Galcon is a Mac game based loosely on Galactic Conquest, and is an exciting and challenging a play as any. Send your swarm of spaceships to other planets and conquer them. A risk game without countries but entire planets instead. How much fun is that to control many other orbs in the universe? The king of the galaxy!

The play is to send spaceships from your green (looks a lot like earth) planet to the other orbs (red, your enemies and gray, neutral planets) to conquer and take over outer space. To send your ships out left click on your planet and then right click on the planet you want to attack or drag and drop the cursor. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. You must also deal with the attacks from your enemy planets. They can take over your planets as well.

A possible help could be from changing the percentage of your fleet you are sending out to attack. This can be done by the number keys or the mouse wheel. The % can be viewed on the lower right side of the screen. The % and which planet you attack is very important strategy to acquire in order to win this game. Another good help to use is re-directing your swarm of ships when you need to have them go to another location. It may be going the wrong way for the most effective attack, and to re-route, you click on the fleet and then click where you want to change their course.

Another interesting move is the multi attacks. To activate an attack from multiple planets you drag a box around the orbs to select, then right click on the planet you want to send the fleet. Also you can reinforce your own planets by sending a fleet there. Since you cannot see how large a fleet your enemy (red) has, you need to try to take over the larger planets first, because they have a higher production level than the little planets.

The game allows for single player and multi player modes. The Classic play is you against the computer. The Beast is with you controlling only 2 planets, and in the Vacuum your goal is to get all the neutral planets before your time runs out. A different play is the 3-Way where it is a 3 player game, and one player will pick sides for a while, usually against the strongest planets. The difficulty comes in when this player attacks you when he gets a chance. The Stealth play is when you cannot see each other's ships until it is too late and you are captured. If all these plays are not exciting enough for you, try the Net which will bring a whole new level of action from the players online.

Galcon is such an exciting and action-packed, fast-paced play, not just from the actual game but also you get the same level of feeling with the great graphics (although simple orbs and triangular spaceships) deep, astro colors and the appropriate sound effects. What more can you ask for in a game? The smart play and intense strategy combined with your quick and nimble moves, that’s what! It’s easy to learn through the step-by-step tutorial and each game is so fast you automatically must play more so you can conquer the galaxy and rule the universe in this ultimate arcade, space strategy game.

Features of Galcon:
-Single or Multi Players
-Different Types of Play
-Action and Excitement
-Attack Online Players

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

A graphically beautiful Mac game The Great Tree is different from the usual arcade play. If you can say a game is elegant, this is the one, even the creepy bugs have an air about them.

This is a story about the Great Tree that is the source of strength and magic for a group of fairies. The tree must be supplied pollen from the Smees, who collect the yellow substance inadvertently on their legs, nesting in the Great Tree. For some dark reason the colony of Smees have been decreasing and the tree has not been supplied with sufficient pollen causing havoc in the fairy world. This scare caused the fairies to split into 2 clans. The Wren who grew sapling from the tree and survived, and the Ixies who went looking for magic and found dark forces that turned them into horrific, tormented creatures full of hate towards the Wren. The only person who can help the Wren survive is one of their 1000 year old child – you. Your job is to collect pollen floating through the air and take it back to the transient star in the middle of the screen, which in turn, will take it to the Great Tree.

The play is simple. You fly around collecting a string of pollen and get it back to the shining orb without encountering any of the flying insects. If you should run into the insects all your pollen will be scattered, and you will have to start all over again collecting the specks. The longer the string of pollen the more points you will garner, and eventually you will be able to purchase powers like health, strength, agility and magic. In addition to all that there are power-ups like the deep freeze where it will freeze all the flying insects giving you time to collect, and the extra that will attract all the pollen to you. In addition to the insects, frogs, Venus flytrap, and other obstacles you need to free the Smees from their bubble prison.

This game is quite fun to play, easy to pick up and entertaining for everyone. It wasn’t frantic but you must work at collecting all the pollen, avoid the flying bugs and free the Smees. The best part of The Great Tree is the extraordinarily gorgeous artwork.

Features of The Great Tree:
-Save the Wrens from the Ixies
-10 Environments
-Insects and Creatures
-Power-Ups

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Bud Redhead is an action-packed, side scrolling fun platform Mac game for all ages. Its story begins with Bud and Rachel strolling through a park, and a green creature appears through a light and kidnaps poor Rachel. Bud could only grab part of the creature’s arm before the two disappear through another light. Bud is then approached by 2 grey aliens who explain to him that the green monster is Feyatta, and they, from the Cosmic Federation, are chasing him for galactic evil deeds. The electronic piece Bud grabbed from Feyatta will prevent the creature from escaping to his space ship and leaving for the unknown. They could track Feyatta, but the 2 grey men cannot chase the criminal on earth due to galaxy restrictions in interfering with earthlings. It is up to Bud to help Rachel get back and put away this desperate galactic criminal.

Bud’s adventure will take him to 4 different locations and 4 different time periods. Music also changes in each location. The places vary from a forest over 8000 years ago to a spaceship orbiting Saturn way into the future with Medieval Castles and Ancient Egypt in between.

The play is easy to pick up using the arrow keys and jumping with the control button. There are helps in forms of monitors along the way. You can stop and view them or you can ignore them. There are thousands of coins (which you need to exit the portals), jewels and fruit to get for your score. This is your basic run and jump game where you will find secret areas in each land, moving platforms, many tiered trees, levers, ropes and the dreaded but fun slippery floors.

Bud Redhead is an awesome play in the style of the Mario games. The artwork and graphics were great, and some of it reminded me of Japanese anime. The backgrounds were drawn in detail and rich colors. The ending is a big surprise. So if you are looking for an excellent family fun, try Bud Redhead and venture out into the timeless unknown.

Features of Bud Redhead:
-20 Levels of Adventure and Fun
-5 Levels per Different Worlds
-Thousands of Coins, Jewels, and Fruit
-Secret Areas
-Big Boss Levels

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

Jump into the big blue ocean and swim your way to the top of the food chain in the Mac game Feeding Frenzy. Andy the angel fish must eat smaller sized fish in order to grow and reach the top of the fish kingdom. When you are small you are eaten by the larger fish so it’s imperative for you to quickly work and eat as much as possible and grow larger while keeping away from the bigger predators.

There are 2 modes of play in Feeding Frenzy: New Game and Time Attack. New Game is easier way to the top, however has limited lives. Time Attack is more difficult with unlimited lives, but it is timed. You use the mouse to guide Andy through the blue waters of the sea. By using the left click you can speed the feeding action faster using the Fish Dash attack, but you must beware of the larger fish or Andy will get eaten very quickly. The bubble above Andy’s head will let you know when you are large enough to eat bigger fish. When going on to the next level, there are interesting and educational facts about the sea. You are so into the game, you have to scan these facts quickly so you can get to the next level faster.

The bonus stage allows Andy to eat all minnows before time runs out for points. The Frenzy Meter will fill up for double points. The starfish do not help him grow but will give you points. Watch out for the Lion Fish, it can chase Andy down. Pearl will give you extra points also, but the clam can clamp down on him for lunch. Eating a school of fish will garner you 500 points.

Although Feeding Frenzy is a very simple Mac game, it is darn fun. When you have a few moments to spare, play this game just for enjoyment. You only have to think when you have to avoid the big fish. I was so into this game I didn’t check out the screen savers. This game is fun and addictive for everyone.

Features of Feeding Frenzy:
-Eat to the Top of the Food Chain
-Many Levels
-Sea Life
-Power-ups
-Screen Savers

You may also like:
Tasty Planet

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

If you like solitaire, cowboys and Indians, and funny cartoons, you’ll like Mac card game Gunslinger Solitaire. The cursor is a gun and your click shoots the weapon. Bang!

The object is to clear the screen of all the cards by shooting a card 1 lower or 1 higher than the card below. If the deck card faced up is a 4, then you look for a 3 or a 5 card on the game board. If you do not have either card, then click or shoot the deck faced down to deal another card. Making multiple matches will give you more points. Some of the cards will have bonus games like shoot the bags of money, aim your bow and shoot the target and more to break up your basic solitaire game. Some of the games will have you reloading your gun when you run out of bullets. Just click on the red reload button to continue on your game. These games will gain you more money to use at the country store for helps like the undo knife.

Gunslinger Solitaire is a basic solitaire game with just matching the card higher or lower, but in many instances if you plan your attack with some strategy, you can make the most matches. You’ll get stats on your cash, bonus, time and more. There are goldmines and treasures to find. The artwork is a cute, colorful cartoon and done well. The music is an easy strumming guitar appropriate for the western theme. If you like this type of card game (a similar one is Fairway Solitaire), you’ll enjoy this one with its sound effects of guns shooting and arrow sailing. This game is not difficult and makes for a relaxing time. Get your trigger finger ready and shoot away. I give it a 3 out of 5 for one great shootout.

Features of Gunslinger Solitaire:
-Western Solitaire
-Mini Action Shooter Games
-Colorful and Quirky Cartoon Characters

Similar game: Fairway Solitaire

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Fairy Treasure has it all—it is a breakout, action game, it has 120 levels, power-ups, magic, fairies and trolls. This Mac game is a good time no matter how you look at it.

Fairy treasure given to the good knights of Trollandia from the Fairy Queen upset the evil troll Dronk who raided the villages plundering food and precious items from the homes. He became bolder and invaded the castle for the fairy treasure. Knights and magicians were sought to recapture the royal gems. This is where you come in and save the day. You travel along the Fairy River fighting hags, goblins and evil things. Your only assistance is from the river fairies.

The play is to move the bat at the bottom of the screen left and right hitting the stone up to walls, power-ups and extras in order to pass the level. If the ball should fall into the water you lose a life. By hitting the rock up to the bricks the level will be completed when all the bricks are gone. By hitting the bat’s right side will move the orb to the right and hitting the bat on the left will move it to the left.

There are many bonuses to garner in the meantime. The extra bat either left or right, extra bat, 3 balls, fast balls, slow balls, extra life, strong balls and fire balls are among the few of the extras you’ll need to complete a level. In addition, there are magic bottles: the blue one is magnetic, red one is wacky and fire is explosive. Mushroom spores makes the ball sticky and the brown mushrooms explode when hit.

On top of all those bonuses there are more good and bad extras. The magic scroll if you get 8 you can enter the bonus level. The chain ball can be unlocked by collecting 5 keys, and be sure to get all the gold coins because 100 will get you an extra life. Frogs can be good or bad so beware, and fairies can be good if you release them from their bubble.

If you can believe it, there are more extras to discover in this action-packed fun game. All these bonuses and the fairy theme remind me of the Mac game Pixie. However, the 2 games are completely different, but both are fun to play. I enjoy playing this breakout arcade game with its flying bat breaking the brick walls. Moving the bat back and forth is reminiscent of the old time game Pong.  The graphics are good, but I can’t remember the sound effects or music due to the engrossing play of Fairy Treasure.

-Features of Fairy Treasure:
-Fairy Themed Breakout
-120 Levels
-Power-ups and Bonuses
-Bonus Levels

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Phelios the maker of Pixie, Doulber Gold, Kaijin and many more  Mac games made Abracadabra a few years ago. We are reviewing this simple but popular game for all those who may have missed it the first time around.

Abracadabra is an action packed arcade platform puzzle game. You take the little wizard through a magical trip finding gold, potions, keys and evil creatures. The wizard with his enchanted wand uses it to make or break bricks and can help save his life. You do not want to see him die. You use the arrow keys to direct him through all the mazes with many obstacles to prevent him from proceeding to the next level. Find the key and exit through the door. The space bar will let you use his wand, and use the arrows with the wand to direct the appropriate action to the right object or creature.

It takes a little practice for non-gamers to get used to the key movements but can grasp the play very quickly just by doing. It is a great starter game for all who are new to Mac games or video games, because the tutorials (in many languages) will take you step by step through the play. However, the higher levels are quite challenging and entertaining enough for even the seasoned gamers.

This game is reminiscent of the very first 2D Mario games, and you know they are always entertaining to revisit and play again. Abracadabra is just a fun play when you do not want to think too hard. I say too hard because there are some mazes you have to strategize to exit the platform. An added bonus is the easygoing jazzy music and colorful scenes to enhance your mood to play. So meet the spellbinding challenge with Abracadabra and spend some time playing this old time Mac game.

Features of Abracadabra:
-115 Levels
-Fun Arcade, Action Puzzles
-Wizards and Mystical Creatures
-Tutorials in Many Languages

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Peggle Nights is the second installment in the Peggle series, after the original Peggle Deluxe. Although not much has changed, the developers of Peggle have definitely done something right. This game is awesome and as much as it is luck, it takes a good amount of skill to complete this game. Peggle is at heart, a pachinko game but revolutionizes the genre. Instead of dropping the ball into the game, you shoot at your target and let the ball control the rest.

The goal of Peggle is to remove all the orange dots on the board. Once a pinball hits the peg, it disappears during the next turn. Once you hit the last orange peg (there is a cool Matrix-style bullet time) wherever the ball falls in the bonus, adds to your total. You can only complete the level if you get rid of all the orange before you run out of pinballs.

There are other colored pegs as well in Peggle. Green pegs have special powers, depending on who your character is. In the beginning, you start with an unicorn that has a special bounce vision that tells you where your ball will go after hitting the first peg. The next stage is a gopher who shoots a second ball out when you hit the green. There are about 10 different characters, each with his or her own special bonus. There are also purple pegs. These are not quite as interesting but give you a boost in points (when you hit a certain amount each shot, you get a free ball). Finally, there is a bumper at the bottom of the screen. If your ball falls into the middle hole, you get a free ball.

This was one of the best MacGames that I have ever played. It was both fun and interesting, as the gameplay was simple, yet absorbing. I could not stop playing once I had begun and even though it was easy at first, it got much more challenging as the game progressed. I would absolutely give Peggle Nights five out of five stars.

Rating: 5 out of 5 stars

There’s no stopping the little goo creature from eating everything in sight from the present day to the days when dinosaurs roamed the earth in Mac arcade game Tasty Planet: Back for Seconds. This is the sequel to the popular Tasty Planet that has been out for a number of years now, but is still enjoyed by casual gamers.

This time the scientist accidentally developed the grey goo. It can eat anything smaller than itself and should be contained and not fed. Unknowingly, his assistant felt sorry for the little guy because he looked hungry and gave him some candies. This is where the fun starts. The goo gobbles up all the colorful sweets and more.

The play is to move the blob towards the arrow with either your mouse or pad toward objects smaller than the goo before your time is up. Just stay away from bigger animals who may want to eat goo. You can play it untimed but what fun is that? In addition, stay away from the larger beings trying to gobble the goo. The top left corner will show you how big the goo is and how fast it is growing. When it is large enough, it will swallow the time machine the scientist is working on at the moment. This triggers the little guy into 6 different time periods: present day, late Cretaceous, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, Feudal Japan and into the far distant future.

Keep eating away until the level ends and it will cap your total in a nice, neat summary of how many different objects the goo has eaten. There are candies, mice, dinosaurs, butterflies, bushes, bones, cats, mummies, gladiators and flying saucers. There are side puzzles like eat 110 eggs or figure out the maze of bones to complete a level. These mini games are good for breaking up the constant eating machine even though it is similar.

The music accompanying the crunches, meows, yelps of creatures being eaten is lively and reminiscent of a jazzy, country honky-tonk guitar and 60ish cool movie music. I may be wrong but that’s my take on the tunes. They are great at first but if you keep playing Tasty Planet for a long time, it does repeat a lot. In that case, just turn the sound off. The play is addictive but like the music can get repetitive. The differences in the play are very little. The goo can span from small to large in one level. When the goo is tiny, the surroundings are huge, but when it grows into a large goo, the picture will zoom out to encompass the larger objects like the dinosaurs. The dinos at this scene look like ants. The other new aspect of the sequel is that you can play with another person. You each will get your own goo. Take a look at the videos: Trailer and Co-op play. Even though the play is very similar to the first game, Tasty Planet: Back for Seconds is still an pleasant, exciting arcade game for all casual gamers. The cartoon strip will keep moving the story along and is quite amusing. A great break from hidden object or sim plays. I give it a 3.5 out of 5.

Features of Tasty Planet: Back for Seconds:

-6 Time Periods

-Bonus Modes

-Fast Action Arcade Play

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Pop-A-Tronics is a pop 3 or more combos of bubbles and fill the goal meter to complete the level Mac game. It is fast-paced and exciting with all the peripheral movements and lively music.

There are 4 modes of play in this game: Marathon, Puzzle, Lock-Out and Self Destruct. This pop 3 bubbles game is similar to others like Agua Bubble, but the difference in this game is that you can click to pop or inhale to move the bubbles with your Energy Needle not shoot at them from a stationary spot. This needle can move around the game board and when you wish to make a 3 or more match, you hover over the bubbles and click. To inhale you must either right click or control click to take in the bubble (only one at a time) and place it in another spot by control clicking again. To the right of the bubbles is the Goal Meter that tells you when you have reached your level and below it is the Combo Flask when full of orange goo will provide you with a Purifier. This device changes color every second and when you click on it, it will destroy all the bubbles of the current color. A Charge Bomb will explode in 4 seconds and when you continually click on it, it will give a more massive explosion. A Color Transmutational Device or CTD will hover and copy any bubbles near by to the same color and will create a huge combo explosion and garnering you a lot of points.

A block in this game is the locked bubbles created when you click on bubbles that cannot be matched. It will then change that bubble to a locked one. Also if you see a bubble shaking and quivering, it is ready to change into a locked one so you must try to use it in a match as soon as possible.

The Puzzle mode begins with a full screen of bubbles, and you must pop 3 or more bubbles of the same color until the board is cleared. In this mode the inhaler is inactive. In the Lock Out mode you must quickly match all the bubbles before they are locked out slowly from the bottom. The Self Destruct mode you can utilize only the inhaler. Each of the different modes is fun in its own way and formidable to complete.

All the modes have something of interest to the player and can be very challenging at times. With some practice and strategy, you should be able to play this game easily. I found this game difficult but still enjoyable. The funny squeaks and pops enforced the game play and made the game pleasurable. So if you like match games and want a different twist to the game, try Pop-A-Tronics, and pop yourself to bubble land and have some fun.

Features of Pop-A-Tronics:
-Power-Ups
-4 Modes of Play
-Great Sound Effects and Music

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

The goal is to whack as many green zombies as you can and garner as many points as possible. However, if you should whack the living lady, the cemetery man (both with skin tones of the living) and the normal brown moles, you’ll lose points. You can see that some of the moles have glowing zombie eyes and you will need to whack them. Power ups will gain you weapons for extra points and time. The sound effects are realistic so you will know you got the pistol versus the shotgun bonus. Grab the grenade and click on it at the lower left corner to activate and destroy all the zombies in one go.

You know you loved whacking the moles with the hammer. You got out your frustrations and stress out by merely hitting those dusty brown creatures on the head. Now you do not have to go to the arcade (if they still have them) to release your irritations and oppressed feelings. You can whack zombies (the new moles) to get the same relief and fun out of slamming the undead. The cartoon characters are just scary enough to make the zombies different from the living. There’s no fear factor involved in this game even with the eerie music (it’s not overwhelming and you can shut if off). I suggest you keep the sound effects on so you know by hearing the gun and explosions what you have or even the agonizing yell from the living people you accidentally whack. The snowmen will freeze all so you can whack them good if they are zombies. Get the guns and grenades for extra time and higher scores. Keep in mind that the points you earn vary based on which weapons you've used!

Whack the Dead is nothing new but rather, a different digital twist on the classic game yet updated and loads of fun. Every now and then you need to really unwind with a minimal thinking game so you can clear your mind and any annoyances you may be encountering at the moment. So, whack away, take a break from problem solving, and enjoy the fun in this action arcade game full of surprises in time for your Halloween treats. Post your high scores on Twitter and Facebook to compete against your friends and family.

It’s free on your Mac but Whack the Dead is only 99 cents for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch at the App Store. This spooky game is brought to you by Indie developer Phelios with art and design by DoomCube.

Features of Whack the Dead:
-Fast, Fun Zombie Arcade Game
-Many Powerups
-Great Artwork, Music and Sound Effects

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

The magical forest of Phantasia is under siege by the evil wizard who captured and encapsulated the peaceful nation of dwarves in bubbles in his ominous towers in his dark and dingy castle. Alas, one, lone dwarf managed to escape and find you to assist him in rescuing his fellow citizens. It is up to you to save the lives of these wonderful dwarves and bring them back to the land of Phantasia.

If you should accept the challenge, you will be shooting balls up to where the dwarves are encased. You shoot at 2 or more of the like color balls to pop the bubbles, release the dwarves and catch the gold and silver coins. The coins will boost your score. The dwarf who found and convinced you to help him will provide you with bubbles on the lower left of the screen. You will see the colors of the balls coming down the conveyor belt so you can strategize your next move. The castle is large and there are many levels to conquer in this game.

The power-ups are the bombs (will destroy the balls around the area you shoot), fireballs will shoot straight up and rid all the balls in its path, one color ball (changes color of one ball), change balls, one row destroyer. In addition to the bonuses, there are stone balls to block your successful rescue. Of course, the bubbles on the game board are continuously descending to prevent you from winning. This action is similar to the Mac game Abundante!

This arcade game is a fun way to spend a few hours in the afternoon with the kids or alone. Keep an eye out for the funny characters popping in and out of the top and bottom of the screen.  The play is easy enough for children and casual gamers, and the story line is amusing. I think the only thing that bothered me was the pleading of the dwarves in the bubble. You feel a little guilty when you do not save them fast enough because you are trying to figure out the best possible way to release the most balls. So shoot away and save the nation of dwarves in the land of Phantasia.

Features of Phantasia:
-Valuable Coins
-Bonuses
-30 Unique Levels
-Hall of Fame

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Mystic Emporium is a shout out to the Harry Potter theme of witches, wizards, and spells. This fun and crazy sim play incorporates your love of witchcraft, wizardry, magic potions, ancient artifacts, and unusual ingredients.

Lilly is a witch who worked many years at the Grand Magus Library saving all her earnings so she can start her own magic shop. She finds the perfect store on Wizard Row Market, a lane of magic shops similar to Harry’s Diagon Alley. Lilly will need to work hard to make monthly payments on her new shop in order to stay in business.

Yes, this is your usual sim play where you must keep your clients happy by quickly working your magic to create the requested potion or object. Your goal is to earn enough money before the end of each day. The time is displayed through the posted clock. Initially your clients will come in slowly, you click on your first customer to find which potion they desire. The answer is revealed in the bubble next to the witch, ogre, vampire or wizard. Click on the recipe book (upper right corner), click on the cauldron and it will display the needed ingredients. You click on the ingredients (Lilly can only carry 2 at a time, even a witch has 2 hands), click once again on the cauldron to place the contents and then click on the fire to start the spell. When the potion is done, click on it, click on the customer to deliver, and finally click on the money to receive the payment for your hard work. As you know by now, this simple play gets more difficult as the levels increase. You must be up to the challenge of meeting your goals and keeping your unusual guests happy by quickly and smartly developing the magic potions.

As in the other sim Mac games, you will get many helps, some are strange and odd but all are beneficial. A creature is there to dispose any unwanted items. The magic shop will buy you newer and faster cauldrons, faster shoes and much more. In addition, there are match side games to enjoy in between your main plays. You click 4 or more grouping of like tiles to destroy. Completing the match game successfully will win you a magical charm.

Mystic Emporium is like many sim plays such as Ice Cream Craze and Cooking Dash, but it has its own magical charm and witchy appeal especially for Harry Potter fans. The play is easy to learn, the artwork bright and colorful, and the game is enjoyable. Wave your magic wand and spin your necromancy for the good of the shop and keep your clientele happy or they’ll turn you into a toad. Ribbit.

Features of Mystic Emporium:
-Own a Magic Shop
-30 Magic Items
-Earn Trophies and Magic Charms

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Take a blast from the past with Titan Attack, as Space Invaders returns revamped and more intense than ever. Instead of popping in quarters to a machine, now gamers can easily start up a crusade against the alien onslaught in the comfort of their own computers. The classic scrolling across the bottom of the screen shooter has the same feel as the classic Space Invaders but with an arsenal of new twists that has gamers gunning for more.

In Titan Attacks the fate of the world lies in the hands of a lonely tank left running back and forth trying hard to repel an alien barrage. That tank has slow left to right movement, a single laser beam, and 2 bars of health. Doesn't seem like a lot as the alien enemy seems to evolve and expand at every chance it gets. The solution to the dilemma: Upgradeable tank with the money from killing aliens. Simple yet an effective way to get me to play the game more and more. Each level I finish I see how much money I need for more shields, bombs, cannons, or lasers, or a faster moving tank. It's addicting. On top of the weapons shop a high score bulletin to top off a meticulously played game seals the deal for gamers to fight for the human race.

Titan Attack has a look that is new and sleek but a feel that is comfortable and recognizable. Game play-wise a score multiplier adds to the need to continue playing the game because it only increases if the tank does not take damage and kills aliens. As more aliens drop, reverse movement, and get a little faster someone is going to have to take the call for humanity. Titan Attack gets a 4.5 out of 5 because it makes me answer that call whenever I don't want to do anything else in the world but recall Space Invaders and destroy that last quickly flying alien.

Features of Titan Attack:
-100 levels of Frantic Shooter Action
-Upgrade with Cannons, Rockets and Lasers
-5 Giant Boss Motherships
-Prizes

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars

While watching the Boston College Eagles win their first football game of the season, it reminded me that I need to write a review for Phelios’ action packed arcade game Kaijin. There are 3 modes to play: Way of the Eagle (see the connection?), Way of the Tiger (not that Tiger) and Way of the Dragon. Kaijin is a homage to Galaga where aliens are not in short demand as they come at you in rapid succession.

The year is 2546 on Planet Terria. The Terrians survived on their own wits growing their own foods not genetically modified. All others destroyed their central neuron system by eating bad flesh. These beings went to a dark place and turned into mutant insects. These demented beings are planning to take over Terria. Your job as the best Terrian fighter pilot must battle these evil forms and save the good people of Terria and their pure and happy way of life. Kaijin is your trusted ship. The Japanese connection is another salute to the Galaga link.

The way of the Eagle will allow your ship to go to every part of the screen. You are not limited to the bottom. The Way of Tiger is the classic play a la Galaga where the ship is at the bottom of the screen moving from back and forth. The way of the Dragon is full on action with 3 levels of craziness. Tiger and Dragon are locked for the demo version. It's like getting 3 games in one.

The enemy will come at your ship in wave patterns, and not only must you destroy them, you must be sure to get rid of the eggs laid by some of these creatures because if you do not, they will burst into more aliens. In addition, there are bosses that you need to contend with and you know how hard it is to annihilate them.

At the bottom of the screen you will see the shield guards. Every time you get hit by an alien, the gage will decrease, but every time you hit an enemy, it will increase. The more energy you get, the more firepower is available to you. There are bombs, shield recharges, extra points and more bonuses. Your weapons are based in the shield level and can include lasers, blasters, fireballs and more.

Just like in football, you are attacking and moving forward except in Kaijin it’s not that easy. There are so many aliens flying up and down, in circles, exploding into more mutants and never stopping. When you think you can catch your breath, more enemies come swooping down. Kaijin is an intense, solid arcade shooting Mac game for experienced gamers and gamers who are willing to practice and play until they are experienced. The scenery and is simple but you do not want to be distracted with background art when you are fighting these evil monsters. I was too busy to notice the sound effects, but I am sure it was fine because the whole experience was great. I give Kaijin a 4 out of 5 for an awesome Shump (shoot em up) play.

Features of Kaijin:
-20 Types of Mutants
-4 Worlds
-3 Modes
-146 Levels

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

How can you go wrong with a name like Pirate Poppers? Aaargh! With its pirate theme and music what else is left but a treasure map and riches? You need to piece together a map for the location of the legendary treasure of Isla Calabera.

There are 3 modes to play in this pirate game: Adventure, Puzzle, and Arcade. The Adventure mode has 77 levels of play. In the Puzzle mode you must clear the row of balls with only a limited number of cannons, so you must figure out exactly how and where you will place these balls on the rail. In the Arcade mode you get a number of lives before losing a level.

The play is to simply shoot cannon balls at groups of colorful balls rolling on a track towards a barrel. You must aim for like color balls and shoot while the chain of cannons continues to move forward. When the balls are blasted and disappear, the cannons on either side will come together and if they are the same color and are 3 or more, they may also explode and clear the game board.

There are a lot of power-ups in this game. Some of the extras will change the color of the balls to blasting a whole slew of cannons with an explosive one. With some of the other features, the balls will move backwards giving you extra time to figure out your strategy. There is a spyglass when you are able to shoot faster and more accurately. On top of all that there are many extras you can catch with your cannon. The many jewels and treasures will give you extra points and the skull medallions will increase the number of lives.

Pirate Poppers is very similar to Zuma, Sweetopia and Luxor where you shoot at orbs coming down a tube-like conveyor belt. This is an action packed arcade Mac game with pirate cannons, treasures (gold, silver and jewels) and much more. You’ll have fun just sitting back and shooting cannonballs out into the chains of multicolored spheres. This game takes some strategy and thinking, but on the most part it is just an enjoyable game to kick back and shoot.

Features of Pirate Poppers:
-Pirate Theme
-6 Power-ups
-Treasure
-77 Levels

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Have you ever wanted to go back in time to the 80’s and relive the retro games of that era? Well, now is your chance to play an exciting old time feel arcade game Varmintz. This game with its 2D scenes and colorful characters will take you back to that time where things were a lot more simplistic but still fun and exciting.

With that said, this game is no walk in the park. There are more obstacles and enemies blocking your Varmintz’ way. The goal is to get 5 of your cute critters across diverse environments to their den and safety. When you accomplish this feat, more worlds will unlock. Use the arrow keys to move each one from side to side and up and down avoiding crazed dogs, joggers, skateboarders, mean looking lumberjacks, crazy cowboys, mad ducks, people with shopping carts and more. To speed up the pace use your spacebar. Travel through different environments gathering golden eggz as you go along. Get large points and an extra life for every 50 eggz. This may sound easy but when you are faced with crossing a highway full of speeding trucks, cars and motorcycle, you have to be extremely careful. Other dangers are water, cliffs, and construction sites. Each level has its own obstacles and dangers to face with its own set of enemies. Helps you will find along the way are platforms where you can jump on to get to another place, potions to get you passed enemies and freeze them with another potion.

There are 4 major environments: Suburbia, Old West, Forest, and Highway. Within each colorful scene you’ll find quirky enemies and baddies attempting to stop you at every turn. Your 5 wards are Binki (clever, daring), Shady (sneaky, devious), Lulu (sweet, fast), Bean (shy, kind) and Rubin (happy, strong, burly). All with their own individual personalities and sounds. It’s purported that each one of the Varmintz represent the 5 developers.

Varmintz is a great game with colorful scenes, fun characters and a purpose to traversing through dangerous routes. The music is upbeat and happy. Get your fingers limbered and get the 5 critters back to their den safely. I give it a 3.5 out of 5 for one awesome retro game. Give it a try and save Binki, Shady, Lulu, Bean and Rubin.

Features of Varmintz:
-50 Exciting Levels
-Many Fun Obstacles and Enemies
-Amazing Environments

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Pixie is a new, exciting Mac game produced by independent game developers, Phelios, Inc. and EMV Software. It was created with the PTK Game Engine. Phelios is a popular maker of PC and Mac games such as Doulber Gold, Kaijin, Abracadabra and many more. A couple of EMV Software’s best selling games include Warblade and Deluxe PocMon. The two developers collaborated and created Pixie, an exceptional and varied game play with sophisticated graphics and animation by Paul Conway, music and sound effects by William Lamy at audiobank.fm.

The game begins with Pixie, the main character, spending her day playing,  flying in the magical forest and meadows not realizing that nightfall has quickly befallen her. Not only is it dark and scary, there are a lot of ominous looking creatures following her. In order for Pixie to escape this dark and dreary environment and return to her lovely home and friends, she must use her magical beam to surround the creepy crawlers and buzzing flying insects in the maze and create a beautiful garden filled with flowers, butterflies, leaves, mushrooms and colorful patterns, and in turn, destroy the night bugs. After filling 85% or more of the maze with Pixie’s magical powers using her rays (the direction of the beams can be changed by right clicking the mouse or by pressing the space bar) she moves on to the next level/maze.

In the process of killing off the creepy crawlers and frantic insects, she can collect gold coins and different magical powers. If enough gold coins are collected, they can be used in the magic shop to purchase different levels of power. The shop is available at every 5th level if she has 3 or more gold coins. Hitting the return key will reveal the contents of the purchases from the shop. There are some great items in the store such as Extra Life, Smart Bomb, Shot Speed, Freeze, Ghost, Shield and Health potion. It’s really advantageous if you have a lot of coins to spend on these worthwhile helps. They can extend and add to your play.

In addition to the shop powers, there are bonuses flying all around, both good and bad, to enhance or hinder Pixie’s power. These bonuses can be extremely powerful, such as the smart bombs which will destroy many bugs in it’s path and turn them into gold coins, but she must be wary of the red bombs which will destroy all the good patterns that Pixie has already covered. Another great bonus is the reverse filler. When Pixie aims her beam to cover a small area, this bonus will cover the larger area or the opposite, bigger space. A good bonus is the fast shot, but Pixie must watch out for the bad bonus the slow shot or speed. When Pixie is moving in slow motion, it is extremely frustrating to avoid the insects or maneuver her shots so don’t get caught in that bonus, because it is not a good thing.

Another way to cover the dark game board is to aim Pixie’s beam to divide exactly 50% of the space and by doing so, the entire board will fill with the beautiful flowers and good things in life. This is a fast and rewarding way to finish one level. Only if all the levels were like that, but if they were, then the game would not be as challenging and exciting as it is with the different shaped (rectangles, circles, irregulars, houses, faces, etc.) game boards and the many and varied evil villains both crawling and flying. The developers have balanced the frenetic speed of the play in each level. Some will be fast paced and the speed of other levels will be almost relaxing, but you always need to be wary of the insects.

Each level becomes more and more difficult to beat the ever increasing and faster bugs. Yuck. When Pixie begins to get a rhythm and is avoiding the deadly flying insects, an insignificant caterpillar will come along and destroy her, or she will get entangled in the deadly spider webs making it almost impossible to collect the gold coins, or a nasty bug will undo all of Pixie’s beautiful work. Eventually she reaches 2 boss levels. This is when the fun is exponentially increased to a whole new level. All the gamers out there will be pleasantly surprised or dismayed, but will quickly get into the swing of things by trying to figure out your strategy. You will have to use all your past gaming knowledge in order to destroy the bad guys. I won’t go into it any further so as not to ruin your fun, but you’ll know when you get there what I’m talking about.

Pixie will become a classic game like Mario with all the expertise needed to conquer all the evil arthropods created by the manic game developers who have put together one awesome game. Don’t let the cute and petite Pixie fool you. She can be very powerful and deadly with her magical aim. Casual gamers and children will be able to go far in this game, and by doing so, will develop more skills in order to reach Pixie’s home, and hardcore gamers will find the challenge and difficulty levels as well as a fun, reminiscent and exciting play.

*As of 4/09 there are new upgrades: new bosses, new bonuses (incl. a 100% fill bonus!), new effects, more gold coins.

Pixie Features:
100 levels
2 Boss levels
Gold coins
Potion Shop
Good and bad bonuses
Online high scorers
Great graphics, sounds effects and music
Upgrades are free

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Have you ever wondered where teddy bears come from? If you have, you’ll find out in this cute and fun sim time management game made for the entire family. It takes you to an unusual factory of moving parts to put together.

Sally is a kindhearted person managing an orphanage. She makes sure each of the children has a teddy bear to sleep with at night to keep them company. Her uncle’s factory makes the cuddly toys for her and when she needs more teddys, she calls him. This last time she called, she found out that her uncle went bankrupt and no longer owned the company. However, the man who now owns the business told Sally she can work in the factory and if there are any extra bears, she can keep them. Well, Sally rolled up her sleeves and set to work her skills on putting together the bears for the sake of the orphans.

The teddy bear parts come down a winding conveyor belt in any order and colors. You click on a bear part and then click on the other parts to make an entire teddy with a head, body, right arm, left arm, right leg and finally a left leg. I like to start with the body and click the head, arms and legs to finish, but you can style your bear any way you want. With the time clocking away, you have to work quickly and efficiently in this fast paced game and you cannot afford to wait for the parts you need. As the levels increase, different color parts come down the belt faster. You need to fill your tasks as outlined at the top right in order to reach a higher rank (rank at top left). The different levels will have different conveyor belt configurations. In addition special bear parts will come down the assembly line like the Elvis Bear and you will need to put it together for your Trophy Room.

You need to decide at the beginning of the game what speed best suits you from Easy (the conveyor belt will stop before it reaches the exit), Normal to Hard. There are 2 modes to play: Quest and Survival. The Quest follows the story of Sally and Survival has the conveyor belt continuously flowing down with parts to put together as quickly as possible before the parts reach the exit gate and the game will be over. In Quest you must please the kids at the bottom of the screen requesting different color teddy bears. Make them happy and your points will increase.

The great helps come in form of rainbow color parts that can be used on any color bear. The different levels have different shaped conveyor belts.

Teddy Factory is similar in play, format and appearance to Santa’s Super Friends. Except for the holiday themed parts for the toys, the game is almost identical with the parts of different toys traveling down the winding conveyor belt. If you are coordinated and fast, you will like the challenge in the Hard mode. If you are learning, young or want to relax, try the Easy or Normal mode in this fun and addictive game. Sometimes it’s nice to change it up a bit with a different game play. Try it out and help Sally and the orphans!

Features of Teddy Factory:
-Fun Match/Puzzle Arcade Game
-Colorful Artwork
-Easy to Learn

Rating: 3 out of 5 stars

Monster Town is under attack by evil monsters in Mac game Zak and Jack: Showdown at Monster Town. It is a colorful, fun shooter game full of action and speed. There are good monsters and bad monster in this comical play, and you must help Zak and Jack, two good monsters, defend their beloved Monster Town. The 2 of them are creative inventor types who can rig up shooting machines in order to beat down the massive invasion of the enemy.

The play is simple and straightforward with the crazy contraptions used to defend the town. Just click to shoot while you move Zak and Jack up and down on their invention. It’s not as easy as it sounds because the evil villains constantly at different positions keep coming at you until you shoot all the monsters. After each level the swarm of bad guys increases exponentially rising high and low.

In addition to this mega invasion there are the bosses who can cause much harm and havoc to the invention causing you to lose the level and restart. Don’t fret, keep at it and you’ll eventually beat the levels getting a high percentage of accuracy. This percentage is important to complete each level so don’t shoot willy-nilly at anything. You can always get good power-ups to assist your fight, but beware of the red ones. They are not helpful.

Zak and Jack: Showdown at Monster Town is an arcade, shooter Mac game with so much action you’ll need to take breaks after so many levels or you’ll get completely exhausted with finger cramps. You need to be able to think fast and act even faster in order to outsmart the countless invasion of evil monsters. Take the challenge and help Zak and Jack defend their Monster Town.

Features of Zak and Jack: Showdown at Monster Town
-5 Episodes
-Lots of Monsters and Bosses
-Power-ups

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars