Posted 09/08/09 at 11:30:35 AM by David Murphy

Eh. Technology upgrades. You don't need the latest graphic, motherboard, and CPU combinations to have a good time on your PC. Sure, having realistic raindrops fall across your warrior's face is a nice touch. And you can never go wrong with all those fun volumetric shadows and such--you know, the ones that cripple your poor videocard whenever you try and crank your display's resolution to the max.

A good game is all about the fun it brings to the table absent of technical wizardry or flashy effects. I like to call this the Nethack effect. For those recently born, Nethack is that old-school ASCII game that's still beloved by many even though its graphics could easily be replicated by a graphing calculator. The game doesn't need top-shelf scenery or character models to be awesome. It just is--by virtue of its immersion, frustrations, and countless ways to die.

As you might guess, This week's freeware roundup is another gaming-focused edition, but I'm covering a wide range of graphical treatments with the racing, hack-and-slash, and building-creation games I feature (amongst other categories). You'll see games that look pretty good given their open-source and freeware roots; You'll also see games that are a bit less, er, polished... but still worth your time for their creative features and fun action. You might even see a game that involves ponies.

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Posted 01/26/09 at 11:00:00 AM by David Murphy

Sometimes gamers just have to go back to their roots.  It's inevitable.  Blazing, next-generation graphics can be a blast to check out, and all the crazy advances in storytelling and immersion have allowed games to penetrate peoples' lives more than ever before.  Don't get us wrong, these are all good things for the industry and its many, many fans.

But gamers always get that urge--a tickling--to give their turbocharged video card a break and fire up some titles that have withstood the test of time.  Or better yet, modern reinventions of classic gameplay motifs. Some of these titles can be a blast to play, which is exactly why we're jumping into the gaming remake scene with this week's freeware roundup.  If you loved the originals that these games are based on, you'll find yourself sinking just as much time into these freeware remixes as before.  Don't worry if you've never played some of the genres that these newer titles are based on.  Spend a few minutes downloading these titles, fire up a game or two in your spare time, and see what you think!

Click the jump and check out the games!

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