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.
So, what's so great and fun about this game? To begin it's richly experience-based and has a gorgeous aesthetic. Technically it is certainly a first-person game, but that description leaves too much unexplained. You'd almost have to say that this game verges on creating its own genre -- or at least sub-genre. You might call it 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 a test run, is quickly completed. The second level seems to take you behind the scenes. Once more you are delivered by elevator. This time you emerge in a scenario that is more elaborate and complicated. On this second level, your missions take you through a series of back corridors and over a number of exterior catwalks during an ominous and stormy night.
Incidentally, one of my few complaints about this game is that I could have done without the clue cards. They at least should have been optional. On the first level I ignored the protruding card corner and simply wandered around the party. Eventually I stumbled upon the briefcase necessary to complete the mission. That was way more fun.
The aesthetics of this game are beautiful and the play is engaging. I really appreciated the creator's wise choice to not resort to the standard polygon realism so rampant in the gaming world today. Instead, the choice to conjure up a vivid and original world is far more beautiful and satisfying than would have been the same challenges put into the usual boring "realism." The espionage sensibility evokes a sense of playful self-mocking that doesn't slip over into cloying irony.
This game is delightful in both it brevity and creativity. It's a real treat that is still our number one choice among free games for the list of best games for PC .
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.
So, what's so great and fun about this game? To begin it's richly experience-based and has a gorgeous aesthetic. Technically it is certainly a first-person game, but that description leaves too much unexplained. You'd almost have to say that this game verges on creating its own genre -- or at least sub-genre. You might call it 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 a test run, is quickly completed. The second level seems to take you behind the scenes. Once more you are delivered by elevator. This time you emerge in a scenario that is more elaborate and complicated. On this second level, your missions take you through a series of back corridors and over a number of exterior catwalks during an ominous and stormy night.
Incidentally, one of my few complaints about this game is that I could have done without the clue cards. They at least should have been optional. On the first level I ignored the protruding card corner and simply wandered around the party. Eventually I stumbled upon the briefcase necessary to complete the mission. That was way more fun.
The aesthetics of this game are beautiful and the play is engaging. I really appreciated the creator's wise choice to not resort to the standard polygon realism so rampant in the gaming world today. Instead, the choice to conjure up a vivid and original world is far more beautiful and satisfying than would have been the same challenges put into the usual boring "realism." The espionage sensibility evokes a sense of playful self-mocking that doesn't slip over into cloying irony.
This game is delightful in both it brevity and creativity. It's a real treat that is still our number one choice among free games for the list of best games for PC .
About the Author:
To get the scoop on the best pay games for PC, you have 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 article over at Pretty Much Dead Already on the phenomenon of the Walking Dead Fanfiction .
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