The controls for Amberial are more simple than most games: you need only two keys. You're a ball, and like real balls, you can only roll. Or bounce. You can't jump, is the point, so you'll need only the right and left arrow keys (or 'A' and 'D' if you prefer).

You're presented with a series of 15 levels in a branching menu, and your goal is always the same: to collect the letter and find the exit. You roll from platform to trampoline, and bounce through the air, avoiding hazards and finding switches. At first you'll collect 'A,' but eventually that changes to 'C' and then 'E.' Be warned: the levels sometimes exceed one screen, though not at first. You might need to bounce higher than the screen, or roll to the right or left, to reach everything you need.

There are sound effects, but no music, and the game remembers which levels you've completed, so you can resume playing at any time from the same computer.

Finally, a classic game my kids love: Hungry Spiders. The idea is simple, but the magnifying glass in the game is what's fun.

Spiders are trying to eat your cake. Squish them by clicking on them. They're tiny, but a magnifying glass will help you see them. That's it! Well, they keep bouncing, and they get lower and lower if you miss them.

I'm not quite sure why you've left your cake on the windowsill, or why you don't just move it to keep it away from the spiders, but perhaps you're just sadistic and like to kill spiders. That's disgusting. You don't deserve cake! Or maybe there's another reason, in which case you're okay.

There are sound effects, but — unusually for a Ferry Halim game — no music.

That's it for this week! Check back next week for more Flash gaming fun.

Article Author: Phillip Winn

Phillip Winn is the Chief Geek for Blogcritics, and a blogger since 1995. He may currently be found and followed as @pwinn on Twitter.

Visit Phillip Winn's author page — Phillip Winn's Blog