desk until 5:07.
http://tinyurl.com/5qqw6
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Arcade
Silversphere
A tip o' the hat to Marble Madness
This game reminds us of the Atari arcade classic Marble Madness. Her, your objective is to roll a silver ball into a blue vortex to complete each level. The action takes place on a 2D maze of squares surrounded by water hazards.
Racing the clock in the initial levels is extremely easy, but the complexity ratchets up quickly, as higher levels introduce golden spheres that explode on contact, crates that must be used to form bidges, sliding ice cubes, and other obstacles.
http://tinyurl.com/yolbqt
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Quiz Show
You Don't Know Jack
As close as most of us will get to being on a TV game show.
The online version of Jellyvision's classic party game looks and plays remarkably like CDROM games of yore, complete with snarky host, wacky sound effects, fun animation and - totally new, outrageously off the wall questions.
http://tinyurl.com/2z82qs
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Zombie
De-Animator
We think of it as a real-world trainer for a zombie attack.
If you spend half your water-cooler time planning what to do in case of a zombie attack, you should probably add a little hands-on training to your regimen. De-Animator is practically the IPSC of zombie training, making you stand your ground with a lowly six-shooter and granny's shotgun. What the game lacks in color graphics, it makes up for in mood and atmosphere.
http://tinyurl.com/28h8ej
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Zombie + Survival
All Hallow's Eve
Stave off ravenous hoards of zombies.
At first, it's you and your BB gun against a few common zombies. Then, the zombies get stronger and you buy better weapons and upgrade your home's defenses. Before you know it you're packing Uzis ans laying mine fields and razor wire outside your house!
http://tinyurl.com/ynfxd4
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Agility
Flash Flash Revolution
And the Lord said: Let there be much button-mashing.
Although it took us an hour to get the feeling back in our right hand after playing it, we heartily recommend Flash Flash Revolution - and its smorgasbord of music-driven reflex tests - as one of the best time-wasters on the internet. While it's just not the same as stomping on a dance pad, it's the closest you're going to get to the Dance Dance Revolution at the workplace.
Start with the original Flash Flash Revolution, and once you've worked up a stinky finger sweat, try graduating to the ever-so-fast Flash Flash Revolution Resonance version - the songs are better, but nearly seizure inducing.
http://flashflashrevolution.com
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Puzzle
White Chamber
Escape from your very own chamber of horrors.
White Chamber imitates your cube-farm existence by placing you in a room that you must escape. By searching the room and clicking objects, you collect items you use to solve various puzzles. Once you make your escape, check out the two previous chapters of the game, Crimson Room and Viridian Room.
http://tinyurl.com/ryqv6
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Puzzle
Unique IQ Tests
Goose your gray matter.
There's nothing like the daily grind to make you bored and burned out. And, really, after years of tedium you probably are a little brain dead. To Know for sure, launch Unigue IQ Tests. This collection of timed puzzles will test your mental and then spit out a score that neatly sums up your intelligence.
http://tinyurl.com/2979er
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Shooter
Virtual Police: The Genome War
Yippee ki yay, ready to play John McClane while on your lunch break?
It's truly amazing that what was state of the art in coin ops in 1994 can be played in a flash player today. Sure, Virtual Police isn't as graphically intense (if you can still call it that) as Sega's coin-op hit Virtua Cop, but the game captures the flavor and feel of the original in the same way a graphic novel can capture a feature film. It's somehow the same yet different.
http://tinyurl.com/23t2am
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Advice
Tarot Card Reader
It's like having a grizzled gypsy at your beck and call.
For centuries answer seekers have turned to tarot cards for mystic insight. And why not? Looking for direction in the cards' symbol-laden imagery is no more outlandish than consulting a horoscope or hiring a life coach. Taro Card Reader marries that ancient art with the ease and immediacy of the digital age. When confusion over life's big or little issues hits you, turn to the old, wise woman that is the web. Once in the browser based Tarot Card Reader choose Romance, Career, or Friends category; type in your pressing question; and then carefully select three cards that will spell your fate. You will have fun mulling over the cards' meaning, and you just might come to count on their wisdom.
http://tinyurl.com/yv96qr
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