Crystal Story (RPG)

Crystal Story by Emmanuel Salva Cruz is a well-made party-based RPG with a humorous story. The gameplay is relaxing, without the need to figure out serious tactics to beat particular bosses. In addition to that, it also comes with a grammar mistake or two, making it the perfect traditional RPG for players who would like to enjoy a little hack-and-slash.

He's not talking to a... oh just play and see.

The story is about a party of adventurers who have been hired to take a picture of a hero-wannabe capturing the Evil Big Bad. 'Taking pictures' in a fantasy game? One can tell immediately that this is not the usual straight-forward tale of epic adventure. In fact, the humor is part of the draw of the game. Too bad that the humor is only present during the story, which is told through cutscenes.

One of our heroes, with a strange dream.

The characters are well-designed, each with quirky, memorable personalities. They are fun to watch. Too bad that they only show their funny sides during cutscenes - they are all straight-faced serious during battles.

Baddies in the dungeon.

As in traditional RPGs, the player explores dungeons and beat up the local inhabitants. The dungeons can be the Evil Cave, which is the setting for the main quest or a random dungeon where the player is free to explore or ignore.

It's a boss. Nothing to worry about.

Battles are straight-forward as expected of a traditional RPG. Each character or baddie makes a move when it is his/her/its turn. The move may be an attack, a heal, a buff or debuff. Skills use MP and attack subtracts HP from the opposition. Play continues until one side runs out of HP.

Three possible classes.

In the area of character development, each character has three classes available to him or her from the traditional four roles: FIghter, Rogue, Healer and Mage. As such, each character may chose to focus on one class or distribute APs among two or three classes. Improvement in a class will make new skills available for the character to use in battle. APs are obtained by leveling up and completing side quests.

An interesting thing to note is that though a class is available to three of the characters, there are slight variations to the skills that each character learns by improving himself/herself in that particular class. This would lead to different tactics available during combat. And also different battle FX, for those who enjoy eye-candy.

Things to do in town.

Back in town there are other mostly-non-violent things for the player to do. There is the link to the main dungeon, the Evil Cave, to get straight back into the violence. There is the Menu to manage the characters and inventory.

There is also the Tavern for other things for the party to do. There are side quests with side stories there and a bounty board for bosses found in the main dungeon. There is also an unlockable match-3 game for a little relaxation between dungeon runs. And there is the pet slime. Which can be fed with food. Which will give goodies in return.

There is the ubiquitous Inn to restore the party's HP and MP. And finally there is the Shop where equipment may be bought, sold and upgraded. Consumables may also be traded there.

Once the story is done, the dungeon may still be explored further for more baddies and loot. The dungeon is not bottomless, though. Allegedly, there is an optional boss waiting at the end.

In summary, Crystal Story is a well-made turn-based RPG with a humorous story. It is recommended for those who enjoy traditional RPGs. It is also a good challenge for nitpickers who like to hunt for grammar mistakes.

More screenshots:

Phoebe not using ALL CAPS? Play the game to understand it's significance.

Blowing the opposition away.

Equipment may be upgraded. Orange ones are really rare.

I stand beside sweet loot.

Phoebe's character sheet.

Yes, the weird-looking innkeeper can reset AP so players can try another class.

The party menu.

For spoiler screenshots of the game, look here.

Free Games

Free games are available all over the Internet. The difficulty is to find those games. There are so many free games out there and a good percentage of them are bad. As such, it is going to take considerable effort to look for good games. In order to help, I have listed a number of games I find enjoyable here.

Not-Facebook Games

These are standalone games, either playable in your Internet browser or downloadable. They are not-Facebook games and definitely not dependent on gathering neighbors and friends to advance. The games here may require in-game virtual friends, though.

Bullet Heaven (shooter)

Orbital Onslaught (strategy)

My Little Army (strategy)

RPG Shooter: Starwish

Dreamsong Catcher (unique)

Stunt Crazy (driving)

Villainous (reverse tower defense)

The Soul Driver (driving)

Wasted Youth Part 1 (An Adventure Game)

Cat God vs Sun King (game)

Alter A.I.L.A. Genesis (RPG)

Sweatshop (Management Game)
Crystal Story (RPG)
Epic War 5 (Strategy)
Rebuild 2 (Strategy)
Necrophobia (Puzzle)
Zombocalypse Spoiler Screenshots

Lair-Y Defense (defense shooter)
Kingdom Rush (defense)

Adventure Story (platformer)

Super Samurai Sweeper (RPG, puzzle)

Innkeeper (management)
Monsters' Den: Chronicles (RPG)
Nano Kingdoms (strategy)
Rune Raiders (RPG)
Reactance 2 (shooter)
Thunderstone (card, strategy)
Papa's Freezeria (time management, skill)
AirMech (RTS, action)
Knightmare Tower (action)
Evilgeddon Spooky Max (shooter)
Incursion (defense)
Cat God vs Sun King 2 (action)
Epic Battle Fantasy 4 (RPG)
no-one has to die. (interactive fiction)
Ninja Slash (action)
Mystery IQ Test
Strike Force Heroes 2 (shooter)
Super Invaders (shooter)
Min Hero: Tower of Sages (Pet RPG)
Socrates Jones: Pro Philosopher (interactive fiction)
Dungeons of Kong (Turn-based RPG)
Road Of Fury (distance, shooter)
Dillo Hills 2 (racing)
Tinysasters 2 (puzzle)
Super Mega Ultra Battle Robot 2.0 (shooter)
Cardinal Quest 2 (turned-based RPG)
Building Rush (time management, strategy)
Witch Hunt (defense shooter)
Lionheart Tactics (tactical turn-based)
Building Rush 2 (time management, strategy)

Coffee Break Games

Coffee break games are not necessarily the best games out there. But they are helpful to take your mind off work for a few minutes during coffee breaks. Typically, a session of the game can be completed in a short amount of time. They should not be addictive so the player can easily stop. Preferably, they should not be stressful either, so the player will be fresh enough to continue with work after playing.

Here are the lists of Coffee Break Games:

Coffee Break Games 1

Coffee Break Games 2

Coffee Break Games 3
Coffee Break Games 4

Facebook Games

These games are applications on Facebook (do you need a link!?) you can toy with during a free moment. However, most Facebook games require lots of neighbors or friends to advance in the game. The games listed here are those that are not too dependent on neighbors. At the time of writing.

Deep Realms: Introduction

Army Attack Review
Serf Wars: Introduction
Sword Quest
Monstermind (city-building) 
Ultimate Collector (shopping, collecting)
Mutants: Genetic Gladiators
Phantom Chronicle (Pet, Turn-Based)
Happy Acres (farming)

Not-Free Games
Until there are enough articles for a separate content page for these games, I shall temporarily put them here.
Frayed Knights (RPG): First Impression

Request to Transfer Account

Address of Sender

Address Line 2

City

Address of Recipient

Address Line 2

City

Date

Dear Sir,

Request to Transfer Account

I would like to request that my account (Account Number: XXX) be transferred from your branch on X Street to the branch on Y Street.

I do realize that the designated new branch is a mere five blocks away from the old one. However, the new branch is closer to my place of residence and as such would require less time and fuel to commute there.

The global fuel reserves are running low. The use of the extra fuel required to commute to the further branch on X Street would worsen the fuel crisis. This would lead to an increase in fuel prices, indirectly increasing the prices of many other of life's essentials, further deteriorating the economy.

In addition, the burning of hydrocarbon fuel pollutes the environment. The use of fuel releases harmful gasses that in addition to deteriorating the air quality would cause the greenhouse effect, contributing to global warming. Thus, we should all do our part to reduce, if not eliminate, all unnecessary use of fuel.

And when the zombie apocalypse arrives, the survivors in the city will be certain to search for supplies of fuel so that they may transport themselves to a place of safety. By commuting to the further branch on X Street, I may expend the little fuel that the survivors require, leaving them to stare at the sky and scream "Why!?" as legions of zombies bear down on their last fortified position.

Thus, for the reasons stated, I hope you will expedite the transfer of my account to the branch on Y Street.

Thank you for your time.

Yours sincerely,

Signature

Name of Sender.

Buddy Rush: Glory Set (1.4)

The Glory Set, or Set of Glory (for those who want a truer name), is a three-piece set specially for Worrier. Each piece can be looted from treasure chests dropped during Missions or Raids. Or if a player is (un)lucky enough to get one as a Raid reward. All three pieces must be red and unique in order for the set to be complete.

Helm of Glory

Armor of Glory

Shield of Glory

The complete set gives the following bonuses:

Att+0
Def+71
HP+532
HP Regen+2%
MP+92
MP Regen+2%
critical+0%
Evade+3%
Stun+0%
Hit Speed+0%
Skill Pow+0%
Skill CoolTime-0sec

This is a totally defensive set. It has high Def and very high HP, which is even higher than those given by the Farjegnon and Titanium Sets respectively. These may be boosted even higher by Worrier's passive skills. The Glory Set also has a little in the MP department to support Mockery.

However, the Glory Set is totally lacking in everything else. It very low HP Regen and nothing at all for offense. The other three free slots are best filled with items to increase Worrier's offensive capabilities. That is unless the player is going for a boring totally defensive Worrier.

Buddy Rush: Contents

Buddy Rush: September Comedy Screenies

This month's comedy screenies started late because of the lack of screen time I have for Buddy Rush.

The previous month's collection can be found here.

---

Here is a picture of Worrier taking charge of the battle from his high position.

Behold the Worrier Commander!

Update 23 September 2011:

Skully's new extra-weighted net will sink Oblins into the ground!

Or it could just be a Z-axis bug where the Zomblin's height had been specified to be below ground level. That would explain why that Zomblin in Chapter 10, Mission 2 disappears below the ground as soon as it tries to move.

Update 26 September 2011:
For those who wonder what Boorseye's Greedy Shot looks like at level 20...

I need a hanky.

... it looks like he took a big sneeze.

August Comedy Screenies

Buddy Rush: Contents

Buddy Rush: First Look at the Fifth Wave

The Fifth Wave of Buddy Rush is here!

So let's see what's new in the Fifth Wave:

Look! New decoration!

That's right! The Fifth Wave comes with a new decoration on the mission archway! You can see parts of the old archway here and here. I suppose the developers are trying to appeal to all players so they removed the language-specific decoration.

Anyway, let's look at the new missions in the new chapter!

New chapter!

Level 80!!! Aw, so close - just a little more XP to level 80!

Since Iona isn't level 80, let's look around town and see what else is new.

What's different?

Noticed anything different? Like the new signboards on the buildings?

Let's check the shop.

The prices!

Uh, yeah, guess they increased the price for the hyper potions.

New item!

There are also some new items to buy with bugs. You'd almost have to be a millionaire to buy the item in the screenshot! It's a purple item, in case you didn't notice.

Well, there's nothing else to do but to level up to qualify for the new chapter.

Iona? I think she's still shopping for shoes in town.

Notice the new font for the damage meter?

Buddy Rush: Contents

Taking a break

I'm taking a short break off everything at the moment. Well, that means I do the minimum of what I need to do for my daily tasks (since I still like the free chips from Buddy Rush).

Anyway, I picked up Trinity Universe and I wished I bought that instead of Cross Edge some time ago. Mine you, Cross Edge was not that bad of a game. It really was fun to figure out and implement the battle system and also to fiddle with the item system(s). However, the amount of grinding required to get the next in-game reward is insane. Trinity Universe may end up to be the same later but it's fun for now.

Yes, Trinity Universe does have a nice complicated battle system to figure out too. This time, it involves a lot of memory work to recall what moves are available in battle, during which, there is usually a timer counting down.

There'll be more writing to do later. Plus, Buddy Rush's next wave is coming and I have to decide if I'd like to train up yet another new character. I'm already bored of the lack of purples from raids at the moment. And Nerdook is still working on his RPG. Hopefully it will be one worthy of my recommendation.

Coffee Break Games 3

Here are more coffee break games to play during that few minutes off work.

Flur

Flur

Flur by Chad Edwards and Derek Wu is more of a toy than a game. The object of the game is to gather the green sprites while avoiding the red ones. Green sprites are gathered by approaching close to them. Gathering all the green sprites attached to a red one will 'free' the red sprite, turning it into green ones for the player to collect.

There is no 'death' in the game. Hitting a red sprite merely stops the game for a moment while the player regenerates. The only object of the game is to collect achievements - many of them requiring the 'freeing' of specific formations of green and red sprites.

Green sprites and red ones fly together in specific formations. Apparently, each formation has a name, though it is up to the player to figure out which is which since there is no graphic show-and-tell.

The player can stop the game at any time and continue on later with no loss of progress.

This game may be a little challenging for players with red-green blindness.

Doeo

Doeo

Doeo by Marcus Richert is a simple catch the pink rectangular creature game. In each level, the player has a limited amount of time to catch the required number of 'Doeo's. This is done by moving the mouse cursor over the pink creatures. It is harder than it looks in the screenshot, since lots of Doeos appear everywhere, some of them moving.

Points are scored by catching Doeos, with a bonus for catching all in a group, such as all six in the pyramid in the screenshot.

It is easier for me since I played using a pen tablet. :p

If anyone wonders how 'Doeo' is pronounced, it is pronounced at the start of the game.

Outerdebt

Outerdebt

Outerdebt is a 2D shooter with a treasure-collecting thrown in. It looks unimpressive at first glance. It is not rated highly since it is a simple game with simple graphics. However, it is a perfect coffee break game with decent challenge and limited play (so the player can stop before the boss intrudes).

The story of the game is that the player's nation is bankrupt and to cover the debt, the player shoots aliens and collect treasure in space. Not really an engaging story.

The player controls a ship with controls similar to Asteroids, where left and right rotates the ship while forward propels the ship forward. Inertia has a small effect. The Z key fires the ship's weapons in a spread pattern. The spray has limited shots that replenish over time. X warps the ship to a safe location, away from all aliens and treasure. Sort of like an emergency escape maneuver.

The idea of the game is to maintain the scoring combo - from the start till the end, if at all possible. Collecting treasure and shooting aliens maintain the combo. Idleness, touching an alien or using warp resets the current combo - there is also an overall combo bonus that is maintained throughout the game.

As the game goes on, more and more aliens appear. The limited number of shots will then become an issue. The player then has to make each shot count - shooting aliens before they can hit the ship while keeping enough shots left for emergencies. All while keeping the combo running.

And this is what makes the game great for coffee breaks: just when the game gets difficult, there is an end. The debt is reported at the bottom of the screen and it goes down as aliens are shot and treasure are collected. Once the debt has been paid, the game ends and the player is awarded a score.

If the player wins the game without losing a live or using warp, it is considered a perfect game.

---

Well, that should be enough games for a coffee break or three.

Coffee Break Games 2

Handful of Sand Completed

Ah, the long long story is finally, finally done.

Handful of Sand has finally been published.

Now I can sit back and relax a little and play lots of games...

after I do some final checks on the blog.

Handful of Sand Interlude 6

Hello, there. This is Selina here in the Narration Room. With this we conclude Handful of Sand. Hope you have enjoyed it as much as I have enjoyed acting in it.

Then again, I had a kick-ass mysterious character. So of course, I enjoyed it.

As to any loose ends, there are clues here and there in the story to help you make a good enough guess to address them.

Like the reason why Selina protects Sandy, even though she isn't the heiress. For that, you have to know what Selina's job was. Detective Brunel mentioned that it was to protect the heiress.

Now remember that Nick thought he had found the heiress by observing Selina.

See how it all fits together?

Take a few moments to think about it. If you still can't get it, you're not suited for mercenary work. Get a desk job or something behind a counter.

Got it? No? Give up? Or do you want to check your answer?

If you have an answer that you think is good enough, then good. Regardless of whether your answer is right or wrong, you are capable of reasoning. Able to work with information to come up with answers is an important life skill. If you are uncertain, then you should think some more until you are.

Okay, here's the answer. Last chance to stop reading if you still wish to ponder about it some more.

Sandy was a decoy. The best way to protect the heiress was to divert attention elsewhere. Because of that, the heiress got to live a peaceful life up until the time she inherited her wealth.

It wasn't Selina's original intention, though. She just stumbled across it when Nick relentlessly assumed that Sandy was the heiress. With the real heiress so close, the best way to protect her was to encourage Nick's assumption.

The original tracers in Sandy's sneakers and puppy figurine were placed long before Nick came into the picture. When you have a friend as troublesome as Sandy is, you would want to keep an eye on her too. Naturally, when Nick found those tracers, he assumed that Sandy was the heiress.

And there you have it.

Are there any other loose ends?

Who is Selina? There are some clues here and there. Enough for you to guess that she is a...

Last chance to look away...

Okay, she's a kunoichi. She went a bit overboard when she first started since it was her first time in a public school. Training had been a large part of her life and had robbed her of public-schooling experience. So she was excited to finally get the chance to go to school.

Unfortunately, kunoichis specialize in doing things behind the scene. So we don't get to see much of what Selina does. Maybe next time we'll have a gung-ho soldier protect Sandy. That'll guarantee lots of explosions.

Did I miss any other loose ends? Well, you should be able to reason it out if I did.

Anyway, thanks for reading Handful of Sand. Hope you enjoyed it!

***

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Handful of Sand Chapter 43 Page 4

"Esper, wait," Ariel called after her curly-haired friend.

The curly-haired girl turned back.

"Esper, who did you inherit the money from?" Ariel asked.

"My grandfather."

"What's his name?"

"I don't know if you've heard of him." Esper thought for a moment. "It's Oscar Killington. I really have to go now."

"Okay, bye!" Ariel waved her former classmate goodbye.

Esper waved back once before boarding the first cab.

Sandy watched the cab drive away. The name of Esper's grandfather seemed familiar.

"San-dy..." Ariel behind her began with an ominous tone, "Do you remember the time when we were kidnapped...?"

"By that man in that broken down house?" Sandy asked. Strange that Ariel wished to discuss the event that had driven a wedge in their friendship.

"Remember that he wanted you to sign a document...?" Ariel continued.

"Ah... yes..." Sandy was unsure where that was going.

"Do you remember what was the name on the document?" Ariel asked, "The name of the person whose money you thought you would get?"

"Not really," Sandy said. The disappointment of not getting that money still hurt and she was uncomfortable about being reminded of it.

"Was it not 'Oscar Killington'?"

Sandy's brown eyes suddenly widened as she made the connection. So the person who had inherited all the wealth that Sandy thought was hers was Esper!? Esper was the heiress!? Was that why Selina had always kept close to Esper? Was Selina's real job to protect Esper?

"San-dy..." Ariel interrupted the brown-haired girl's thoughts, "that means that the person that that man was looking for was actually Esper..."

"Yeah," Sandy agreed.

"And not you..."

Sandy was suddenly aware of the silent threat in Ariel's voice. Apprehensively, she turned to look at her friend.

"That means that we could've been free any time if you had just signed that meaningless piece of paper...," Ariel summarized as she leaned closer. The dangerous glints in her narrowed bespectacled eyes were a sharp contrast to the cute stuffed cat in her hand.

Sandy swallowed.

Ariel grabbed a fistful of her friend's brown hair with her free hand and pulled down hard. "We could've gotten out anytime!" she cried.

"Ow, ow, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Sandy pleaded.

***

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Handful of Sand Chapter 43 Page 3

The girls rested after lunch with ice cream and slushies while watching a puppet show with other children and their adult chaperons. No one wanted another ride on a full stomach. Instead, they went into the hall of mirrors (guess who paid for admission again) to laugh at absurd images of themselves.

Esper paid for games after that. The girls tossed basketballs into hoops together. They shot at targets with waterguns. They tossed rings onto pegs.

They played enough games to earn enough tickets to exchange for a stuffed toy for each of them. Sandy chose a small black monkey that looked a lot like the one she had lost when she was small. Ariel got herself an orange cat. Esper selected a purple snake, which she stuffed into her backpack.

At the end of the day, which really was just late afternoon, the girls were outside at the taxi stand in front of the amusement park. They were happy, for all the fun they had together. They were tired, from all the excitement they had experienced. And they were sweating heavily - the sun had been smiling the entire day.

Sandy gathered with her friends under the shadow of the shelter by the street where cabs lined up to collect passengers. Her legs ached from all the walking she had done. But she had fun, and with her closest friends too!

"I hope the two of you will be good friends," Esper told the other two girls, "All you've in school now are each other."

"What are you talking about?" Ariel asked.

Esper sighed and glanced up at the clear sky. "I'm not going to be in Fernham High next year."

"What?" Ariel blurted, "Why?"

Esper turned to the blond. "I'm going to a private school."

"A private school?" Sandy asked.

"It's an expensive school with better facilities and better education," Ariel clarified. She turned back to Esper. "Why are you going there?"

"I just received a large inheritance," Esper answered, "My parents thought that I need a better education to manage my wealth."

The news of her friend's windfall had Sandy's attention. Ariel was interested too as she listened intently.

"One morning last week," Esper began her story, "a man showed up at my doorstep and told us this incredible story, that I had a dead relative who willed me some money. The next day, my parents and I and that man were at an attorney's office with a lot of people I don't know. I thought it's just a small sum, you know, maybe pay for college, then maybe a car."

Esper paused for a breath. "It was much more than that. Not just money but stocks and property. My parents wanted me to learn to manage all my wealth. Well, it will be mine once it's fully transfered to my name on my eighteenth birthday. My grandmother's holding it in trust until then. She's the grandmother I didn't know I had until we met at the attorney's."

"Oh," Sandy uttered at the end of it all. Was she ever going to see her friend again, her rich friend?

Esper smiled. "Hey, I'll still be around town, just not in the same school. We can still hang out during the holidays."

Ariel smiled back. "Yeah, I guess so."

Esper took out her handphone from the pocket of her slacks for a look at the time. "Hey, uh, look. I've to get home and get ready. I've dinner tonight with my grandmother." She sighed. "It's going to take a whole hour to wash all this sweat off."

"Okay," Ariel said.

Esper took out her purse. "Here, let me pay for your cab fare home."

Ariel would not accept it. "Thanks, but no. You've already paid for so much!"

Oh, no, no! Ariel was denying free money! Should Sandy asked for her fare? It would not be appropriate, would it? Yeah, she could not do it. Ariel would not like it. And she had just become friends with the bespectacled blond again.

"Well, okay, then." Esper put away her purse and glanced at the cabs. There were a couple available and no passengers were queuing. "See you around!"

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