©2009 My Game Company

I’ve recently played two games released by a company called “My Game Company.”

The first one I played was Dirk Dashing: Secret Agent. Dirk Dashing has a nice old-school game play approach. Explore, collect, fend off enemies and make your way to the end. The game is for those young or young at heart. Instead of the secret agent wielding a gun, he is only armed with sleeping gas grenades and must dispatch his enemies using non violent methods. It’s rare to find non violent games like this. I suggest giving it a go.

The second game I played was The Adventures of Rick Rocket. This game takes the 2D space shooting game play dynamic and really explores it.

©2009 My Game Company

The player must fend off asteroids from hitting earth, deflect alien attacks, rescue stranded ships, and many more objectives as the player progresses. The game uses a nice mix of cartoon 2D, semi realistic visuals, and great soundtrack to recreate a lively and fun environment. The controls are simple to pickup and go. Once again, another recommendation to download and have some fun with.

Both games are available for Mac, Windows and Linux.

©2009 Jamie Woodhouse

Now here’s an interesting homebrew retro game that’s been around the block. The game is called Qwak. It’s been on many platforms: BBC, Amiga, Gameboy Advance, and most recently Windows PC. It’s a fun game that guides the player through a wild assortment of levels. You’ll be collecting fruits, gems, and treasures galore while battling enemies and avoiding traps in the stages. The game also has a two-player mode for joining in on the action. The game has the playful fun of Bubble Bobble, but it’s quite unique in it’s own right. 

(Game collectors be advised: Qwak has a limited run Gameboy Advance version. Only 300 copies were made. Get your copy while you still can!)

©2009 Puppy Games

©2009 Puppy Games

Now here’s a game company that truly embodies the retro gaming genre: Puppy Games. Their games: Titan Attacks!, Ultratron, and Droid Assault are highly retooled classics with stunning retro 2D visual design and significantly expanded gameplay. To say that their games are addictive, doesn’t do the company justice. These games are highly addictive! 

Retro game development is in this company’s veins. Don’t think of passing these gems up. Most of their games are playable for Mac, Windows and Linux.

I also plan on doing a full Q&A developer profile on this company soon. Keep an eye open for it.

©2009 BugFactory

If you’re in a mood for an old-school point and click adventure (similar to the Kings Quest series), The Tales of Bingwood (developed by BugFactory Games) definitely fits the bill. It meshes retro pixel art, captivating music, point and click adventuring, challenging puzzles, and well performed voice acting into one soothing and fun experience.

Definitely check out the demo and see for yourself. The Tales of Bingwood is Windows exclusive.

(Mac users: the demo doesn’t run that well in Parallels (v3). It might run good in Parallels v4, but I wouldn’t know since I don’t have it. I ran the game perfectly in Boot Camp though.)

©2009 Data Realms

If you haven’t seen or played Cortex Command (developed by Data Realms), you definitely need to do yourself a favor and give it a go. Just look at the animation on the right to get a sense of what you’re in for… awesome physics-based 2d sprite animation/destruction.

This retro 2d game is strategy/action-orientated. (Think Team 17 Worms, but real-time.) The developer’s site does note that the game is still under development, but early purchasers can get it at a lower than final retail price.

Cortex Command was recently nominated as Finalist in the Independent Games Festival 2009 and is available for both Mac and Windows.

By the way, check out the gameplay in the video below.

Cortex Command – Zombie Cave Gameplay