Though its several years old now, this great bossa nova noir game, Gravity Bones, still remains our number one pick for among the best games ford PC in the free category. It is a short standalone game in which the first person player seems to be some kind of secret agent.
The game has only a couple levels. Experienced gamers will likely be able to play through in about 20 minutes. Personally, after the third bird, I was stuck for a while myself, but that's just me. The whole thing has a mission orientation and the first level is almost a tutorial for the second more elaborate level. The learning process is nicely integrated into the first level. It comes in a zip file and needs no installation. It requires about 20MB of disk space.
None of that though really gives you a sense of what's so great and fun about this game. It is experience-based and beautifully realized. Though technically a first-person game that description is misleading. This one kind of busts open a genre all of its own: bossa nova noir!
It does have a story, but delightfully not one of the color-in-the-lines type stories that are so common in today's gaming world. Like a great avant garde film, the story emerges impressionistically and is subject to a whole bunch of interpretation.
Right from the start you're thrust into a kind of Euro-spy scene as you find yourself wandering amid elegantly dressed blockheads (really, you have to see it, to understand) all making merry at some black tie cocktail party spread out over a series of terraces with spectacular views of a lake and surrounding mountains. A smooth bossa nova sound track follows you among the crowd. You're already on your first mission the moment you're out of the elevator.
This first level, really more a test run, is rapidly completed. Then you're coming off a second elevator and things are a little more elaborate and complicated this time, as you have to find your way through back corridors and across catwalks on an ominous and stormy night.
There's little to dislike about this exquisitely put together game, but I do have one complaint: I could have done just fine in the absence of the clue cards. Personally, I entirely ignored them and figured out the missions just through investigation and exploration. That was way more fun. The cards weren't needed and I would have preferred not having them as a distraction in the corner of the screen. At the very least they should be optional. It is just a minor complaint, though.
The aesthetics of this game are almost as much fun as the play. Boldly foregoing the usual polygon realism the game conjures up a vivid world of its own that works beautifully with an espionage sensibility that stops just short of being self-mocking. It's maybe ironic without descending into cheesy.
This short and sweet game is still a total winner. If you haven't yet checked it out, you definitely should. For both play and aesthetics alike it remains our number one choice among the best games for PC in the free category.
The game has only a couple levels. Experienced gamers will likely be able to play through in about 20 minutes. Personally, after the third bird, I was stuck for a while myself, but that's just me. The whole thing has a mission orientation and the first level is almost a tutorial for the second more elaborate level. The learning process is nicely integrated into the first level. It comes in a zip file and needs no installation. It requires about 20MB of disk space.
None of that though really gives you a sense of what's so great and fun about this game. It is experience-based and beautifully realized. Though technically a first-person game that description is misleading. This one kind of busts open a genre all of its own: bossa nova noir!
It does have a story, but delightfully not one of the color-in-the-lines type stories that are so common in today's gaming world. Like a great avant garde film, the story emerges impressionistically and is subject to a whole bunch of interpretation.
Right from the start you're thrust into a kind of Euro-spy scene as you find yourself wandering amid elegantly dressed blockheads (really, you have to see it, to understand) all making merry at some black tie cocktail party spread out over a series of terraces with spectacular views of a lake and surrounding mountains. A smooth bossa nova sound track follows you among the crowd. You're already on your first mission the moment you're out of the elevator.
This first level, really more a test run, is rapidly completed. Then you're coming off a second elevator and things are a little more elaborate and complicated this time, as you have to find your way through back corridors and across catwalks on an ominous and stormy night.
There's little to dislike about this exquisitely put together game, but I do have one complaint: I could have done just fine in the absence of the clue cards. Personally, I entirely ignored them and figured out the missions just through investigation and exploration. That was way more fun. The cards weren't needed and I would have preferred not having them as a distraction in the corner of the screen. At the very least they should be optional. It is just a minor complaint, though.
The aesthetics of this game are almost as much fun as the play. Boldly foregoing the usual polygon realism the game conjures up a vivid world of its own that works beautifully with an espionage sensibility that stops just short of being self-mocking. It's maybe ironic without descending into cheesy.
This short and sweet game is still a total winner. If you haven't yet checked it out, you definitely should. For both play and aesthetics alike it remains our number one choice among the best games for PC in the free category.
About the Author:
If you need the news on the top pay games for PC, you need to check out Mickey Jhonny's picks of the best games for PC. Those keen on the joys of emersive, parallel worlds will love his piece over at Pretty Much Dead Already on the phenomenon of the Walking Dead Fanfiction .
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