This week's edition of Friday is brought to you by the letter D, which here stands for Dimensions, and lots of them. Read on for 3D ghosts, a sad tale of self-destruction, polymorphic dungeon-crawling, counter-terrorism, and a game that takes place in two simultaneous worlds. Click 'Read and comment' to be taken to the shadow reality that lurks beneath this one, which is the only place such games are allowed to exist.
FPS-MAN by briderider
Everyone and their mum seems to be remaking Pac-Man at the moment, but I particularly like briderider's take on the iconic dot-chomper, which transforms Namco's ancient arcade favourite into, essentially, Slender Man With Dots. In a shocking turn of events, it turns out ghosts are quite scary in first-person – even cartoony multicolored ones. The trick – aside from the horror-movie soundtrack – is the lighting system, which cues a nearby spook by faintly spilling their luminosity around corners. You'll never play Pac-Man in the same way again. Mainly because no one in the world is playing original Pac-Man – but still.
Ode To Pixel Days by taloketo
Ode To Pixel Days is a game about the dangers of changing yourself to gain acceptance with other people, as the narration makes clear early on. It might lack the subtlety of Thomas Was Alone (a game that seems to explore a similar theme), but it's still pretty effective at getting its message across, while finding time to include a few puzzles, and a neat demonstration of the devolution of a game sprite. (Via IndieGames )
Counter Terror by moonloop
'A run-and-gun platformer with Rainbow Six-style counter-terrorism elements' is a description I don't get to type often enough, so I'm thankful to Counter Terror developer moonloop that I was able to do it just then. You're an elite guy with a gun, and your job is to rescue some hostages, mainly by shooting terrorists until they learn not to terrorise or be alive. But there is also a cover system, deployable ropes, terrain destruction and (best of all) flashbang grenades – put 'em all together, and there is a great deal of fun to be had here.
Binary Boy by Data-Fidelity
At the risk of breaking the rules of this column and suffering a week's internment at the PCG gulag, you should probably play the downloadable version of Data-Fidelity's ace Binary Boy ( available here ) – but make sure you play it in any case. It's a clever spin on the dimension-hopping concept going around at the moment, filtered through a VVVVVV sieve. With no jump button, you must evade obstacles by flipping your character between two opposing spaces – for example, day/night, overground/underwater – which both exist on the screen at the same time. Lovely stuff, which could only really exist in two dimensions. (Via Free Indie Games )
Morf by Big Bad Wofl
If Morf seems familiar, that's because it featured in a previous Free Webgame Round-Up , albeit in an unfinished state. Now that it's done, I thought it best to check in on this inventive roguelike again, not least because it's been significantly updated since then. The game's hook is its focus on transformation; after defeating an enemy, you assume their form, inheriting a unique power in the process. As with quite a lot of roguelikes, you're there to find the Amulet of Something-or-Other, which here will cure your morphing disease and turn you back into a regular human. Why on Earth would you want that? (Via Free Indie Games )
