Boss Rush [Game Saturday]

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Wing Commander Saga [Game Saturday]

Remember the Wing Commander game franchise or Origin, the game company behind it? Back in 1990 when it was first introduced it revolutionized the space combat genre both visually and story-wise. I remember that the game would not run well on even the latest hardware back then, unless you’d happen to spend a fortune on it. Origin released several Wing Commander titles, expansion packs and spin-offs over the course of seven years. The spin-offs included one of my favorite games of all time, Privateer.

Some say it all went south with the series shortly after Electronic Arts purchased it, and while that’s not entirely true as Wing Commander games and spin-offs had been released after the acquisition, Origin more or less ceased to exist in the following years. I dislike EA ever since, especially since they acquired companies like Westwood or Bullfrog as well, and to the effect that these companies stopped producing great innovative games.

Fans of the game series have been working on Wing Commander Saga: The Darkest Dawn for years, and it was only a few days ago when they released The Darkest Dawn to the public. The makers previously released a prologue of the game which is now included in the new release.

The Darkest Dawn ships in an impressive 3.3 Gigabyte packed file that you need to extract first on your computer before you can start the installation. The game requires OpenAL and will install the component if it is not already installed on the PC.

The game is available for both Windows and Macintosh. Windows users should run XP or later, and have at least a 1 Ghz processor, 2 Gigabytes of Ram and 128 MB DirectX 9.0 compatible card. Mac users should need to run Mac OS X 10.5 or later, with a 1.2 Ghz cpu, 2 Gigabytes of RAM and a video card with at least 128 MB video Ram.

The developers suggest more RAM, processing power, a faster video card and a joystick for a better experience. The game engine of Freespace 2 is used by Wing Commander Saga, with Freespace 2 not being required to run the game.

Here is the story line:

2nd Lieutenant David “Sandman” Markham’s training took a cruel twist when his training carrier, the TCS Wellington, was ambushed and destroyed by the Kilrathi while cruising in a supposedly safe system. Unlike most of his fellow trainees and trainers, Sandman has survived to fight another day. But the days ahead are dark and foreboding.

The fight Markham has been prematurely plunged into is growing more desperate by the day. The Kilrathi are advancing on every front. Confed fleets are being forced to retreat in disarray. Terran losses are mounting catastrophically. System by system, the Kilrathi are pressing closer to the heart of the Confederation, hungry for the kill and the thrill of ultimate victory. Hope has run thin, and the total extinction of the human race seems all but inevitable.

Victory and survival for humanity can only be bought at a terrible cost. Gather your wingmen and your courage and prepare to play your part in humanity’s desperate gambit as you face the Kilrathi foe. It is a time where even average men must reach inside themselves and become heroes. Answer the call. Face the enemy. Make your mark as the Confederation faces its darkest dawn.

The trailer

Verdict

Wing Commander Sage is an excellent game, especially for Wing Commander fans who played the old games in the 90s. If there is one thing to criticize, it is the tutorial which looks considerably older than the game that follows. Still, if you get past that, you are in for a real treat.

Game for the Weekend Wing Commander Saga
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About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Saturday March 24, 2012 -
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Hubris [Game Saturday]

Games that take you on a journey seem to have become popular in recent days. First the release of Dear Esther which some says is a master piece, and others boring as hell, then Journey for the Playstation 3, and now Hubris. Hubris, unlike the other two games mentioned here, is a freeware game that you can download and play if you have access to a Windows PC. The game uses Unreal engine technology, and requires installation before you can get started.

The game itself is even more minimalistic than Dear Esther, as it comes without narratives or interaction. The only controls that you have are the wasd (or cursor) keys to walk. The only other control that you have is the mouse, which you use to look around in the game. You do not see who is walking, or understand why you are where you are. The game itself is more about the visuals, which probably remind you of ancient Egyptian structures, as the game has a particular sandy feeling to it.

Sound-wise, there is only the sound of wind, no background music or other distracting effects that might irritate you or get you out of this meditation-like state you are in when walking around. The game itself can be very soothing and calming, if you let it get to you.

If you do not, you probably do not see a reason installing and playing it in the first time, as it is definitely not one of those action games that throw new stuff at you every ten seconds or so.

You cannot die in the game, but you can fall and need to restart. The game itself is rather short, and it appears to end rather abruptly after a while. It opens up in a window with no options to go fullscreen. As there is no menu or interface, your only option to get out is the Windows key.

If you are interested in the game, you can download it from the Indie Database. It has a size of about 250 Megabytes. Here is a video of the game in case you need more visuals to make a decision about that.

Enjoyed the article?: Then sign-up for our free newsletter or RSS feed to kick off your day with the latest technology news and tips, or share the article with your friends and contacts on Facebook or Twitter. PokerTH, Free Open Source Poker Game [Game Saturday]
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Edmus [Game Saturday] About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Saturday March 10, 2012 -
Tags:game saturday, pc game

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Massive Discounts on Football Team Kits at Football Stop - Cheap Football Kits for every club and fan - New Football Kits for your Saturday side are

As a young boy, one of my earliest and fondest memories is buying my favourite team's latest Football Team Kits. Football Stop stock lots of Cheap Football Kits for teams from around the planet, both domestic and international. Football Stop have a large selection of the Best New Football Kits on the market today.

From as early as I can remember, I have been a Tottenham Hotspur follower. It has not usually been a happy place to be, and it is only in recent seasons that Spurs fans have been able to hold their heads high and enjoy the title of being the actual best side in London, thanks in huge part to the legend that is Harry Redknapp. What will become of us after he leaves for the England position is anyones guess. A little worrying to be honest, but fingers crossed, whoever comes in can carry on his ethos and push us further forward. My personal favourite replacement would have to be Brendan Rodgers from Swansea City, or Martinez from Wigan Athletic. Both managers are cut from the same cloth as Redknapp and are clearly excellant man-managers. Both are also alot younger than Redknapp, and so should have years of improvements and growth ahead of them. The job that Martinez started at Swansea and now is doing at Wigan, with next to no funding, is beyond belief. It is alot like a Saturday side from my local League finding themselves in the Blue Square Premier...and avoiding relegation for years, even though they are financially inferior and with a massively weaker squad than all the other sides in the league. Simply outstanding management!

Football Stop stocks the latest Football Team Kits and Best New Football Kits from all the sides across the planet, from the biggest club sides to the smallest international teams. If the kits are produced, then they are available to buy via Football Stop. It is not only the more obvious Football Team Kits that can be sourced from Football Stop however. Cheap Football Kits are also available for purchase, maybe for your Sunday amateur side. The side I play for wears a dark Blue Nike top with the white V shape on the chest. It is actually the exact same top as worn by another side I like to follow, Southend United FC. Obviousley, our tops do not have the sponsorship that the Southend tops feature, but when we bulk bought them from Football Stop, we got a very generous discount. Always a very attractive feature to any tightly funded amateur football team. At that level, it is all about the enjoyment afterall.

Joe Pearce - Football Stop have a lot of Football Team Kits and they are a perfect gift to buy for the football fan in your life. We have the perfectCheap Football Kits. You can also Buy New Football Kits at Football Stop.

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Doom The Roguelike [Game Saturday]

I have to admit that I never played the original Doom much, most likely because I was still playing games on my Amiga back then, and not on the PC.

Doom The Roguelike is a rogue game set in the Doom universe. The game has been out for years, but has received a huge graphics update just a few days ago. Rogue-like games are named after Rogue, the first game of the genre that started the craze. They are basically dungeon crawling games with rpg elements.

In Doom The Roguelike you get to choose between three starting characters, the tough marine, the fast scout and the tinkering technician, and a starting trait. These traits makes you faster, do more damage or give you other advantages that you need to beat the game.

You start the game with one Experience point, full health, a weak six shoot pistol and no armor. You move around with the cursor keys or by clicking the mouse. The most important keys on the keyboard are f (or left-mouse button while hovering over enemies) for firing your currently equipped weapon, tab to toggle between enemies, i for your inventory and ? for game instructions and all controls. You can use the 1-0? keys to quickly switch between weapons, S to save the game when you are standing on stairs to the next level.

Saving is recommended as you will die in this game, especially if you are playing one of the harder difficulties. You always need to keep a good eye on your health and weapon to make sure you are well prepared for all the mean things the game throws at you.

Here is a 30 minute game instruction that should give you a pretty good understanding of game mechanics.

Doom The Roguelike is an incredible game, especially for gamers who like dungeon crawling types of games. Best of all? It is available for Windows, Mac and Linux systems.

You can download the latest version of Doom The Roguelike from the developer website.

Enjoyed the article?: Then sign-up for our free newsletter or RSS feed to kick off your day with the latest technology news and tips, or share the article with your friends and contacts on Facebook or Twitter. Super Crazy Guitar Maniac Deluxe 4 [Game Saturday]
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Tags:game saturday

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Dig-N-Rig [Game Saturday]

Dig-N-Rig has a few similarities to the smash hit Terraria that has been available on Steam for some time now. It is not a clone though, and since it is free, I thought it would be a good idea to review it on today’s Game Saturday.

The game is a 2D mining simulation that puts the player in control of a mining robot whose task it is to reach the center of the earth.

In order to do that, minerals need to be farmed and invested into upgrades.

The game plays in a window on the desktop (Windows only), and starts with a short tutorial that introduces all game key concepts. Depending on the resolution of your screen, you may find the written instructions hard to read. Here are the basics:

You control the mining robot with the WASD keys, Space and the mouse. The WASD key move the robot and dig at the same time, whereas space makes the robot jump up in the air. You also need to switch between dig tools, for instance the stone and dirt dig tool. The dirt dig tool cannot dig through stone, while the stone digger can.

Minerals need to be collected with the vacuum-machine that you use with a tap on the v-key. If you do not use it, you won’t be able to use any of the minerals and as a consequence be unable to buy any of the essential upgrades for deep mining adventures.

You furthermore can – and need to – use rigs throughout the game, for instance to cross over a large cave.

Sometimes you need to buy upgrades or special equipment before you can head further down to the center of the earth. Equipment ranges from better drills to dynamite and batteries. These are needed the farther down you go. You will encounter creatures eventually as well.

Dig-N-Rig is a nice game that should keep you entertained for some time. Especially the digging, collecting and upgrading cycle has been nicely implemented into the game. The game can be downloaded from the Digipen University website.

Enjoyed the article?: Then sign-up for our free newsletter or RSS feed to kick off your day with the latest technology news and tips, or share the article with your friends and contacts on Facebook or Twitter. Epic Inventor, A free Terraria Inspired Game [Game Saturday]
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Waterfalls 3 [Game Saturday] About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Saturday February 25, 2012 -
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Super Crazy Guitar Maniac Deluxe 4 [Game Saturday]

And now for something completely different: Remember Guitar Hero and all of those music games that came out on various gaming systems? They were super popular thanks for a while. Super Crazy Guitar Maniac Deluxe 4 is like those games, only without the instruments.

When you start the game you are asked to pick one of the available songs, and a difficulty level to get started. Many of the available songs are locked at the beginning, and you need to perform well to unlock them.

Once you have selected the song the game screen loads. You see the four guitar strings at the top, an animated stick figure at the bottom, and some stats that tell you how well – or bad – you perform the song.

The aim of the game is to hit the keys on the keyboard when they arrive in the black bar area on the left of the screen. The game uses the cursor keys (up, down, left, right), plus the 1-4 keys. Keys appear on the right side and you have about a second or two before they reach the area where you need to press them.

This works well on the amateur levels. The pro levels on the other hand add more keys to each song which increases the difficulty significantly.

Music tracks are great, especially if you like rock and related genres. Bands are all unknown – to me at least – but that does not make the songs less enjoyable. Most are in fact quite pleasing to the ear. Each song links to the artists website which allows you to check on the albums or songs they have released, tours and other news related to the band or artist.

The game has a few aces up its sleeve, including a boss mode where you need to defeat the boss by not only tapping on the right keys at the same time, but also on other keys to hit the boss in that time as well.

Super Crazy Guitar Maniac Deluxe 4 is a nice game if you are into rock music and games like Guitar Hero. I suggest you check it out over at Armorgames.

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Upgrade Complete 2 [Game Saturday] About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Saturday February 11, 2012 -
Tags:flash game, game saturday

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Defender’s Quest [Game Saturday]

Today’s game of the week is called Defender’s Quest. It is more of a long demo game than a full game though, so keep that in mind. Defender’s Quest at its core is a tower defense game with role playing elements. You are still fighting waves of monsters with your towers in every map, but instead of playing with anonymous defenders, you are playing with characters that level up, have skill trees and equipment.

You start each map with all of your characters which you can place on the map. Your one and only goal is to keep them away from Azra, your lead character. Azra, while not fighting actively, has a repertoire of spells at her disposal to aid in battle.

You start the game with a single melee class which only gets you that far. New characters are recruited in town, and sometimes awarded during the story telling in between battles.

Each character has a skill set available to that class. The berserker for instance gets a double-cut early on in the game which hits two enemies passing by when executed.

Your sorceress gains PSI power during battles which can be used for spells, summoning more characters to the battlefield or powering up characters. When you power them up, they grow considerably stronger.

Characters have attack, armor and health values that you need to keep an eye on. Especially health – and armor items – become important later on when enemies start attacking your characters either in melee or range.

Your characters gain experience with every battle they fight, and the occasional level up awards one skill point that you can spend to improve an existing skill or learn a new one. Skills are divided into active skills, like the berserker’s double hit, and passive skills like swiftness which increase abilities passively.

You can equip each character with a weapon and armor, to increase their damage and resistance. These items become more important later on in the game.

Some maps allow you to select a challenge level with considerably stronger enemies and greater rewards. Rewards usually get you more experience and items that you can equip your characters with.

Defender’s Quest all in all is a solid game that does a lot of things right. If there are things to criticize, it is the low variance of enemies that you encounter on the map. The developers have released a full version of the game which boasts more maps, character classes and five additional acts to play through. The full version retails for $6.99 currently, and you get $2 off when you visit the purchase page from the Kongregate website.

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About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Saturday February 4, 2012 -
Tags:flash game, kongregate, tower-defense

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Color Pic-a-Pix [Game Saturday]

Color Pic-a-Pix is an addictive online puzzle game that is more or less a spin-off of the Japanese Kakuro puzzle game. The core difference is that numbers have been replaced with colors. Here is what this game is all about.

Each game consists of a set number of rows and columns, and color hints that indicate the position and length of each color in the row or column. Two black and one brown for instance indicates that you need to fill two black squares first and then afterwards a brown square. It is now up to you to find the starting position of the first and second color.

The game mechanics sound simple but it may take a test game or two before you get a feel for the game play.

A list of 30 different puzzles are provided by the game, sorted into three difficulty levels. The first ten puzzles are played on a 5×5 grid which makes them easily solvable. It becomes slightly more complex and difficulty once you hit level 2 with its 10×10 grid and level 3 with 15×15.

You need to click on the colors at the top, or use the shortcuts 1-4 on the keyboard, to switch colors. A left-click paints the selected color into the field on the grid. A second left-click removes the color and replaces it with an empty field marker which you can use to keep track of fields that you believe do not contain a color.

The top bar offers back and forward options, a restart button, a check button that checks if the current colors are correctly placed on the grid, and a solution button which displays the resulting picture (and ends the game).

Players should take a closer look at the color information when they start a new map. Some are large enough to fill the whole row or column which makes them a good starting point. It becomes more difficulty in later levels though, which makes rare colors and empty fields the best starting option.

Color Pic-a-Pix is a great little puzzle game, ideal for a short break and for users who like to to try something different for the change.

Enjoyed the article?: Then sign-up for our free newsletter or RSS feed to kick off your day with the latest technology news and tips, or share the article with your friends and contacts on Facebook or Twitter. Waterfalls 3 [Game Saturday]
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Lemmings Remake [Game Saturday] About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Saturday January 28, 2012 -
Tags:browser game, game saturday

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Hands of War Tower Defense [Game Saturday]

I still love the tower defense genre despite the fact that I have not seen a good game come out in quite a while. Hands of War is a Flash browser game that does a lot of things right. It comes with a hero character, skills, a leveling system and options to variate the difficulty level of each map you play which increases the replay value considerably.

When you first start the game you are asked to pick your class from one of the three classes available. Each class has distinct advantages and disadvantages. The warrior class for instance does a lot of damage but has not nearly the reach of the ranger class or the firing frequency of the mage class.

Once you have selected your class you are thrown right into battle. The game does not start until you hit the next wave button, so no need to haste here. You always place your character first on the battlefield, and then other towers that you can buy with gold.

Once you have placed your towers you can start wave after wave. You can either start each wave individually or let the computer send in wave after wave automatically.

Your main task is to complete each level with at least one life left. You get better rewards and more experience if you do not lose a single life though.

Your regular towers get experience over time which you can then use to upgrade them. Upgrading makes them more powerful. Once towers reach level 4 you have the option to add a special ability to a tower’s arsenal which costs a lot of gold but is usually worth the investment.

Your champion gets experience after the battle. Level ups can be invested in a talent tree and attributes. Both are divided into champion and commander talents and ability. Champion related skills always improve the champion, while commander abilities the troops. This reaches from adding poison damage to the champions attack to improving the base range, damage or attack speed of all units by 1% per point spend.

Each level up rewards you with new units or unit upgrades as well. You begin the game with only two selectable units and increase that initial stock to eight during the game.

Graphics are not really top notch but functional enough to enjoy the game. The leveling system, level selections and upgrades make this game enjoyable.

Head over to Armorgames to start playing Hands of War right away. If you have played the game, let me know what you think of it.

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Improve Firefox Private Browsing With Private Browsing Window Add-on About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Saturday January 21, 2012 -
Tags:game saturday, tower-defense

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Awesome Tanks [Game Saturday]

Awesome Tanks is a free fast paced action game that you play in your web browser. The game comes with everything that you’d expect in a tank game, with the exception of a story. You need to select a difficulty level at the beginning before you are taken to the upgrade screen where you see all the upgrades that you cannot afford yet. A click on Play opens the level selector, displaying 16 levels in total of which only the first is playable.

The game controls are displayed briefly on the screen (WASD or cursor keys to move, mouse to fire and aim, space to switch weapons ) before you are thrown right into tank warfare mayhem.

Awesome Tanks uses a fog of war system that hides the majority of the level from you at the beginning. The fog clears once you start exploring the level. The first level acts as a tutorial explaining some of the key game concepts. Depending on the difficulty level selected, you may have troubles completing the tutorial level. New gamers are advised to start with the beginner difficulty.

You earn Dollars for defeating enemies, finding money caches and completing a level. Even if you are defeated, you take the money that you have earned in a level back to the upgrade screen where you can invest it into upgrades.

Available for selection are performance and weapon upgrades. Performance upgrades increase the tank’s visibility, movement, turret speed or armor, and weapons more powerful weapons. The tank has a stationary minigun with unlimited ammunition, and five extra weapon slots that are more powerful but require ammo to fire.

Awesome Tanks is a fun game that will keep you entertained for about an hour. Just head over to the Kongregate website to start playing the game right away.

Enjoyed the article?: Then sign-up for our free newsletter or RSS feed to kick off your day with the latest technology news and tips, or share the article with your friends and contacts on Facebook or Twitter. Upgrade Complete 2 [Game Saturday]
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Edmus [Game Saturday] About the Author:Martin Brinkmann is a journalist from Germany who founded Ghacks Technology News Back in 2005. He is passionate about all things tech and knows the Internet and computers like the back of his hand. You can follow Martin on Facebook or Twitter.Author: Martin Brinkmann, Saturday January 14, 2012 -
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