Favourite Freeware Games
Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 10:05 am
Just list your favourite freeware releases, and a little bit about why you like them. This doesn't include games that started life as commercial projects and were later made freeware - those games typically have the unfair advantage of having quite a bit resources invested in their creation.
To start us off:
A Tale of Two Kingdoms
by Crystal Shard
I've been playing this game for the past two days, and it may be one the best adventure game I've ever played. It's so excellent because it manages to not only do well both artistically and story-wise, but also keep superb gameplay.
As far as art goes, the game is absolutely beautiful. Each board (and there are hundreds of them) and npc, was drawn by hand, scanned, and then edited and animated very fastidiously by the contributing artists. Some of the scenes (especially the castle) look much more aesthetically appealing than a lot of modern 3D games I've seen, mainly because hours were spent rendering each scene.
The music is also good, and very appropriate. Over an hour's worth, too, so it never gets repetitive.
The game has a very deep, serious story, and the plot is very engaging as well. It's set up so you start the game right in the middle of the action, more or less, and then start your long "wander around the (v. large) gameworld meeting people, solving puzzles, doing quests, etc." several chapters in. This help hook you into the story before you get bored - unlike games where you just wander for the first half.
There's also a very large back-story to the game world. Instead of telling it to you in the manual, you only start with a brief introduction to the events immediately proceeding the game, and you learn more as you converse with NPCs, read books, and explore.
Most importantly, though, and unlike most artsy games, AToTK has very engaging gameplay. The game is nearly non-linear (except for a few events), and not only is the a different way to solve any of the quests, almost every puzzle has multiple, radically unique solutions. There are also reputedly 5 different endings, but since I've yet to finish the game, I can't speak on how game play determines them.
Anyway, that's my first entry, I'll be adding more games from time to time. Post some of yours!
To start us off:
A Tale of Two Kingdoms
by Crystal Shard
I've been playing this game for the past two days, and it may be one the best adventure game I've ever played. It's so excellent because it manages to not only do well both artistically and story-wise, but also keep superb gameplay.
As far as art goes, the game is absolutely beautiful. Each board (and there are hundreds of them) and npc, was drawn by hand, scanned, and then edited and animated very fastidiously by the contributing artists. Some of the scenes (especially the castle) look much more aesthetically appealing than a lot of modern 3D games I've seen, mainly because hours were spent rendering each scene.
The music is also good, and very appropriate. Over an hour's worth, too, so it never gets repetitive.
The game has a very deep, serious story, and the plot is very engaging as well. It's set up so you start the game right in the middle of the action, more or less, and then start your long "wander around the (v. large) gameworld meeting people, solving puzzles, doing quests, etc." several chapters in. This help hook you into the story before you get bored - unlike games where you just wander for the first half.
There's also a very large back-story to the game world. Instead of telling it to you in the manual, you only start with a brief introduction to the events immediately proceeding the game, and you learn more as you converse with NPCs, read books, and explore.
Most importantly, though, and unlike most artsy games, AToTK has very engaging gameplay. The game is nearly non-linear (except for a few events), and not only is the a different way to solve any of the quests, almost every puzzle has multiple, radically unique solutions. There are also reputedly 5 different endings, but since I've yet to finish the game, I can't speak on how game play determines them.
Anyway, that's my first entry, I'll be adding more games from time to time. Post some of yours!