Experiment with Ubuntu - Buh-Bye Windows XP

   Recently, a friend of mine has been talking about wanting to switch his operating system (OS) from Windows Vista to a Linux OS. His reason for wanting to switch over is to lessen the memory footprint from Vista in order to be able to run World of Warcraft more responsively. Being the proud owner of a laptop that once ran Vista before it fried its own motherboard, I feel the pain of any Vista user that just wants out; especially the 64-bit users.
   I have also taken a personal interest in the Linux OS currently available, but for different reasons. I have a lot of hardware that is loosely connected in the very much insecure ways of Windows 7 OS. Not only that, but I have multiple monitors hooked up to single machines. Windows 7 only offers a simple selection to either span the screen across the monitors (with much reduced functionality on the secondary monitor), duplicate the displays, or use one or the other display. Most people with multiple monitors hooked to one rig; myself, namely, would actually like to have each monitor work as its own workspace; with functionality that is wholly independent of the other workspace. Linux supposedly offers quick and easy solutions to both network security and multiple monitor support.
   In order to help my friend out as well as serve my own needs, I have decided to switch my Windows XP laptop over to Linux. Most people in America know next to nothing about Linux. The first thing to know is that many major distributions of the OS are free. It is an excellent go to if restoring a paid OS will cost more than it is worth. There are many flavors of Linux, definitely some are worth more than others. I decided to do some research on which OS I might go with. One article I read at Linux.com (click to read) had some great information on different popular OS in the Linux family.
   In the past, I have worked with Red Hat Fedora, which I do not care for much. The OS certainly does everything it is supposed to. It also works with most devices that Windows works with. That is, you really do not need to worry too much if your hardware is compatible these days. Most hardware that came stock in your machine will have a Linux-compatible driver either from the manufacturer or the Linux community. Plug-n-play devices also tend to work very well with the drivers available. The thing I do not like about Fedora though is that it still leaves many of the low-level OS processes up to the end user. This is a great choice if you want a Windows-type environment, but next to no processes running in the background.
   Being a typical end-user type of guy, I am okay with background processes, especially if they do not add up to the footprint left on a machine running Vista. However, I really like the fact that the computer is capable of handling processes itself and seek to keep a lot of that in my OS. After reading the article linked above, I decided Ubuntu would be the OS for me. Ubuntu supposedly offers a great end-user experience and also has strong offerings in terms of multimedia and applications support.
   So the transition begins. Now, anybody looking to do the same should understand something important. The transition will not be seamless, but a 100% rate between hardware and Ubuntu should be very possible. One way to ensure all of your hardware comes online as expected is to go to the manufacturer's website for your computer and write down all of the hardware in your computer. Because Microsoft and Apple want owning one of their products to be similar to being part of an exclusive club, you should expect to have to hunt down drivers for a lot of your hardware when switching from one of these OS. Luckily, the Linux community has gone a long way to making this process painless. Google searches should return quick and reliable results. Microsoft and Apple believe that if they make the process of change difficult, people will not change. For most, this may be true; however, there is no need to be deterred by their bumps in the road.
   In reality, the hardware transition is the easy part if you are accustomed to the application suites offered by Microsoft. Many things do have Linux equivalents, but not all. You should be able to find a productivity suite that provides the same functionality as Microsoft Office and is even compatible with all Office standard formats, but be prepared for the fact that they are simply not Microsoft Office. A bigger concern to some is that many games do not even consider Linux an OS. In some cases, there are workarounds; however, in many more cases, you will have to accept that you simply cannot run the game on your OS. DirectX, a popular format for developing games, is a Microsoft thing. Good luck getting any love from Microsoft on that.
   For those of you still not deterred, I say, give it a shot. So far, I do not have everything set up the way I would like it. However, I am very happy with the look and feel of Ubuntu. Hopefully I will be able to help my friend set up his rig in a similar fashion and his WoW playing days will be better than ever. I do not yet have the multiple monitor support fully worked out. I also do not have the server working yet. However, I will write another post in about a week with an update on how it goes. If it goes well, I may very well become a nothing-but-Linux type guy.

Free / Indie Game Review: Hobo 4: Total War - A Little Love

Title:        Hobo 4: Total War
Platform:     Flash - Plays in browser
Sponsor:      Armor Games
Site:         http://www.flonga.com/play/hobo-4-total-war.htm
My Rating:    8. Well-Targeted, Short-Lived Fun

   Hobo 4: Total War is the most current entry in a series of brawlers that I have given a beaten to ratings-wise. The Hobo series is a fairly well targeted series of short and easy brawlers that will give any older gamer all the laughs and giggles they need to get through the day. My desire to see something new in this series has clouded my vision to what is really there.
   Hobo 4: Total War, being a true successor to the series, takes place a few days after the events in Hobo 3: Wanted. Now our Hobo has taken infamous to the next level and is being sought by the army. Hobo must punch kick, belch, and crap his way through three different areas, killing everybody that stands in his way.
   While I was not happy with the added guns in Hobo 3, I find the new additions in Hobo 4 to be pretty fun to use. They do go a long way to making the game easier overall, but it is fun to be a powerhouse like that.
   As always, the combos are just hilarious. Hobo's most powerful weapons are his body fluids. By pressing different combinations of 'A', 'S', and 'D', you can release all kinds of body fluids on all of the foes. The whole scene with beautiful graphics, nice sound effects, and facial expressions of the victims is almost too much to bare.
   While I would like to see something new from this series, I can no longer deny just how entertaining the Hobo games are. The game play itself may be a bit easy, but the fighting is too funny to miss out on. If you have five minutes, head over to Flonga and check it out for yourself.

Free / Indie Game Review: Hobo 3: Wanted - A Step in the Wrong Direction

Title:        Hobo 3: Wanted
Platform:     Flash - Plays in browser
Sponsor:      Armor Games
Site:         http://www.flonga.com/play/hobo-3-wanted.htm
My Rating:    6. More Guns = Less Fun

   Hobo 3: Wanted is the third game in a series of Flash games I have taken an interest in. The Hobo series is a series of quick brawlers that will take most gamers straight back to childhood memories of Double Dragon and Battletoads. My interest came in to see if the developer would do anything to build on the genre or just put out a series of games with mediocre play on a well-worn and already hung out to dry genre.
   I will not go into detail describing the story, control, audio, or graphics in Hobo 3: Wanted, as it is all the same as the past two games. The story only progresses the plot to right where Hobo Prison Brawl leaves off, Hobo on the run after his prison break.
   The big addition to this entry was more guns. Now, in addition to a pistol, enemies can drop combat shotguns and SMGs. Both only serve to make the action much easier the Hobo Prison Brawl. For me, this took some of the fun out of the game. I like brawlers to be brutal. Hobo 3: Wanted is more like the teddy bear of brawlers. It is cute and fluffy, but just as soft on the inside. The developer could have added something to make the gameplay more fun; instead, they chose to add more of what worked in the second game. This led to a horribly unbalanced experience in the thought that all you needed to do to get to the end was run after the guns.
   I really hope the fourth and last game (so far) in the series goes out on a limb and tries something new. I keep playing because the presentation is very funny; however, as a game lover, I really want something more. Head on over to Flonga and give it a try. When you are done, let me know what you think.

Free / Indie Game Review: Hobo Prison Brawl - More Fun than the First

Title:        Hobo Prison Brawl
Platform:     Flash - Plays in browser
Sponsor:      Armor Games
Site:         http://www.flonga.com/play/hobo-prison-brawl.htm
My Rating:    7. I definitely see some improvement,
                 but I want more!

   Hobo Prison Brawl is the sequel to Hobo, a throwback type brawler that I reviewed a week or two ago. I had some complaints about Hobo, namely the fact that it was just an uninspired brawler that did not add anything new as well as the fact that it was very easy to beat. Hobo Prison Brawl raises the bar just a little, mainly by being much more amusing and a tad-bit more difficult.
   Hobo Prison Brawl picks up right where Hobo leaves off. The Hobo is in jail, seemingly enjoying his stay. However, other inmates cannot stand his lack of personal hygiene. One day, one inmate pushes Hobo too far, and a new rampage begins. You play the Hobo, once again punching, kicking, and dispensing body fluids, but this time on other inmates and cops.
   The controls are very simple in Hobo Prison Brawl. I tend to think they are actually very well implemented. You can do the combos with intent, which is the way every game should be. While I can admit that button mashing works just as well in this game, it still feels good to be able to bust off the combos at will. The only newly added addition to this game was guns. While being faced against somebody with a gun without having a gun yourself is frustratingly difficult, the game gets a little fun for a minute while you have a gun yourself.
   The animations and sounds in Hobo Prison Brawl go together incredibly well to have you just cracking up laughing. The mix is funny enough to keep you playing. The Hobo is constantly throwing up or worse on people. The new combos spray feces and snot all over the screen. Watching the enemies get the stuff on them is amusing to watch. It is too bad that the gameplay is rather uninteresting, because the graphics and sound effects are great.
   After playing Hobo, the only reason I decided to continue with the series was to see if maybe it did get better. While Hobo Prison Brawl does not make leaps and bounds in progress, it is fun enough to have me curious for the third entry in the series. Keep reading to see if the Hobo series continues to make progress or falls back to the mediocre ways of the original game. In the meantime, head over to Flonga and give it a try.

Free / Indie Game Review: Hobo - Room for Improvement

Title:        Hobo
Platform:     Flash - Plays in browser
Sponsor:      Armor Games
Site:         http://www.flonga.com/play/hobo.htm
My Rating:    5. I wanted to like it,
                 but not much to it.

   Hobo is a Flash game available over at Flonga that will take most of us back to the glory days of the Nintendo Entertainment System. See, Hobo is a 2D side-scrolling brawler that was made from the same cookie cutter form as its 8-bit ancestors. Instead of taking a chance to innovate, the developers stuck closely to the old blueprint and produced a game that any of us older gamers will instantly recognize.
   As you may have guessed by this point, Hobo is a story about a bum who was minding his own business, sleeping wherever he could. A cop decides that he may not sleep there and treats him rather unkindly. Hobo becomes disgruntled and decides to wreak havoc on the local neighborhood. Playing the part of Hobo, you punch, kick, and disperse bodily fluid through several different local landscapes.
   For me, where Hobo really fails is the gameplay. I must admit, there are no pesky bugs or misspellings that bothered me, it just was not an inspired experience. Even on the hardest mode, Hobo is just a simple brawler without much going on to keep you entertained. While the combos are disgustingly great, you never do anything more than punch, kick, or dispense bodily fluid on random characters. I think every game looking to emulate a classic style should also look to bring something new to the table. We should never feel that we are stuck with old standards; however, that is all Hobo brings.
   The controls in Hobo are executed flawlessly. I admit that it is hard to not resort to button-mashing. However, for those of us that like to play and think we have some strategy, kick and punch is all you need to know. Different combinations allow for special moves, all of which involve spraying some bodily fluid on the enemy. The combos are not all available at the beginning, you unlock them as you go, so that gives something to work for.
   The looks and sounds of Hobo are great. The graphics are done particularly well. You really feel like you are playing a Nintendo-era game with high-definition graphics. I believe this was the aim and it was executed perfectly. The different sound effects mixed with the animations will have you laughing. This is how such a game should be.
   It is very unfortunate that the gameplay is not so great in Hobo, because the rest of the presentation is absolutely wonderful. A game cannot just look and sound good and get a pass to be great. At the same time, you cannot have great gameplay but be lacking on the looks and sounds and expect to get good reviews. However, gameplay; or lack thereof, will always impact the review score I give a game drastically. There is plenty of room for improvements in Hobo. I am excited to know that there are already several sequels out. I will be playing them soon. Follow my reviews and find out if the series takes a turn for the better or has maintained a permanent spot in the land of mediocrity.

Free / Indie Game Review: Sticks - A Quick Physics Puzzler

Title:        Sticks
Platform:     Flash - Plays in browser
Sponsor:      Armor Games
Site:         http://www.flonga.com/play/sticks.htm
My Rating:    8.5. Pretty good, but awfully short.

   Sticks is a Flash game over at Flonga that instantly hits home with most of us. You play an invisible role helping an ordinary-Joe named Bob scrounge up a little extra change. See, Bob is like many of us. He is a regular guy, works a regular job, drives a regular car, and has the regular dreams of riches. Of course, like many of us, the reality of Bob's financial situation hit home whenever he checks his bank account.
   One day, on his way home from work, Bob drives by a store called Sticks and gets an idea. He can use these sticks to get some more change rolling his way. More appropriately, you can use the sticks to help Bob get some more change. In thirty different levels, you draw sticks on the screen to help some loose change fall towards Bob. Different levels have different amounts of change, and it is not always a coin somewhere above Bob falls downwards towards Bob. You really have to get creative to get some of these coins moving at all. You can arrange the sticks however you like, although you can only use a specific overall length worth of stick in each level. Many of the levels, you obviously make a ramp of sorts for the coins to roll down, but be ready to get a little more creative. Sometimes you will have to go around things or avoid falling objects. Other times, you have to catapult the coins across the screen.
   The controls are very simple. Click the mouse on the screen and drag to draw a stick. Cross two sticks to make them connect. Make a mistake on placement? Just double-click and that stick is gone. A play/pause button allows you to turn on or off gravity, starting and stopping the action. This is great, because if the coins drop incorrectly, you do not need to wait for a "you lose" message. Pressing pause puts everything back where it was before you pressed play.
   The audio and visual effects were appropriately simple. The soundtrack is a quiet, melodic beat that reminds me of Phonics Monkey. When the gravity is turned on, the falling items appropriately plop. When the coins reach Bob, you hear falling change and the unmistakable cha-ching of a cash register. The graphics are very minimal. Bricks represent static items that do not move when the gravity is turned on. The same basic background of stacked coins appears in every level.
   Sticks does have a couple of distracting bugs. One, if you stretch a stick off-screen then try to get rid off it, a ghost stick remains in its place. Not so bad, but you do not get that length of stick back, so it is not usable unless you refresh the level. Another issue arises when you press play and the gravity is turned on. If the sticks are placed awkwardly, they bounce around, defying the physics the game is based on. One other thing I noticed was that there were some stages that were not centered correctly on the screen. This is not excusable in a release product.
   Sticks also has a couple of shortcomings. There is not enough variety in the levels. This is fine though, because it is only thirty levels. Another thing that I dislike; especially after reading some articles on the psychology of video games, is the lack of a rewards system. I mean, I know the purpose is to get Bob the money, but can we not spend just a little of it for some different types of sticks? Not in this version I guess; however, I hope to see some of this in the sequel, if it ever comes.
   While there are some shortcomings in this short game, I think Sticks is a very fun game to play. Bob is a character we can all easily relate to. Weighing in at a very quick to play thirty levels, Sticks will have you entertained just long enough to finish the game.

Free / Indie Game Review: Crash Test Launcher - Awesome

Title:        Crash Test Launcher
Platform:     Flash - Plays in browser
Sponsor:      Max Games
Site:         http://www.flonga.com/play/crash-test-launcher.htm
My Rating:    9.5. Hands down, this game is awesome.

   Crash Test Launcher is the perfect game for reminding us all to buckle our safety belts. A free-to-play Flash game available at many Flash portals, including my recent favorite, Flonga, Crash Test Launcher will hook you in at the very beginning and have you playing straight through to the end.
   The objective is to fly as far as possible after being ejected from a car you slam into a wall. As you are flying, there are a few different objects in the air to help keep you flying. You can hit birds or mines for a little bounce, grab a no gravity power up to turn off gravity for a while, and collect some spare cash on the go. Of course, what goes up must come down. A well-timed button press will give you some bounce though. Also on the ground, you will find a Ryu looking guy who will uppercut you back up in the sky. Joining Ryu is a burly baseball player who will also bat you back up in the sky. If you stop bouncing or hit some spikes, the round is over. You are awarded money based on your flight and damage done, and you are free to move on to another round of crash testing. Will this dummy ever learn to buckle his belt?
   Most Flash games do not provide all of the little extras we are so used to seeing in our console products. However, Crash Test Launcher is not short on the extras. What to do with all of that hard earned cash? How about buying some upgrades? You can purchase new cars, jet packs, different ejection tools, items to give you more bounce per round, even an Iron Man suit to make you impervious to spikes. All of these upgrades help you bounce your way through the four different locales.
   The controls in Crash Test Launcher are very easy to learn. Left and right arrow keys drive the car and allow for a little control over the crash test dummy while in the air. Number keys allow you to use your different upgrades. A well-timed press of the space bar will give you a good bounce when you hit the ground. Everything else is pure amusing watch your crash test dummy flying through the air.
   The sound and graphics in Crash Test Launcher go a long way toward enhancing the experience. The soundtrack is a cool little looping beat that sounds almost like flying through the air. All of the bells and whistles are thrown in with the bouncing off the ground and hitting objects making appropriate sounds. The visuals are particularly well-done for Crash Test Launcher. All of the non-interactive portions are done on a gray-scale. This includes background objects as well as foreground objects. It is fun watching yourself fly past all of the different environments. You can even go so far up in the sky that you reach outer space. The colors for the interactive objects are minimal, but enough to immediately be able to tell what you are about to run into. This is important, because sometimes you will be flying through the air at around 500 miles per hour. Being able to distinguish one thing from another at these speeds is darn near impossible.
   I did have to ding this game for a couple of annoyances. My biggest pet-peeve in any released project is spelling errors. There was more than one in Crash Test Launcher. My other big complaint is that this game is essentially over once you purchase all of the upgrades, but there is nothing really to indicate the game has ended. You can continue playing the levels as much as you like, but once you have everything, you will know you are done. I probably would have made a distance goal in the last level to be a "you beat this game" type marker.
   Aside from a couple of nitpicking issues, Crash Test Launcher is a great Flash game that will keep you entertained for a handful of hours. Head on over to Flonga and check it out. And folks, remember to always buckle your safety belt.

Free / Indie Game Review: Starlight 2 - An Amusing Interactive Experience

Title:        Starlight 2
Platform:     Flash - Plays in browser
Sponsor:      Armor Games
Site:         http://www.flonga.com/play/starlight-2.htm
My Rating:    7. As an interactive experience,
                 this is a very amusing work.

   Starlight 2 is a Flash game available for play at Flonga. Each level has an assortment of stars laid out on a 3D plane. They are all connected in a connect-the-dots fashion. By dragging the stars around with the mouse, they can be arranged to form a 2D image; a constellation.
   Starlight 2 is not so much game as it is an interactive experience. I was incredibly intrigued by the experience though. It is very interesting to watch the formations transform while dragging the mouse across the screen. Many of the images are not at all distinguishable until the stars are close to being correctly aligned.
   After playing for a while, I realized the whole game was just too easy. I was having so much fun making the pictures, I did not even realize how effortless the whole ordeal was. Looking for a harder experience, I tried the pro mode. I was not disappointed. The pro mode has you both drag the stars around to make the correct picture as well as rotate it to sit in the correct orientation in the night sky. It is only marginally harder, but it added just enough challenge to keep my interest for a few more minutes.
   The idea explained in Starlight 2 is that you are trying to find the perfect vantage point for the constellation in the sky using your mouse cursor. The graphics are very appropriate for it. At the bottom of the play screen is a shadowed skyline image that adds just a little flavor to the night skies. As the stars rotate with the mouse, you can easily see when you are getting near to the picture thanks to the way the lines are drawn. Almost every time you make the constellation, you cannot help but to smile. Some constellations are particularly amusing.
   The soundtrack was appropriately soothing for the game. A nice little piano melody played throughout the course of the game. Strangely though, I think I have heard this tune before. The whole time I played I kept thinking to myself: "I can ride my bike with no handlebars, no handlebars, no handlebars..." Most of us recognize that track.
   Altogether, I think this is a great interactive experience. There is not much gameplay here, but everybody should have a look. If nothing else, I think you will be as amused by making the images appear correctly as I was.

Free/Indie Game Review: Shopping Street - Hypnotizing

Title:        Shopping Street
Platform:     Flash - Plays in browser
Release Date: November 18, 2010
Sponsor:      Flonga
Site:         http://www.flonga.com/play/shopping-street.htm
My Rating:    8. Strangely addicting, yet it does
                 not offer a lot of gameplay.

   Shopping Street is a very small tycoon type game in which the players setup a strip mall to earn the cash of all the passersby. The game is quick to learn and will have you instantly thinking of how to better your tactics in order to gain more of the customers' hard-earned cash.
   The point of each stage is to masterfully place the eight stores available to gain the most profits from the customers. You begin each level with only enough money to buy a boutique or a pet shop and several sidewalk advertisements. After you place your building and ads, you press the "Next Day" button to start the customers coming. There is a "Fast Mode" button if you get tired of waiting on the customers. I could see where playing in the regular mode could help strategy, but I really wanted my customers running. You get an increasing amount of days to complete each level. The days play out the same from level to level, so you really just look for a dominant strategy to get the money and continue building upon it as you get more and more waves of customers.
   The balance in this game is what makes it really fun. Looking for a dominant strategy is the obvious choice; however, finding it is not quite so easy. I personally only have the first few days of customers figured out. After that, you really have to start making choices about whether to save money for a particular store or upgrade the ones you already have. On one hand, you can make more money from more stores. On the other hand, you need to maximize your profits by being able to have so many customers in a store-type while the price is at its highest. The pricing scale of the different buildings and their level-ups is just perfect to where you are constantly asking yourself which is the better choice. It seems there should be some way to break it, but I have not found it yet.
   The sounds and graphics will not knock your socks off. They are appropriate for a Flash game. A very basic strum-line for the soundtrack and something that sounds like dropping coins for getting the money from the customers. The background is always the same; no matter which of the four cities you play in. The stores are different enough to know which is what. One thing that did bother me though is the misspelling of electronics as "Electonics." Always check your spelling people.
   All in all, I see this game as being a great time-killer with a load of potential for the future. The basic gameplay is great, but I think in the sequel, we could see more randomized customer behavior and sidewalk distractions that matter. I definitely recommend getting over to Flonga and checking it out!

Free/Indie Game Review: Paper Venture - Quick and Simple Fun

Title:        Paper Venture
Platform:     Flash - Plays in browser
Release Date: November 18, 2010
Developer:    Arcade Armory
Site:         http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/553931
My Rating:    8. Pretty fun and will not take
                 long to beat.

   Paper Venture is a cute little Flash game that most people will be able to beat in a single coffee break. The game challenges you to guide a basic figure through thirty levels without hitting any saws, hitting your head, or going off screen. This is a platformer in the simplest terms of platforming. It will take you back to the days of Super Mario Bros. The story is very basic: the character fell down a hole and you are guiding it back up.
   The controls are all mouse, which is refreshing for a Flash game. Your mouse cursor is the rectangle thing shown in the picture. You use it as a moving platform to help the character work around saws and get to other platforms. The character can also hit the side of the cursor to turn around. Seems pretty simple, yet there is enough of a challenge to make you have to repeat several levels many times over.
   I was a fan of the visual style from the very beginning. It is a basic layout. Everything is pencil sketched on paper. The mouse cursor looks like an eraser, to the point where I expected it to erase things as I went. It does not. There will never be so much that it will not be immediately obvious as to what to do. Avoid saws, hit walls to turn around when needed, make it to the door.
   The soundtrack for Paper Venture drew me in. It is a simple looping track. However, it makes the game feel like the platformer it is. I would have liked some sound effects. Saws should buzz and the character should scream when dying. However, for this version, the only sounds comes from the soundtrack.
   If you are looking for a quick, easy, fun, and free way to dispose of about fifteen minutes, head on over to NewGrounds Flash Portal and give this game a try. I promise, it is worth your time.