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Even though the puzzle games are not funny or silly like other flash games, they are also really demanded and played by users. And this is because they will put your mind to the test and will keep you busy for a much longer time than a simple game that is funny and silly and which ends in 5 minutes. There are many types of  games in this category, and some of the most famous ones are the match 3 puzzle games. The objective of this game is really simple: you have to use only the mouse to click on different object from the screen, swap their position and place them in such a way that 3 or more objects with the same color are placed together.

When this happens those objects will disappear and you will make points. The final objective is to make as many points as possible before time ends, and to complete all of the levels. There are so many games of this kind because there are so many things that you can match. For example you can match 3 gems, 3 colors, 3 animals, 3 coins, 3 creatures, 3 diamonds, 3 candies, 3 balloons and so on.

A site that offers a lot of free online match 3 puzzle games is http://www.freewebarcade.com/match-3-games.php . Now let’s take a random game from the list and discuss more about it. We’ll begin with the one called simply “Gems”. So the rules are simple: rotate gems to form groups of three or mare, make them disappear and get points. As you can see the gems have hexagonal shape. You will start with just 50 seconds left, but the time will grow when making points. To make points you must combine 3 or more gems with the same color. In the first level you will have just 4 color: white, blue, red and green.

In the right part of the screen you will see your score, the level you are in, your time left and also a gem of each color that will grow as you make points. To advance to the next level you will have to fill up the gems from each color. So just click on groups of 3 gems to rotate them. You will be able to rotate a group only if it will trigger points. If not, the move won’t be allowed. The big white arrow indicates the direction for the rotations you make, and you can change this direction by clicking on that arrow.

Sometimes when you combine three or more gems and they will disappear and will bring together other gems that may have the same color. So this way you can trigger cascade combinations of gems, and these will bring you even more points. In the second level you will receive a new color -  green. Good luck!  (the picture below is not from this game, but from one of the most famous “match 3” game, which is Bejeweled.

Let’s discuss about one more game from that site, and we’ll take the “Fun fun animals”. Even though the game is in Japanese, you will still be able to play it. Just click on the start button to begin. Your goal will be to swap adjacent animals and line up at least three of them of the same kind. Even though the animals will look quite funny, you will still be able to figure out which are looking the same. You will have to match enough animals of the same time to complete the level, before time runs out. But the time will be quite short, and the game can become quite annoying because you won’t even be able to complete the first level .

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And there are so many more games like this that are really silly and funny. But not all of them are like this, and you can also find on the internet a lot of serious games that require concentration and a little bit of intelligence. And these are the puzzle games. The controls for this games are very simple and usually you have to use only the mouse. You must click on different objects on the screen to trigger all sort of actions. But you won’t just have to randomly click on things, you will have to think first and see which is the best option.

There are many of them on the internet, and today we are going to discuss about some puzzle games where you have to make a square. Let’s begin with the game called “Classic Connect the dots”, that can be found on this site : http://www.superkids.com/aweb/tools/logic/dots/. Well even though the site is for kids games, this one can also be played by an adult because it can be quite tricky. Your goal in this game is to make more small squares than the computer.

You have to click on adjacent dots and connect them with a line. You will alternate turns with the computer, and your lines will be red, and the lines made by the computer will be blue. So just make one line at a time, until you spot three adjacent lines, and then all you have to do is make the forth one and complete the square. And after that you will get another turn. But be very careful where you place the lines! If there are 2 lines already, and you make the third one, the computer will spot this and it will complete the square instead of you. The game ends when all the board is filled with squares, and then you will see the score and find out who is the winner. After completing the board, just press the “reset” button to start a new game.

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Therefore you just copy them, then install them in your computer and then play them. But if you don’t want to spend any money for a game, or spend time installing it, then you can choose a free online flash game. These games are absolutely free and they don’t require any installation because you can play them directly from your internet browser. They have a simple graphic but they can be really fun to play and addictive. They have all sorts of topics and characters, and usually they are sorted on categories. Here are some of the most famous game categories: 3 D games, puzzle games, card games, racing games, shooting games, adventure games, sports games, kids games and many more.

Some of the games are really funny and silly, but others are more serious and require some concentration and intelligence to complete them. And these are the puzzle games. there are two types of them, the simple puzzle games ( that usually require just to use the mouse and click on the screen on different object to trigger all sorts of actions) and there are also the jigsaw puzzle games (that are just like a real jigsaw game).

Everyone knows the rules of those games…you have to combine the pieces together to make a whole image. And the rules are the same for the free online jigsaw puzzle games, and you have to drag and drop the pieces on the screen to make a whole image. But the online version is much easier, because usually the pieces will stick automatically with each other, if you just get the right piece close to the next one. So you won’t have to always try and see where it fits like in a real jigsaw game.  There are many games of this type on the internet, with all sorts of images to make. You can find two of them on the famous site miniclip.com.

And these games are: the “jigsaw – car” and the “jigsaw – ocean”. Their name says it all…in the first game you have to make the image of a car, and in the second one the image of an ocean view. The car is cool red formula one car, and the ocean view is a nice scenery with the ocean, some rocks and waves and also a lighthouse. Like we mentioned before, you have to click on a piece of the puzzle and drag it and drop it in the place where you think it fits.

It is easier to begin with the corners and edges, so you might start with them. Once you get a piece close to its place, it will automatically go there, and remain fixed. And you won’t be able to move it anymore, so you won’t need to bother about that piece. Both of the images are quite easy to make, and you will complete them in just a few minutes. After that you can make the puzzle again, or search for a new image to complete. Good luck!

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Mario was the mascot of the Nintendo console games for quite a long time, and he appeared in more than 200 video games. He appeared in many kinds of games. First in platform games, and then in racing games (such as the Mario Kart series), sports games (such as Mario Tennis or Mario Golf), role playing games (such as Paper Mario), and also puzzle or fighting games.  He is one of the most famous characters in the video games history, and the Mario series are the best selling video game series of all time, with sells of more than 210 million units.

There were many other things inspired by the Mario character, such as films, comics, TV shows and a line of merchandise. So today we are going to discuss about some free Super Mario games online, and we’ll begin with the first of these games, that was made many years ago, and that is definitely known by many people. Even though you don’t have an original Nintendo game console from the 90’s, you can still play the first Mario game, and you can find it on this site: http://www.nintendo8.com/toplist/more/.

Now let’s play the “Super Mario Bros.” original game. Here you won’t play with a joystick, and the joystick keys are replaced by keys from the keyboard. And these are: Enter – Start button, Control – Select button, X – A button  Z – B button and the arrow keys – the arrows from the joystick. You can play this game in 2 players also, the second player will have the character of Luigi, Mario’s brother. So in this game you will have to move forward across the levels  (forward means that you always have to go in the right side), avoid obstacles and enemies and make your way to the dragon from each level, and save the princess.

To kill an enemy simply jump on his head, or shoot him. But to shoot him you will first need  to eat a mushroom and a flower. When eating the mushroom, Mario will grow bigger. And when he is big and he eats a flower he will be able to shoot. But if an enemy hits you, you will go back to being just big, and then back to your initial dimension. And if you fall directly in air, when you start again you will be small again, with no ammunition. You can jump on most of the enemies to kill them, but not on the carnivore plants. You can kill them only by shooting them. Or you can simply wait for when they go down, and avoid them. There are so many more things to be said about this old but very cool game, but we’ll let you discover all of its secrets. Good luck!

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The subjects of the games are now very diversified. First of all there are the games for children, but with time people made a new category of games: the games that adults play when they are at work, just to have some fun and to relax. If you are a fan of sports, you can choose from many types of sport games such as: football, tennis, volley, if you like adventure games you have many to choose from, and if you like shooter games you can  shoot and kill many kinds of bad guys, celebrities, and even your own boss If you prefer races, you can make one with the computer or with your friends, and you can choose from different vehicles such as rally cars, trucks, motor bikes, boats and even ski jets. There are also dancing games, where you have to make the characters dance as good as possible or make them sing. To make the fun even bigger, the creators of the games included some very popular characters in the games, such as movie stars, singers or politicians. There are also games made especially for children, with funny characters such as monkeys, penguins or Santa Claus. And there are also games dedicated for special holidays such as Christmas, Halloween, Easter and Valentine’s Day.

You can play the Valentine’s Day games during this romantic holiday, but of course they are available on the internet the whole year, so you can play them whenever you want. If you go to Google home page, and you search for Valentine’s Day games, you will find many sites to choose from. Let’s pick this one: http://www.primarygames.com/holidays/valentines/games.htm

Here you will find 10 cool Valentine’s Day games to play. Let’s pick the first one, called Romeo. It is a fun and complex game, and it takes you to the country of Shakespeare for many cool adventures. It is similar to Mario Bros Games, and it’s very easy to play. You only have to use your arrow keys to move Romeo to the left, right or to make him jump. In the first act of the game, you will learn all the secrets and instructions of the game. Your goal is to help Romeo find his way through Shakespeare Country to rescue Juliet from the balcony. You also have to collect all the roses and watch out for those critters. If you have the bad luck to get killed, you will be transformed into a skeleton.

Another game from this site is the “Valentiner”. This game offers you the chance to choose the character that you will win after you complete the game. You can choose a guy called Marco (if you are a girl) or a girl called Susan (if you are a boy). Using just your click button on the mouse, you must press it exactly when the arrow of the little Cupidon is pointed to a golden heart, or to a positive object. If you will hit it, you will gain that heart. You have a given amount of time, so you must hurry. And of course you must keep away your arrows from the hearts made out of rock. Depending of the amount of money you made, after each level you can buy different items to help you along your way.

We will be playing one more game from this site, called the “Valentine Match Game”.

Here you must click on the squares with the heart and smiley face image, and under each one you will find a different color heart. You can turn only two hearts at a time, and your goal is to turn the hearts with the exact same color. After you do this, those hearts will disappear. This game will stimulate your visual memory, and if you manage to do it in less attempts,  that means you are really good.

Another site that offers cool Valentine’s Day games is http://akidsheart.com/holidays/valntine/valgms.htm

Let’s choose the first game, called “Loves me daisy petal game”. First of all you will have to write the names of you and the person you love, or you have a crush on. All you have to do is pluck the daisy petals one by one, to see if your gal/guy loves you. There are two possibilities: “he/she loves you” or “he/she loves you not” and the last petal will give you the right answer. It is a fun game to play for children and teenagers that are experiencing their first love.

Another cool game from this site is the “Heart Beak” Here you have to break the hearts by clicking on the groups of hearts with three or more of the same color. If you destroy a group with at least twelve hearts, then you can get a bomb. You can use that bomb to remove more hearts. The game is over when the hearts reach the top of the playing area. The bigger the level is, the faster the hearts will go up, so you must be really fast and careful. But it is a fun game to play, that can keep you or your child busy for hours.

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The last game that we will be presenting is one made for the girls. It is called “Valentine doll dress-up”. Like it says in the name, all you have to do is dress-up a girl, exactly as you like. If you are a parent and you might think that the fact the girl is almost naked will affect your younger children, you don’t have to worry about this, because it is a non-sexual nudity. All you have to do is drag the desired cloth and put it on the body of the girl. For the torso, you have many t-shirts, blouses and dresses to choose from. They have different colors and shapes, so any girl should be satisfied with them. After you pick your favorite cloth for the torso, you can go to the next category. Here you can choose from a big variety of pants, skirts or dresses. After choosing the appropriate dress, skirt or pair of pants, of course you can’t leave your doll barefooted, so you really must put some shoes on her. You can choose from many type of shoes, boots or sneakers, and they also come in many colors and styles.

Before moving on to my ratings, I have to tell you that, despite the fact I was really impressed by the looks of the main characters, I found some really disappointing things in this game. Just think about this – you’re facing a team mate, and if you go in his direction, you will pass through him, but if you shoot in that direction, you will harm him. What about this? Come on, guys, this game has been in the making for 3 years!!!

One more annoying thing – why would you be interested in hearing your team mates saying “Reloading” over and over again? Beats me, but I think their calls for help when being overrun would have been enough… and overrun will you be if you’re not thinking as a zombie – don’t use bullets, just hit them with the butt of your rifle, that’s all!<-180x150 Small Rectangle - right->

I know the above may sound a bit stupid, but that’s the reality – as I was saying, Left 4 Dead is like shooting turkeys with a tank, no strategy, just boring zombie killing, and that’s all. Now, let’s get to my ratings, shall we?

Story: 4/10
Graphics: 7/10
Sound: 6/10
Gameplay: 4/10
Originality: 8/10
Tilt Factor: 8/10
Overall: 5/10 (not an average of the above)

Why? Why take something that could have been great and turn it into turkey shooting? Left 4 Dead could have been a new Doom 3, but ended up in being “Solitaire with zombies,” at least for me. I know, I know – multiplayer can really be addictive, but you’ll get bored pretty soon if this is not your first computer game, I can assure you of that!

I know all the above may not be your opinion, so feel free to drop your comments below and curse me. Maybe I’ll wake up in the middle of the night dreaming about zombies and I’ll change my opinion…

<-250×250 Square – left->Anyway, before moving on to our subject today, that being Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles, we should talk for a little while about the Castlevania series, because there’s quite a history behind this name. Are you ready?

Developed by Konami, the series debuted way back in September 1986, with the Demon Castle Dracula game for the Famicom Disk System (FDS), quickly followed by a version for the MSX 2 platform. This MSX 2 port was localized in Europe and Brazil as Vampire Killer, and was followed by a a long list of titles, available for most platforms you can think of, from Game Boy Advance and Playstation Portable to Commodore, MS-DOS and, of course, Microsoft Windows.

The stories of the titles in the series are orbiting around the war between the enchanted Belmondo family and Dracula, which is resurrected almost every hundred years, so that the Belmonts could defeat him once again, and Konami sells one more title. Good strategy for everyone, I guess, including the fans of the series….

Leaving history aside, today I have to tell you a few things about the game released last year for the Playstation Portable, Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles.

Known in Japan as Akumajō Dracula X Chronicle, which translates to Demon Castle Dracula X Chronicle, the game is basically a remake of the 1993 game in the series, Demon Castle Dracula X Rondo of Blood (Akumajō Dracula X Chi no Rondo).

Although the new game uses the 3D graphics technology of the moment, it still has the 2D gameplay mechanics of the original, but comes with a few interesting additions, like the two new obstacles – a red skeleton barrier and an ice one, as well as a new boss, the Hydra. Other than that, some puzzles have been altered, while new dialogues scenes can be spotted here and there.

Rated by ESRB as “Teen,” Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles is not one of those games for little kids, because some of the themes are clearly disturbing for them, but if you were a kid back in 1993 and would like live again the thrills of the Demon Castle Dracula X Rondo of Blood, this is a must have! Obviously, nobody says you shouldn’t grab this title even if you’re new to the series, and if you don’t believe me, take a look at what Testfreaks have to say about it!

First of all, I have to warn you – just like the other “Call of Duty” games, this one is highly addictive, and you should not start playing it if you are really busy – it may affect your social life, your job, and so on, I guess this is no surprise, since it’s available for most good games. Unfortunately, unlike the other games in the series, you won’t be able to recommend it to your PC friends, because Call of Duty 3 is only available for Xbox, PlayStation, and Wii. Anyway, I guess they are not into PS3 games reviews, so let’s leave them aside and see why should you grab this older title, if you missed it so far, shall we?

The single player campaign in Call of Duty 3 is a very interesting one, allowing you to play as British, Canadian, Polish and American soldiers, as you push your way through Normandy. This time, there’s no introductory mission, so you find yourself ending up in France, after the allied forces pushed into Chambois, also known as the Falaise Gap.

As an American, you are going to impersonate Private Nichols, attached to the 29th Infantry Division; during the British campaign, you are going to control Sergeant Doyle, a member of the SAS, the English Special Air Service; the Canadian parts of the single player campaign will find you fighting as various members of the 4th Canadian Division, centered on Pvt. Cole; at last, the Polish campaign allows you to take the place of Cpl. Bohater, a tank driver in the 1st Armored Division. Pretty cool, and no chance to become bored of your character, don’t you agree?

At last, you should also be aware that the multiplayer experience can be even more exciting, with each team allowing up to 24 players on the PS3, and a wide range of game modes to choose from.

Now, you know what’s the best part? Call of Duty 3 is not old enough to look “dusty,” but being given the fact that it appeared almost 2 years ago, you will surely find it for a bargain price, so if you missed it…you know what to do!