Free games to play this summer

 Believe it or not, but summer is the slowest part of the year when it comes to video game releases. This is done in order to prepare for the holiday season, which leaves gamers out and dry for new releases. So here are some freeware games to download to fill in the space of game releases that summer creates.

These free games tend to run only on a Windows OS. However, you can install CrossOver Mac, a program that allows Windows programs to be installed and run on a Mac OS

Noitu Love & The Army of Grinning Darns (download at: http://www.konjak.org/section.php?section=noitu)
In the year 2188, the city is at peace under the protection of “The Peacekeepers League.” Turns out they aren’t doing a very good job, since it’s under attack by a robot army led by professor Darnacus Damnation.
While, the plot line may not be this game’s strong point, its gameplay more than makes up for it.
“Noitu Love” is an excellent combination of a platformer and a beat ‘em up. Noitu Love can later call upon the powers of the animal kingdom as title character can use the power of evolution to turn into various animals.
The game is fairly short only running about six hours, but the game does have a save system if you don’t want to play through all of it in one sitting.

Merry Gear Solid: Secret Santa (download at: http://superfundungeonrun.com)
Indie developer Arthur Lee brings the tactical espionage feel of the “Metal Gear Solid” series with a Christmas twist. It’s a relatively short game, lasting only three hours, but still fun.
In “Merry Gear Solid: Secret Santa” you play as Solid Santa who is on a sneaking mission to deliver presents under the tree. To accomplish this mission you have to sneak past some naughty children. A sequel was recently released: “Merry Gear Solid 2: Ghosts of Christmas Past.” 

5 Days a Stranger (download at: http://www.fullyramblomatic.com/5days/)
This is one of the three adventure games created by Ben “Yahtzee” Croshaw, best known for his internet video game review series “Zero Punctuation.” The plot involves a gentleman thief known as Trilby along with four other people, been trapped inside the DeFoe Manor by an unknown force. The story progresses over five days with a little more being revealed each day. The puzzles are challenging and engaging. “5 Days a Stranger” has won awards for the best game created with the Adventure Game Studio (AGS) engine in 2003, plus best gameplay, best puzzles and best scripting.

Knytt (download at: http://db.tigsource.com/games/knytt)
“Knytt” is a platformer that has you jumping from point A to point B. The player has no means of actually attacking enemies that pop up in the game. The puzzles in the game are that much more challenging since the player is forced to figure out how to get around obstacles instead of through them. The sequel, “Knytt Stories,” offers more of the same, with additional maps and the ability to create maps.


Iji (download at: http://www.remar.se/daniel/iji.php)
“Iji” is an excellent platformer with slight role playing game elements. You play as a girl named Iji who has been outfitted with nanomachines in response to an alien attack on Planet Earth. However, the player only knows about as much as Iji does throughout the entire game. As you defeat enemies or break things you gain experience which you can put into attributes such as how high you can jump and how well you can handle weapons. “Iji” also presents a moral choice that drastically changes gameplay and dialogue: to kill or not to kill.

Tumiki Fighters (download at: http://www.asahi-net.or.jp/~cs8k-cyu/windows/tf_e.html)
This game is shoot-em-up where you play as a fighter jet with a twist: you can use the parts of fallen enemy planes as your own. As you defeat enemies you can then try to catch fallen parts to add to your aircraft. These parts can be used to increase your firepower or as a shield from enemy bullets. “Tumiki Fighters” received an official retail release for the Nintendo Wii titled “Blast Works,” but the game is still free.

Cave Story (download at: http://www.miraigamer.net/cavestory/)
“Cave Story” is such a popular platformer that it’s even become a Wiiware title. The PC version will still be available for free. In “Cave Story” play as a robot who has lost its memory and explore an underground cavern filled with dog-like creatures called Mimigas. Your task is to thwart The Doctor’s plans of dominating the world. The Doctor is a human who came with a team of scientists to study the island, but betrayed the scientists in order to obtain a helmet that gave him power over the island. Now The Doctor plans to feed the Mimigas red flowers in order to drive them into a berserker like rage. You can use many guns which can be upgraded with experience gathered from fallen enemies. You’ll have to play through the game more than once to discover the game’s many secrets.  The original game is in Japanese, so a translation pat