It’s another space themed day today. Transcendence which I posted on Sunday was supposed to be included in today’s post, but I decided to post in on Sunday to make up for the lack of a game with a small file size because many couldn’t download Hope Shines Eternal. I thought the game would at least be a consolation game, though I appreciate not everyone likes Shmup’s. I will endeavour to post more puzzle games when it's my turn again at the beginning of February.
I said I wouldn’t be posting such large collections of games again until there was a suitable festival date to celebrate. Well it seems that the 22nd of January is quite a special date for space exploration so I thought it appropriate to post some great freeware space orientated games to mark the date:
In no particular order all on the 22nd January:
STS89 (Endeavour 12) launched into orbit in 1998
Landsat 2, an earth resource technology satellite launched in 1975
Space Shuttle Atlantis returns to earth in 1997
Space Shuttle Discovery 5 (STS42) launched into space in 1992
Apollo 5 was launched to the moon to test an unmanned lunar module (I remember this one) in readiness for the big one the following year. The launch took place in 1968 (the same day that The Rowan & Martin Laugh-In premiered on NBC)
The USAF concluded that less than 1% of UFO’s were unknown objects; a statement made in 1959
The Tiros 9 weather Satellite was launched in 1065
The Orbiting Solar Observatory 5 was launched into earth orbit in 1969
reference: http://www.brainyhistory.com/days/january_22.html accessed 22nd January 2009
Though you could argue that since the first satellites were launched in the mid 50’s there has been several thousand 'plus' satellites and manned missions launched into earth orbit or space; which would make the day slightly less auspicious; however it’s a great excuse to post a bundle of great games in readiness for the coming weekend.
I’ve had some of these games in my to post folder since I first started the project back in September last year, so it was about time I posted them. I’ve still got a bunch of good Asteroid style games to post yet, but I’ll save those for a few months. (Maybe Easter when I intend posting a couple of Specials over the Easter weekend) :)
I have five (plus another one if you count Universal Combat and even more if you consider all those available via the link I've posted below that number 66 not counting the browser based games, some of which, such as Platypus are worth playing) small space games for you today called Fraxy, Ray-Hound, Still Bomber and The Ur Quann Masters. None are big enough to stand alone (in my opinion), though they all come close :) pavid PM’ed me details about Ray-Hound and Still Bomber, so please thank to him for the time he’s taken letting me know about them (and others). I decided to add a fifth called Carpe Universum at the last minute. It's a good little shooter that I thought complimented the rest.
I’d hoped to also post another freeware space shooter game called Liberation Army, but the only download links I could find were either those sites that have freeware games for download, but you have to pay a minimal charge for doing so, and another site that had an update patch but not the actual game. If anyone finds a download site please post it here. I almost decided to pay the download fee and then upload the file to my Filefront account because I think it’s quite a good game. It’s is supposed to be freeware. The developer is Japanese and I bet he doesn’t know someone is making money of the back of his and other developer’s freeware projects.
Check out the video of Liberation Army:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1MkiNuE_VcM
- To those community members who are either new to the forums or have only recently joined the giveaway community, there’s a great Space Shoot ‘Em up (Shmup’s) thread elsewhere in the games discussions thread that lists at least 8 or more free commercial quality space shooters as well as loads of freeware, abandonware and browser based games. I highly recommend Universal Combat a 445Mb download, a 3D strategy space shooter that was commercially sold until Jan 08 when the developer decided to make it free. You can find the download link under the abandonware section of the Space Shoot 'Em ups thread:
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/2724
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Here’s a taster video:
http://www.universalcombatgame.com/images/uc_movie_11-18-03-01.wmv
Update: You can find a download link via albesir's post below:
http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/4648#post-49697
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Fraxy: (1.66Mb)
Fraxy is a fast paced 2d shoot 'em up that consists entirely of boss fights. Each boss consists of a "core" and various other pieces, much like in Warning Forever. The basic game doesn’t have a great many bosses to fight but thankfully you have two options, make your own bosses using the editor that’s included, or download from quite a large stock of fan made levels – theres at least 150+ downloadable from the link I’ve provided below (see link below).
The editor:
While it is harder to pick up, mostly because you can't click and drag pieces, the editor rewards those who learn how to work the basic functions with a plethora of possibilities. Moving parts, multiple cores, and appearing and disappearing parts are all available and relatively easy to learn how to create. The game even has an event system allowing you to program in specific actions for the AI or the parts of the ship to follow. Overall fraxy's editor is harder to get into but once the initial learning curve is overcome, the ability to create your own bosses is very satisfying. You just have to check out the last video link I’ve posted or the custom made levels link to see that this game has a large following.
You can import your own images to use as backgrounds so knowing a few good download sites for images is useful. (You’ll find loads in the forums, but the one I recommend is the Hubble Telescope, if you can’t find it in the forums, just Google it, or you could opt for fantasy style images such as those from Digital Blasphemy - again, just Google it or check out the fan made levels link below. Towards the bottom of the page there are several good resources for images that are already fixed to the correct resolution for the game). Most of the images have a price, but the author has a regular free images gallery and I suspect that you could use screen captured images because the maximum screen resolution for this game is 460 x 600.) You can also import your own music as well.
The game is very easy to pick up with several key bindings and the mouse required, much like most commercial shooters that you can buy from the growing number of game sites. When you first install the game and boot up you can select from a list of languages. This only pops up the first time you play the game. It’s set to English as default and I stupidly didn’t think to check the other languages that are available.
Key Bindings:
Cursor key and mouse are used in default setting. -The key bindings can be changed using the 'config.exe'. file found in the games folder.
Cursor key……………….….Move
Mouse Cursor………………Turn
LMB………………………..Shot/OK
RMB………………………..Boost/Cancel
Shift key / Mouse wheel …..Weapon change :
Enter key……………………View change :
ESC key…………………….Pause
Draw options can be changed by the following keys.
F2 key……………………….Background
F3 key……………………...Draw type
F4 key……………………..Window size
The editor:
Pro's:
much much deeper and more rewarding. Allows for insane amounts of creative freedom. Easy enough to pick up but deep enough to keep you engaged for a long time.
Con's:
The initial learning curve may turn some gamers off the game, there are no weapon modification unless you use the events system.
Fraxy Compendium:
http://fraxy.kafuka.org/wiki/Main_Page
Compendium of downloadable bosses – (Boss Repository):
http://fraxy.kafuka.org/wiki/Boss_Repository#TekTo
Images:
http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=fraxy&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=wWgrexYq0jQ&feature=PlayList&p=F807D35E0C1A00ED&index=1
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=y_6P-Dx0TnA&feature=related
loads more Fraxy Video’s:
http://uk.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=Fraxy
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Download link:
http://mokeron.hp.infoseek.co.jp/zg/fraxy_main.html (Japanese site - links at top of page)
or
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Ray Hound (<1Mb)
Here’s another gravity orientated game that’s got some similarities to the game I posted earlier this week called Strange Attractors. Instead of shooting your enemy to attack them, you use their own firepower against them. That's accomplished by controlling a gravitational field that returns enemy fire.
Here’s what the author said about the game</e>:
Ray-Hound features smooth graphics with easy to learn controls. And once you've made it past the first couple levels, that's when things really start to get hectic! Even if it takes awhile to get the hang of it, you'll enjoy all the practice you get with this awesome FREE game.
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=cRK8W8DWZQY
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=aRAdQjvTzWc
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=YTJHsHTP390
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Download link:
http://www.download-free-games.com/freeware_games/rayhound.htm
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Still Bomber (2.44Mb)
Still Bomber is a Space shooter with more than 10 ships at your disposal, more than 100 aliens, 250 Weapons, Mega Bombs and nuclear weapons, about 20 different Upgrades, Generators and a multiplayer for up to 8 players. I’ve not bothered to write much about this game because theres a good review worth reading that I’ve linked to:
Review:
http://www.downloadmunkey.net/2009/01/games-thursday-stil-bomber-2-rpgish-shoot-em-up/
System Requirements
PENTIUM processor
64 MB System RAM
8 MB VGA graphics
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Download Link:
http://www.fullgames.sk/hra.asp?id=4825
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The Ur-Quan Masters: (1.2Mb)
An improvement on the classic Star Control II
After having left mother Earth 20 years ago you return to find the war which had been raging when you left ended; the evil Ur-quan are now reigning supreme in the world. Being one who will not tolerate these evil aliens acting as overlords to your people, you choose start a rebellion and turn the tide back to the humans.
It's time to liberate Earth
Liberating Earth will not be easy, but with your skills in organizing a rebellion, flying a spacecraft and being a master strategist... do the evil aliens really stand a chance?
Destroying these aliens might be difficult if you are a sensitive type because they are so interesting! Each race seem to have their own ways of thinking, their own ways of communication and ultimately different values and backgrounds. Watch dialogue which is witty and interesting transpire before your eyes.
Actual battles in Ur-Quan Masters is realistic, but not so tedious like many other strategy games.
You will find as you go through this game it feels kind of like a Star Trek series where you get involved and sucked into the story line. Learn more about truth, love and freedom as that is what seems to be the themes of this classic sci-fi game. If you are a sci-fi fan, you have got to give Ur Quan Masters a try!
Reference: http://www.download-free-games.com/freeware_games/ur-quan_masters.htm accessed Nov 08
Images:
http://images.google.co.uk/images?hl=en&q=Ur-Quan+Masters&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=dJWEWst6bFQ
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=c9wnUNBwUis
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=zLUnbZ0qxiE
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=kHVYSSPpBIs
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=EW9XnbjxE9s
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ao-ihjeoJUk
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=PBhpc2ApF_s
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=sMRwwfWyIlc
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=khF-fLoErmI
This is an ongoing project, so there will be updates with additional content.
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Download Link:
http://sc2.sourceforge.net/downloads.php
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Carpe Universum (18.1Mb)
An intense shooter with an interesting combo system and a roll mechanic, which lets you dodge incoming bullets. It was designed to encourage players to move across the whole board. The download link also takes you to the game developers web site, where you can read more about the game as well as see several images and another video of the game play.
Video:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Pq4PXqmcxWw
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ol1cgyBBans
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Download Link:
http://www.wyrdysm.com/carpegame.php
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