Flash Games: Temple of Zoom, The Simpsons Movie: Wrecking Ball, Belter - Page 2

You can first back up, to give yourself more time to build momentum, and then drive forward until you hit the berm, which tips the crane, which sends the wrecking ball into the side of the truck, sending it spinning and then freeing the family. Fortunately, the truck always ends up on four wheels, and the family never seems worse for the tumble.

A roll as little as 0.5 (feet? meters?) will still free the family, while rolls in the 30s or higher will result in glorious music. The berm is a little farther from the truck on each level, so you'll need to adjust the height of the crane to ensure it still makes contact. The best possible results seem to come from hitting the truck as low as possible — while missing the ground.

There is sound, even at the menu, including crane sounds, armored car rolling sounds, and cheering sounds. There is also a cute animation when you eventually miss the truck. It was cute the first time, anyway.

Activating the way back machine, back to a time when games weren't sponsored by major companies to promote new products, we find Belter, a beautifully-polished update to Asteroids. While there are options to downgrade the visuals so that you end up playing something that looks very much like the original Asteroids, the default is a smooth and colorful game.

You control a little triangular ship, and your job is to destroy asteroids. Some of which are actually mines, or time bombs, or "ice roids," or "gas roids," or are made of dark matter, or have evil little things inside that shoot back at you. You only have one ship, and it can become damaged. You can sometimes collect little red cross symbols which partially repair your ship, or bonus symbols which upgrade your ship. You start with four missiles, and you can acquire more throughout the game. They're powerful, but don't waste them!

Article Author: Phillip Winn

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

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