Posts tagged free
Aug 2nd
I’m sure anyone who has used Firefox 2 remembers Fasterfox, an addon that increased your connection speed to servers on the net. However, the addon creator still has not updated the addon to work with Firefox 3. Someone designed a modified version of Fasterfox to work with Firefox 3 however, so Fasterfox is back for the masses. If you are worried there is a virus in the addon, you can view the virus scan results. The addon is completely unchanged other than being compatible with the greatest version of Firefox yet, and here is a download link for it:
Update: I modified the file to work with version 3.6.* of Firefox.
To install the addon, just drap the xpi file (the only file) onto any part of the Firefox window, then you will see the normal addon installation steps.
Jul 28th
Process Library has long been a popular website to check on what processes are doing on your computer. The creators of Process Library have made it easier than ever to figure out which processes are doing. ProcessQuickLink adds a button next to each process in Windows Task Manager that, once clicked, take you to the process’ profile page on Process Library. Here is a feature list taken from ProcessLibrary.com:
You can download ProcessQuickLink from The Pxl Lab, and there is a mirror from the offical site also.
Jul 9th
Looking for an RPG that skips over the whole “talking with NPC’s” and “following a deep plot” and takes you straight into the combat part? If so, Warrior Epic is your new favorite game. An MMO designed to be played with up to 4 other people at a time doing quests and PvP matches, Warrior Epic promises to be the RPG that combat lovers will flock to. However, the game is currently in closed beta status, so you only have a mediocre chance of getting to play it before everyone else.
Lucky for you, I have 20 closed beta account keys, and I’m making it really easy to get them. All you have to do is:
- create an account on The Pxl Lab (this blog),
- create an account at the Warrior Epic site,
- then post a comment on this article with the name of your WE account.
That’s all there is to it! You can see a trailer for Warrior Epic below, otherwise hurry to get your free closed beta account!
Jul 5th
iSketch is simple: it’s basically MMOpictionary. After selecting a username, you log on. Unfortunately you cannot save usernames and see highscores as of yet. Every account is technically a guest. At first glance of the server list, they are all the same save the number. However, if you continue to browse, you can join certain rooms dedicated to books, animals, time periods, and various languages. iSketch’s variety of languages is English and French, but also has single rooms for Turkish, Dutch, Spanish, and many more! It also contains chat rooms user created that vary from cybering to casual chat.
The actual iSketch experience is good. The chat rooms are full at 10 users, and everybody takes a turn out of the 10 rounds to draw a word. The first person to guess it correctly wins 10 points ,the 2nd 9, and etc. Usually only about 3 or 4 of the people actually correctly guess the word, because the drawings are user made. No words are allowed in the picture obviously, but you can give hints with a handy hint button, or simply skip the word altogether if you are chosen as the artist. As a drawer, the more correct guesses of your word, the more points you receive. After 10 rounds, the winner will get his name rotating up in the sky with fireworks going off. No awards or ranks yet, just recognition within the channel.
Sometimes there are a lot of immature people that join the channels who spam it up and/or take their draw turn writing vulgar words, and since there is no registered user system, the effect of booting them does nothing. Overall though, iSketch is fun. It is a great way to waste your time on the internet, with no strings attached! A lot of games require multiple visits to maintain your score, or at least are very competitive (WoW, need I say more?). This simple game is very entertaining, at no cost, with no time determined commitment.
Jul 5th
One day some veteran game developers got together and asked, “Why doesn’t somebody make video games for something other than profit?” This question is the foundation for OneBigGame, a non-profit organization that describes themselves like this:
Our mission is to bring together some of the most famous game designers and major development studios to create a number of unique games, specifically developed for OneBigGame, with all the proceeds going to children’s charities around the world.
The known developers that are working with OneBigGame at the time of writing are: Charles Cecil (Revolution Software), Eric Zimmerman (Gamelab), Ernest Adams (International Hobo), Avalanche Studios, Relentless, Kuju and Freestyle. The first games being made for OBG are likely going to be flash games, but the founders of OBG hope that one day console games will be made too. If you are good at any game developing skill, you can send an email over to OBG and volunteer your services.
You’ll likely start seeing games with the OneBigGame logo on them in the latter half of 2008, so keep an eye out and make a contribution to world by playing video games.
Jul 4th
Adventure Quest is just one game from the game creation geniuses at Artix Entertainment. Other flash games the company has made, like Dragon Fable and MechQuest have roughly the same graphic styles and battle mechanics.
Digging into the fun of AQ is as easy as creating an account, starting the game in your web browser, and eventually upgrading your account to Guardian status for a one-time $15 fee. Once you’ve loaded up the game, you’ll get a request to look at an advertisement and then get stuff from a magical chest (generally 200 gold). From there, you can go on to level your character doing quests, killing 700+ monsters, etc. Some of the classes you can be are: Fighter, Wizard, Ninja, Vampire Slayer, Rogue, Knight, Mage, Paladin, or a Dragonslayer.
One reason to keep playing Adventure Quest during your lunch break is that the game is updated every week with new content, such as new quests, areas, items, and armor. Here are some in-game screenshots for your viewing pleasure:
So if you are looking for a fun game to play in your spare time, check out Adventure Quest, the online flash RPG with loads of lands to explore and monsters to kill.
Jun 20th
To celebrate their latest patch to the amazing game Team Fortress 2, Valve is allowing anybody with a Steam account to download the game for free and use it for the weekend. After the weekend (June 20-22, 2008) you can no longer play the game for free unfortunately. The new patch adds 3 new unlockable weapons for the Pyro class. There’s a shotgun replacement called the Flare Gun, which is basically just what it sounds like. It shoots off a flare to allow you to ignite your enemies at long range, but takes a very careful aim to get it right. It also adds a new flamethrower into the mix, called The Backburner. It removes the Compression Blast ability, but the Backburner always has critical hits when burning an enemy from behind, as well as adding 50 points of health to the Pyro wielding it. The final unlockable is a new axe, called the Axtinguisher. This weapon critical hits any enemy who is on fire, but does considerably less damage to those who remain in a state of not on fire.
The patch also adds 35 achievements for aspiring Pyros to unlock. One of my personal favorites, is called BarbeQueQ. You obtain it by causing a dominated player to leave the server. Other fun achievements such as Freezer Burn (provide enemies with freezecam shots of each of your taunts), make it worth your while to try for the achievements. There are also two new maps added, A capture point map called “Fastlane”, and a Capture the flag map called “Turbine”. All of these factors make it an excellent weekend to play TF2, and if you aren’t already a player, to join the phenomenon.
Jun 9th
Drawball is not just some paint program. Drawball is a massive canvas where anybody can add their own piece of art. Every user is given a set ink amount, and once it’s gone, it’s gone. Artists can choose any color they like, zoom into a specific part of “the ball,” do a little puzzle to make sure that you are really a human, and draw away for the world to see. You’re probably wondering what’s possible in Drawball, so here are some pictures to awe and amaze you. You can click on a picture to enlarge it.
These are just a few examples of the great art that you can find at Drawball, so head over there and see if you can be the next great artist.
Jun 7th
Note: There is a newer version of DirectX available.
Microsoft released a new version of DirectX yesterday, the newest release since March 2008. DirectX, for those of you who don’t know, is what developers use to help power games on Windows-based computers, and DirectX 10.1, which is the latest version on the market, allows things in-game like motion blur, god rays, and other sweet effects. If you are currently having any problems with your games, upgrading to the latest version of DirectX is always a good way to try and fix it.
DirectX Runtime Download
June 2008 Only Download
Jun 6th
Today I decided to step away from energy drinks, and review a good ol’ fashioned zombie slaughtering flash game, just like grandma used to make. Anyways, I popped open Mozilla, and went straight to my second favorite source of flash games, Addicting Games. I looked at their front page and noticed Zombie Arena. That’s where the loathing began.
As a zombie hunting enthusiast, it was my duty to try this game out. First off, I wish to say that the name was very misleading. I assumed that I would be in control of a character in some sort of arena, but that dream was crushed as the player is in the middle of a forest. I decided to overlook this, and proceed with the game. You start off with the only weapon you’ll need, the Shotgun. For my first 300 kills, I used nothing but the shotgun. As the game proceeded, the difficulty barely wavered. In fact, the only time I got close being challenged, I unlocked the Minigun, which allowed me to singlehandedly stave off the entire zombie invasion without moving. Of course, the major fault with the Minigun is that it has no splash damage. Only the zombie who you’re pointing the gun directly at takes any damage. Now, moving more into game play, Zombie Arena is painfully easy. I lasted 11 minutes no sweat, and only died because I left my keyboard. The AI is also incredibly stupid. Even for a flash game, the zombies were getting stuck behind trees, making them easy targets for my ill-gotten shotgun.
All in all, I would say avoid this game. You get a far better zombie shoot-em-up in Endless Zombie Rampage or The Last Stand 2. Go play one of those instead.