Top 5 Arcade Style Downloadable PC Games

Gnomie John D. Lippincott (aka Genezix from our chat room) writes in with his top five favorite arcade-style downloadable games:

1. CubeMaster Gold from FunFactory

   Cost: FREE!

   This one’s for you Chris. This, quite simply, is one of the best Tetris clones I have ever seen. Although it’s not super-strong in the graphics department, nor has it got any special goals or play-modes in it, it is still extremely versatile. You can play classic Tetris style, or add various kinds of special blocks into the mix. You can play on a thin, narrow field, or an absolutely massive field. The game includes options for adding music, changing backgrounds, and a couple different modes of play. The most fun feature in my opinion is the window-shaker feature. When you finish a line, it disappears, the rest of the blocks move down, and the entire window shakes. The more lines you complete at once, the greater the shaking. You can also adjust or disable this in the options. Play around with this one! If you liked Tetris, you’re sure to like this! And you can’t beat the price!

2. Super DX-Ball Deluxe from BlitWise Productions

   Cost: Free, $20 for the deluxe version.

   Ah, the old Breakout-style games. What joys can be found in moving a paddle across the bottom of the screen, making sure your ball continues bouncing around and eliminating multi-colored “bricks” on the screen until you’ve cleared it. Well this is not like the classic version you might find on an Atari. In this version the bricks can take on many shapes and sizes, and even be invisible till hit. There are numerous power-ups to help you out, and some very frustrating power-downs that will create more than enough challenge for the beginner and expert alike depending on what level you set the game. All the different boards included with the deluxe version (including the free expansion packs usable with the deluxe version) will amuse kids and adults alike, and the uneven and sometimes unbreakable blocks will put your reaction times to the test. All in all this is a solid but simple game!

3. Echoes from BinaryZoo

   Cost: FREE!

   Remember Asteroids? Take the same concept and switch things up. Use your mouse to move your ship around the screen and W, A, S, and D or the arrow keys to aim your weapon. This game starts simple as you destroy large, slow moving asteroids around you, collecting power-ups and dodging other asteroids, but the levels quickly progress up to 10 where you are assaulted with numerous other things to avoid such as asteroid belts, planet defense satellites, black holes, and even a huge sun that shoots fireballs at you. Even though there are only 10 levels (the 10th runs continuously it seems), there are still challenges aside from reaching the 10th level in the form of medals you collect by doing various things, such as amassing a certain amount of points in a certain amount of time, or surviving a certain amount of time without getting hit. This is Asteroids on crack people. And pretty neon looking objects!

4. Neon Wars from BlitWise Productions

   Cost: $20 (Shareware version available.)

   A simple game, but not easy by any means. Your only goal: pick up blue stars while avoiding everything else. Firing and aiming is all automatic. Stars earn you points, and eventually special weapons that you activate with a mouse click, most of which quickly clear the playing field. Two modes are offered: you can play continuously on a colored field of play, or level by level where the enemies change and multiply as each level increases. All this happens with a dazzling display of color and dizzying arrays of sparkles.

5. DUO from BinaryZoo

   Cost: FREE!

   This game is a fast paced arcade shooter with a very simple concept. You are a small round ship in the center of the screen with two guns. One gun points up, the other down. You aim and collect power-ups by moving back and forth across the center line. Which of your ship’s guns (top or bottom) gets upgraded by a power-up, or downgraded by a hit, depends on which side of the screen you pick it up or get hit on. As an added bit of fun you can flip your ship over, reversing the two guns in most levels. This game is high on action.