60 minutes of gaming you won't soon forget.

I play a lot of video games. And I wish, really wish, that there was a way to catalog every single game I've played on every system...

Bad start.

I play a lot of video games, and I've got my favourites. Nowadays, it's hard for newer games to make your list of "best games you've ever played", especially since the focus seems to be on making games as exhilerating and pulse-pounding as hollywood movies. But if you've gamed for the last 20 years or so, you have a special place in your heart for well crafted stuff. And if you've been gaming for that long, you should never neglect what we've come to call "Casual Games". Casual Games is a term used to define games that have smaller programming teams, shorter duration, and are distributed digitally for the most part. If you look at this enumeration, you will see that short of digital distribution, this is the way games used to be made (unless you count digital piracy of BBSs).

Back in the day, there were games who just outshined all the others, and they offered a full package: good gameplay + good sound. I play a lot of casual games, and they are an eternal list of clones of concepts that have stood the test of time (think Bitmap Brothers).

Reflexive Entertainment made some games that never really caught on, one of these games was SWARM, an asteroids clone that I had picked up 10 years ago in a Future Shop bargain bin somewhere in Ottawa. Reflexive has become one of the major distributors of Casual Games, and you can find them at www.reflexive.net. Reflexive is cashing in not only on the software distribution, but also through their franchise called "Ricochet", which is a clone of breakout/Arkanoid on acid, speed, and maybe a bit of Ecstacy.

Again, there are double-dozens of Arkanoid clones available on Reflexive, but one of these games really caught my attention, a game with charm and the whole works. While I wouldn't actually pay the money to get the full version, this still stands as a fine example of outstanding programming and thinking outside of the box.

The game is called FAIRY TREASURE, and it's a game you should give 10, 30, or even 60 minutes of your time to experience once again the magic of good programming, great graphics and outstanding sound:

Download the game here