Freebie Flashback Friday - Wing Commander

It's that time again, time to step back to an era of mediocre graphics, launching games from the command line, and having a blast. That's right, it's Freebie Flashback Friday, and today's game is a space combat sim classic.

Courtesy Abandonia.com

Wing Commander is the first entry in a series of cinematic space combat games that spawned a terrible movie (I know, right?). It was a great game when it came out, and is still fun to play now. Face off against the Kilrathi, a race of aggressive space cats (much cooler than it sounds) as you fly a variety of ships, dogfighting, escorting, and creating general mayhem wherever you go.

Wing Commander features a branching storyline that depends on your performance as a pilot. A strong set of cinematic features including more than a dozen characters and a bunch of really cool cutscenes keeps things interesting, whether you are taking off, coming home, chatting with fellow pilots, ejecting, or dying in a fiery explosion. Here's a gallery of screenshots. Enjoy.

When I was a kid, I played through this game and enjoyed every minute of it. I even lost missions on purpose so I could explore every branch of the mission tree and I remember epic dogfights against Kilrathi aces. The best thing about Wing Commander (besides the combat) is it is abandonware and free to download. Go get it here!

Any Wing Commanders out there? Have fond (or not-so-fond) memories of this game? Sound off in the comments!

--Demo Gamer

PS - Wikipedia rocks: As development for Wing Commander came to a close, the EMM386 memory manager the game used would give an exception when the user exited the game. It would print out a message similar to "EMM386 Memory manager error..." with additional information. The team couldn't isolate and fix the error and they needed to ship it as soon as possible. As a work-around, Ken Demarest, a developer on the game, hex-edited the text so it displayed a different message. Instead of the error message, it instead printed "Thank you for playing Wing Commander."

REVIEW: Fludity (Wii Ware)

Jaded. Tired. Bored. That was me a few months ago. My apathy for video games was complete and a year of dust covered my Wii. Then Nintendo restarted its Wii Ware demo program in November of last year. The first wave of demos was alright, but then the Fluidity demo arrived. It quickly captured my attention and deftly liberated me of a few hard-earned dollars.

VISIT THE OFFICIAL FLUIDITY SITE FOR GAMEPLAY VIDEOS AND MORE

Fluidity (by Curve Studios) is a physics-based puzzler/platformer that makes good use of the Wii's intuitive motion controls. You must save Aquaticus, a magical book that has been corrupted by evil black ink called the Influence. Using water, you must banish the inimical ink from the book's 4 chapters by collecting over 80 magical rainbow drops while also finding puzzle pieces which open special play rooms where you refine your water handling wizardry.

Use your water to save fish and reveal a rainbow drop

As you start Fluidity, your control of water is limited to sloshing around and jumping. Tilt the Wii remote left or right to move the water. Move the Wii remote up sharply and your water will spring into the air. As you progress, you collect ability "stickers" that allow you to do things like change physical states and explode. There are 9 ability stickers in all, and by the end of the game, the variety of powers at your disposal is impressive.

Those nasty goop slugs will flare your water into oblivion

Fluidity is also a platformer with baddies you have to defeat. Goop slugs and goop hornets are Influence incarnate and they are out to end your adventure. In addition, you must beware of environmental hazards like acid and lava. Fortunately, there are many clever, captivating contraptions and tricky terrain features that help you complete your task. The way Fluidity's world is presented is cartoony, but not overly so; cute, but not too cute. It is interactive, engrossing, easygoing and even soothing.

Nothing flies quite like ice

Some games (especially Wii games) have a novelty that wears off, be it quickly or not. For me, the novelty of Fluidity never wore off. It seemed like there was always a pleasant surprise just around the corner. Whether I was driving a fire truck, playing basketball, crashing through walls, swinging from a helicopter, or flipping coins in a penny pusher, Fluidity never let me down. Some puzzles are easier than others while some are downright difficult, but this just adds to Fluidity's charm: it is a varied, fantastical adventure that is funny, fun, and lengthy. I must have spent at least 10 hours enjoying Fluidity.

Don't fall in the lava!

Fluidity is a game that I enjoyed like no other in recent memory. It had me happy, smiling, and even content at every turn. Every minute felt like it was worth it because every minute was terrifically innovative and completely rewarding. Despite all this, I lament to tell you that Fluidity is not perfect. The music is very well done, but can get repetitive (it didn't bother me, but others have complained and I can see why), and I would have liked to see more types of goop baddies. Perhaps in Fluidity 2?

Float high in the sky, then rain down

Fluidity is the best game I have played on Wii Ware and is worth at least $30, which makes its $12 price all the easier to pay. That being said, I don't like to recommend games on Wii Ware because of the abusive DRM that Nintendo uses. As a rule, I cannot recommend even good games on Wii Ware. Fluidity is not a good game. It is a great game, and I highly recommend it despite the DRM. I give it a 9.9 out of 10.

Stick to the gear and freeze the goop hornet while you bypass the lava

There is a hole in my gaming heart now that I have finished Fluidity, but my 4-year-old son is still wending his way through this wonderful world of fascinating fun, and I will enjoy helping him. Also, I still have all 4 play rooms to work on, the last of which is quite the homage to Metroid. Well done, Curve Studios. Well done. More, please!

Have you played Fluidity yet? Was it as great an experience for you as it was for me? Sound off in the comments!

--Demo Gamer

Wii Demo Roundup - 03/14/11

A new week means a new demo in Wii Ware land. This week, it's time to make some music in the Mix Superstar demo.

Mix Superstar
Rated E for Everyone, 1 player/arranger, Wii remote only, $5.00

Courtesy mixsuperstar.com

In 5 words: needs mouse and keyboard, music

This week's Wii Ware demo is a blast from the past for me. I used to make music using Sonic Foundry's ACID tools (now owned by Sony) and Mix Superstar is very similar, but for the Wii. The concept is that you take pre-made royalty-free sound loops and arrange and modify them to make your own music. The demo has a nice variety of loops for you to use, and also includes a couple of songs built in. The demo is limited to 10 minutes, effectively circumventing the analog hole.

Using a keyboard and mouse to arrange music using ACID is somewhat difficult. Using the Wii remote to lay down audio tracks is worse. This type of software really needs a mouse and keyboard just to make things bearable. Still, at only $5.00, Mix Superstar is fairly impressive (most loop-based software is much more expensive than that). You can even expand your loop library through the Loop Shop and share your mixes online at mixsuperstar.com. If you've never tried loop-based music software, you can start here with the demo, I guess, but I would recommend ACID Xpress for Windows instead. I can hardly recommend Mix Superstar, primarily due to the cumbersome controls and Wii Ware's horrible DRM.

Fancy yourself a mix superstar? Share your music in the comments! Here's a song I made a few years back...

--Demo Gamer

Freebie Flashback Friday - Transport Tycoon Deluxe

It's almost-Saturday, and that means I have a new old free game for you to check out! This week, I'm talking about Transport Tycoon Deluxe.

Courtesy abandonia.com

Transport Tycoon Deluxe is a strategy game of cutthroat transport business domination. You have a variety of tools at your disposal: trains, planes, automobiles, and even ships. You provide the infrastructure to link various industries like a forest to a sawmill or a farm to a factory. The hijinks ensue when your business starts to face competition, but no worries: you can always enlarge your business empire through hostile takeovers.

Transport Tycoon Deluxe is a nice blend of simplicity and complexity, and you get to use a mouse! (Quite the upgrade, compared to Star Control 2). I'll fire this game up every now and then and just start from scratch because there's something satisfying about monopolizing the local coal mines and power stations. That's where my transport empire always starts: very lucrative, you see.

Transport Tycoon Deluxe is abandonware, a game so old no one is willing to put forth the effort to charge you for it anymore! That means you can download it free here. You can also check out an open source version of the game here.

Ever played TTD? Share your strategies for transport tycoonery in the comments!

--Demo Gamer

OPINION: The Future of Gaming

UPDATE: TEH INTERNETZ WIN AGAIN!

(big /SARC /SATIRE tags here)

REDWOOD CITY, CA - Electronic Arts announced today its "Future of Gaming" initiative, aimed at helping its customers to understand their roles and places in the gaming market. As part of the new initiative, EA will no longer be selling games, but rather the opportunity for customers to audition for the right to play them. The auditions will occur through the EA forums and a minimum of 72 business hours will pass from purchase to approval to play.

"We haven't been selling games for awhile now, we've just been selling licenses, you know, so this was just the next step," a business manager at EA said, asking not to be identified. "We feel that people must agree with us in order to play our super-awesome games. If your opinion, or even sarcasm, is too much for us to handle, you don't deserve our high-quality titles. Oh, and the sale of the right to audition is non-refundable."

Some gamers, expressing disbelief in the new initiative, received the following official response from EA: "It's in the EULA, dudes."

--Demo Gamer

Sound ridiculous? Check this out.

UPDATE: it gets worse.

Wii Demo Roundup - 03/07/11

Saddle up, it's time for this week's Wii Demo Roundup! Nintendo keeps it simple (and cheap) this week: a single demo called "Soccer Bashi" that previews a $5.00 game.

Soccer Bashi
Rated E for Everyone, 1-2 Players, Wii Remote only, $5.00

Courtesy icongames.com

In 5 words: fun, simple, arcade-y, lasers!, inexpensive

Look at that screencap. Yep, this week we have a soccer-themed "Breakout". Nintendo keeps the hits coming with its Wii Ware demos (not). Seriously, Nintendo should get around to allowing any and all devs put a demo on Wii Ware already. But I digress. So, "Soccer Bashi" has multiplayer, paddle upgrades and downgrades (the laser is the best), the ability to finish a level by scoring a "goal", boss levels, and even a level designer. All for only $5.00. The demo takes you through the first 9 of 90 levels.

Is it fun? Sure. Is it something I want to spend more time with? Not at all. There's not a lot of meat to this game, although I'm sure my son will enjoy it and we can play the demo together. The idea of a level editor is cool and adds some depth to the game, but...it's just Arkanoid-meets-foosball. Still, go get the demo. It is free fun, after all.

That's it for this week. Please remember: the demos don't stick around forever on the Wii Shop channel, so get them now before they're gone, and if you decide to purchase a game, remember that it can only be played on your Wii console and cannot be transferred.

Any big "Breakout"/"Arkanoid" fans out there? Give the demo a whirl and sound off in the comments!

--Demo Gamer

Freebie Flashback Friday - Star Control 2

This week, I introduce (or reintroduce) you to the only game worthy of being abbreviated as SC2.

Courtesy sc2.sourceforge.net

"Star Control 2" is one of the best games ever made. It is a game that has never gotten old for me. It is a story-driven, combat-laden, resource-gathering, adult-humored sci-fi romp to save the Human race. Roam the galaxy contacting diverse alien races, explore thousands of planets, and build up your armada for the final showdown with the Ur-Quan, enslavers of humanity.

Courtesy star-control.com

I don't care if you play it with a strategy guide (in fact, I recommend it!), just play it.

A word of caution: this game is seriously retro. In the XP version, you can't use a mouse. It's all keyboard. No matter. The music and writing are stellar, and the graphics are fun, if dated.

Find out more here, here, and here. According to the Wiki, there is even a homebrew Wii version of this, that's how awesome it is!

Ever play "Star Control 2"? Do you remember the old copy protection it came with? Sound off in the comments!

--Demo Gamer