In the gaming world everyone loves the shiny, new thing. But when that fascination gets in the way of appreciating enduring quality, it should be resisted. Even though several years past its release date, now, I still say that, in the category of free games, still the top of the line in the best games for PC remains this swell bossa nova noir game, as I like to call it, Gravity Bones. A delightful standalone game, it immerses the player in a kind of avant garde art piece, functioning as a first person player mode, where we find ourselves strolling through a world of spy-like intrigue.
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.
Fine and good, but why do I rave about it so, you might ask. The great fun in this game comes from both its experience-based playing method as well as its strikingly realized aesthetic world. Calling this a first-person game, while accurate, doesn't do justice to its originality. This one is kind of a new genre all of it own: bossa nova noir!
It wouldn't be accurate to deny it having a story, but the sense of story is much more sophisticated than the paint-by-numbers storytelling of so many popular games. As the various tasks are fulfilled a story does take shape, but what is exactly happening is always a bit up in the air. Indeed, in keeping with the distinctive visual style, it wouldn't be unfair to compare this game to a avant garde film: which is to say that the story is subject to considerable interpretation.
Soon as the game begins the player is immediately immersed a Euro-spy ambiance. Right off the mark you're wandering amid elegantly dressed guests at a black tie cocktail party, which is spread out over a series of terraces. The terraces look out over a Swiss style mountain encircled lake. Groovy bossa nova tones accompany you through the assembled partiers. The first mission is already underway.
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.
I have almost no criticisms of this elegant and compact great little game. The one thing I didn't like though was the clue cards, invariably telling you to head to a furnace room. I could have totally done without those. And, in fact, I did do without them. I simply ignored them and had a lot more fun finding my way about through exploratory trial and error. At most the cards should be optional, I think. My method was loads more fun.
A special word has to be said about the aesthetics of the game. They're almost worth the price of admission alone (even if the admission wasn't free!) I love that the creator passed over the standard polygon "realism" so run of the mill in today's games and chose instead a bold creative vision. It's both beautiful and fun. There's an element of self-mockery in the whole spy thing, but it never falls into cloying irony, which would have ruined the fun of it for me.
This short and sweet game is still a total winner. If you haven't yet checked it out, you definitely should. For both play and aesthetics alike it remains our number one choice among the best games for PC in the free category.
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.
Fine and good, but why do I rave about it so, you might ask. The great fun in this game comes from both its experience-based playing method as well as its strikingly realized aesthetic world. Calling this a first-person game, while accurate, doesn't do justice to its originality. This one is kind of a new genre all of it own: bossa nova noir!
It wouldn't be accurate to deny it having a story, but the sense of story is much more sophisticated than the paint-by-numbers storytelling of so many popular games. As the various tasks are fulfilled a story does take shape, but what is exactly happening is always a bit up in the air. Indeed, in keeping with the distinctive visual style, it wouldn't be unfair to compare this game to a avant garde film: which is to say that the story is subject to considerable interpretation.
Soon as the game begins the player is immediately immersed a Euro-spy ambiance. Right off the mark you're wandering amid elegantly dressed guests at a black tie cocktail party, which is spread out over a series of terraces. The terraces look out over a Swiss style mountain encircled lake. Groovy bossa nova tones accompany you through the assembled partiers. The first mission is already underway.
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.
I have almost no criticisms of this elegant and compact great little game. The one thing I didn't like though was the clue cards, invariably telling you to head to a furnace room. I could have totally done without those. And, in fact, I did do without them. I simply ignored them and had a lot more fun finding my way about through exploratory trial and error. At most the cards should be optional, I think. My method was loads more fun.
A special word has to be said about the aesthetics of the game. They're almost worth the price of admission alone (even if the admission wasn't free!) I love that the creator passed over the standard polygon "realism" so run of the mill in today's games and chose instead a bold creative vision. It's both beautiful and fun. There's an element of self-mockery in the whole spy thing, but it never falls into cloying irony, which would have ruined the fun of it for me.
This short and sweet game is still a total winner. If you haven't yet checked it out, you definitely should. For both play and aesthetics alike it remains our number one choice among the best games for PC in the free category.
About the Author:
If you need the news on the top pay games for PC, you need to check out Mickey Jhonny's picks of the best games for PC. Those interested in the joys of emersive, parallel experiences will love his article over at Pretty Much Dead Already on the phenomenon of the Walking Dead Fanfiction .
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