You Should be Playing (January)

January 2011:

Since this is a new feature, I'll be recommending a lot of old favorites in addition to a new online game or two. This should show you a few classics you may have missed. Listing old games also gives me a buffer in case all the new games suck in a particular month - I'll just point out old ones.

As I want to avoid copyright and bandwidth issues, I won't be hosting any here. But I will provide links. If this still presents problems for game developers, I apologize in advance for giving them free publicity.

Boomshine (Casual - Puzzle)

It's not exactly high on action, but there's something almost therapeutic about exploding colored moving orbs to the sound of plinky, soothing music. This game was both casual and highly addictive when I played, prompting me to log about 20 or 30 hours. Oh, and rumor has it there's a sequel coming, but keep in mind the same sequel was announced two years ago, so...don't hold your breath.

Gemcraft: Chapter 0 (Involved - Tower Defense)

For the more action-inclined, this game might be a bit more up your alley.  It's your classic tower defense game with a few fun twists. It has a sequel, which is essentially the same exact game, but eh. And there's rumored to be a third part, but like the previous game, I haven't seen strong signs that it actually exists or ever will at the rate it's being made.

Arkandian Crusade (Involved - Turn-based RPG)

This game is role-playing dungeon-crawling at its best. Of course, a lot of people will read that and would try to avoid that like the plague. But for the select few, you just might be salivating. And if that doesn't excite you enough, here are three words that might entice you - randomly generated loot.

Oh, yes - I went there.