Cheap Thrills is a column by Chris Gampat reviewing affordable (under $20) or free games for the recession.

If you're a fan of defense games, then chances are that you won't mind getting slightly Imperial on someone's ass when playing Master of Fortresses. Based around the imperial era, the game makes players defend their holdout against either the British, French and Germans, or play as those respective nations.

Story

The story behind the game isn't very clear. All that the player really knows is that they are tasked with defending a holdout against invaders that want to bring it down. The British, French and Germans all use different weapons and tactics to do just that.

Gameplay

Master of Fortresses is one of the more unique defense games that I've played. Each nation feels much different than one another. These nations all have different infantry with varying skills, weapons and ranges. All artillery are the same, but there still are differences.

First off, know that players can only defend and not attack. So when selecting a stage, know that you will always be defending. Each stage has different levels. Each of which get increasingly more difficult and where the enemy will attack you from a different angle or with different troops depending on the stage.

To defend your fortress, you need to erect buildings around them. Some are just barricades meant to keep invaders out, some are palisades that can be upgraded (and hold troops) and some are bastions that hold artillery. On top of this, there are loads of traps that can be set like spikes, gun powder kegs, etc.

My favorite, and perhaps the easiest nation to play as, are the British. A generally used tactic of mine is to totally surround the fortress with palisades and put soliders on them who eventually get upgraded to the British Greenjackets—very fast firing and long range soldiers. The only problem is that they're weak, so strength in numbers and in a tight phalanx does great for you.

The French are a race that owe a lot to their cannons, and in fact get a bonus with more powerful cannon at the trade off of unremarkable infantry. The best thing to do is to have Pickel Guns (a type of machine gun) line up around one another with some infantry around to support them. The Pickel Guns will pick off enemy troops very quickly.

The Germans are perhaps the hardest nation to play, and the most cerebral. They're gifted with very powerful short-range infantry, but lack long-range offense. You'll find yourself using a combination of their highest and 2nd highest tier soldiers, because the highest tier, Grenadiers, can kill in one hit but have a very short range, while he second highest tier have rifles and a longer range. Because of this, players need to place the two close together so as to bring the enemy close in with the long range fire where grenades will be waiting for them.

Unfortunately, you can't move troops around, but you can always create more buildings in between levels with more troops, cannons, etc.

Graphics

The graphics really aren't too amazing. In fact, Dune 2 had a more remarkable look. But the frame rates do keep up well and nothing is choppy at all in how it all performs. Each unit is shaped and colored differently so players can easily tell them apart. It would have been nice to see some more ambient animations, though.

Sound

The sound in this game really makes it. From the sounds of guns firing, to the amazing (and epic) musical score. The music reminds me a bit of the game Total War and music throughout the game itself actually will make players feel like it is the imperial age.

Replayability

Of any flash game I've played, this one of the most replayable. There are so many different levels, stages and with the three nations players can always try to find a way to fine tune their defense tactics. On top of this, there are also achievements to get.

Conclusion

Master of Fortresses is one of the best flash games I've played in a while. There was a point where I actually became bored of defense games, but this one has brought the genre right back to me. If you're an Android phone user with Flash capabilities, definitely this game a try

Cheap Thrills is a column by Chris Gampat reviewing affordable (under $20) or free games for the recession.

If you like solving puzzles, killing shadowy people, and physics, then Ricochet Kills 2 may be just the game for you. With loads of different combinations for murdering the men in suits and with different objects to aid or work against you, the game is highly addicting with a simple gameplay mechanic that will leave your brain confused with how to accomplish your goals.

If you're bored with nothing to do during a lunch break or really want to try a new game to get away from all the FPS's out there, give this simple flash game a try. If you're an Android user, let us know how it works on your phone.

Story

If you're looking for a game with a really great story and plot twists that don't make you yawn like you're in a Shyamalan movie, this isn't the game. In fact, the point of the game is to simply kill all the guys standing still. You don't know if you're the hero, villain or Hunter S Thompson—all you know is that you need to kill those guys in suits. To do this, you use your special gun that fires bullets that ricochet off the edges of the map. Think of it as ping pong, but more lethal and where the programmers get so bored where they decided that they will be malicious and just mess with you. All of this takes place in seemingly the same location with modifications to the areas.

Gameplay

The gameplay can be described as simple, addicting, brainteasing, and fun! Using your mouse, players aim the arm of the chosen assassin. Said assassin needs to eliminate all his targets with only a certain amount of shots, which is displayed down below. When he runs out of shots, he loses the game.

The bullets bounce of areas of the map, pass through victims and keep bouncing around until they just stop/disappear. When they run into certain objects they also disappear.

These objects include dark gray boxes, light gray boxes, red barrels, etc. Each objects has a different effect. Since I never finished the game, I can't even list all the possible objects that there could be.

No matter how hard one tries, they will never be able to figure out the physics pattern of the bullets in this game. It's really hard and very unpredictable. More often than not, it is a game of chance.

Graphics

The graphics are nothing exceptional. They're very plain and very flat. The most significant feature about the graphics perhaps is color, as the colors give you visual clues to accomplishing your goals. For example, blow this up = red barrel.

Sound

The sound is nothing special either. In fact, the game can be played on mute with no problem. There is some weird annoying music in the background along with the gun shots, explosions and other sounds that indicate to you that a man in a suit is dead.

Cheap Thrills is a column by Chris Gampat reviewing affordable (under $20) or free games for the recession.

Coma is a free flash game where the player must accomplish certain tasks to finally wake themselves out of a coma and escape the dreamworld. Remember that very-creepy-but-addicting-nontheless game called Limbo for XBLA? Well, Coma will remind players much of that game. Granted, there are differences—but the core gameplay is still quite similar and players will encounter similarly creepy events without the simplistic but brutal violence that players experienced in Limbo.

Story

The ultimate point of Coma is to find a way out of the dreamworld and to awaken the protagonist, Pete, whose avatar will be under control of players. To do this, one needs to ring the doorbell—which is a recurring theme throughout the game that will leave players very puzzled. To accomplish this goal, a number of tasks need to be completed first: the most immediate of which is to rescue your sister because your abusive father has locked her in the basement of your house. This part essentially establishes a sense of moral obligation for the player.

To do this, you free a little bird that helps you out by carrying special items for you like a lamp and a little golden orb. The two of you are constant companions throughout the game.

Accomplishing the tasks will take you all around the dreamworld—from the brightest and most serene areas to beautifully gothic forests and dungeons that look like the world of Shel Silverstein gone awry.

Gameplay

Coma has an extremely simplistic yet extremely addicting gameplay factor that blends will with the ultimate goal of waking up Pete and rescuing his sister. Players will basically be making Pete run around, jump, and interact with objects here and there. However, getting through some of the puzzles will be some of the best parts of the game.

There is a lot of running around from area to area involved in order to accomplish goals. This isn't all that bad though considering that the areas are very small and that jumping while running will allow players to get Pete to his destination much faster than just running.

Pete will encounter many different characters in the game who will give him these tasks. One of which involves investigation into what is clogging a drain, running back to your father for a fishing hook, and unclogging the drain.

Coma is an extremely forgiving game in that the player will never die but will have to overcome their own fears in this little 2D world. For example, Pete will encounter a gigantic worm in the Silver Tunnels and will have to make the journey into it.

The overall game is very short and can be completed in the equivalent time of a lunch break at work. The addition of Flash to Android devices like the Droid, Nexus One, Droid Incredible, and the EVO will give mobile gamers a great experience.

Graphics

The graphics are nothing extremely special—the same way that Limbo was. However, Coma's graphics involve a generous amount more color. The way that the environment responds to your movements is also very nice.

Don't expect a whole load of wonderful looks from the characters that you interact with either with the exception of the mother and the giant worm. Everything and everyone is nearly just a dark shadow created to represent themselves in the dreamworld.

To be fair, the levels of shading are terrifically blended to work with each environment you go to. This is most evident where the dark areas meets the bright.

The graphics towards the very end of the game become even more dark and grotesque. I won't spoil it for you, but know that mild amounts of your internal organs will be involved.

Sound

The combination of music and silence in Coma works very well for the variety of areas that the game tries to cover. The only peeve I've got with it is that the characters have weird voices and interaction sounds that I wouldn't have chosen if I were the game's creator. That said, it is evident that the level of effort put into sound was lower than that put into the gameplay factor. The sound isn't horrible at all—it could just use some polish.

Controls

The controls, like the gameplay (minus some of the puzzles) is simple. The arrow keys help the player to navigate Pete around. However, the mouse will also help with areas that involve conversation or interacting with objects.

You'll know it when you see them.

Rating

Overall, Coma is one of the best flash games I've played in a while. For the past month, I've felt that there weren't very much of them out there that were very good or worth playing over and over again. Even though the replayability for a game like this is very low, I find myself coming back to it for the sheer experience that one gets when playing the game. It's fun and involves some great thrills at times.

If you've got a game that you'd love me to review for Cheap Thrills, shoot me an email at ChrisGampat[at]gmail[dot]com