Fans of browser-based video games got to wile away the last days of summer with some of the year's best online distractions. Simplicity won out in August, whether in classical Flash forms or in innovative twists on basic game premises. None of this month's selections required a big investment of effort or brain power, just some good, old-fashioned free time.
The brainiest browser game of August, Depict1 by Kyle Pulver got a little boost from Miroslav Malesevic of Mirosurabu Games. Malesevic has made a stock and trade of rule-bending titles that play on the very concepts of systems in games. He previously promoted Tower of Heaven, a game known for being downright cruel, adding new rules to the game as it progressed. Depict1 really only has one rule, but it's a doozy. The instructions themselves lie, so players have to learn to do the opposite of what they're told. Traditional traps like spikes are actually useful in-game tools while something as simple as using the direction keys can spell doom for the sprite protagonist. Good as a brief proof of concept, Depict1 is a memorable experience.
Vasco Freitas dipped into classic top-down car graphics reminiscent of the original Grand Theft Auto for his fast, simple game Freeway Fury. Players have to navigate one crazy fellow in a race against the clock down a busy freeway. Rather than just weaving through the traffic, he can leap from the hood of one car to the other, escaping slow-downs and potentially explosive wrecks in a bid to make it to the next checkpoint. Players can mix things up by driving into oncoming traffic for extra points and a nitro boost, or by hopping across multiple cars in one move. There's not much to Freeway Fury but what's there is tight and entertaining.
Gionathan Pesaresi, along with Neutronized Games, produced Dream Tower for Spilgames.com. How much you enjoy this game depends on your capacity for cuteness. It evokes the blocky 3-D of early 32-bit games and makes a protagonist out of a blue creampuff that looks halfway between a kitten and a bunny. Each level consists of a 2.5-D jumping puzzle complete with gem-collecting and rescuing caged buddies. The controls are smooth and the game doesn't try to do too much with its simple mechanics. It demands to be picked up and set down at the player's leisure, never really punishing mistakes too harshly or limiting the entirety of the game's content to experts who aim for 100% completion.
WoblyWare's brutal puzzle platformer League of Evil is like Dream Tower's disturbed cousin. The intrepid cyborg protagonist gets blown to bits with every little mistake, tasked with navigating levels covered in devious traps with little more than some parkour and a mean uppercut. League of Evil can be frustrating, though there's a great sense of satisfaction in every perfectly-executed wall jump and dispatched enemy. The time trials and optional briefcase collectibles add an extra layer of challenge for hardcore players, though going for 100% isn't masochism, it just takes practice.
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