Kenneth Ellis

Do you remember a time when all you needed from a game was a guy, some weapons, and distinct need to to kill everything that wasn’t you, in a world that scrolled in only one direction? Yes, it was fun, and the last time you felt such escapist fun was probably years ago. I felt it 5 minutes ago.

Raider: Episode 1 is the tale of  Arkus Zei, a raptor like alien space pirate who, along with his trusty plasma blaster and sweet power sword, plunges into the bowels of an long-lost and mysterious ghost ship to plunder whatever secrets and treasures it may be hiding. And guess what? Its hiding some bomb-ass treasure, and its not called a ghost ship ‘cuz its pale, if you catch my drift. Oh yeah, and its free! It’s a flash game people!

If you’ve been hankering for some side-scroller search-and-destroy action, then I would say look no further. This game is very reminiscent of old-school style Mega Man with some Metroid sprinkled in for good measure. The graphical style and ambient music gives the game a sense of familiarity, but it becomes quickly apparent that you have not. Now, while this game’s movement and attack systems are very basic (move, jump, attack, and open) this does not mean that you’re going to stroll through this game like Uncle Pennybags passing GO. No, it’s more like he found himself on Boardwalk and the Ritz happens to have just opened up. The true genius is that the difficulty of the game lies in its simplicity. It feels like you could jump that gap of spikes so easily, you could trip over it. And you will, right into the spikes. But don’t let that drive you away from the game. It’s that sense of challenge and accomplishment that keeps you in the world of this game. not to mention the cheeky dialogue of the game. Arkus may look like your average stone-jawed, no-nonsense dinosaur, space-pirate type, but he has some good one-liners and sarcastic quips for the information screens that litter the ship.

The design of the game is very nice as well. The music can be muted, the controls changed to suit your personal preferences, and scenes can be skipped at your leisure. There are even three levels of difficulty! Intermediate and Expert for your average gamer, and Beginner for the crybaby types out there. The only thing I found I didn’t care for in the game was the jump mechanic, due to it having a kind of unnatural feel to it. But that may just be me.

If you would like to try out this wonder of a game, made by Pseudolonewolf of Kongregate, for yourself then, please by all means, jump in!

ADVENTURE BEGINS HERE

(Source: www.kongregate.com)