Free Games!

In today's world, with an ever-growing population of gamers, video games are a lucrative market; almost every new disk that comes out costs $50, with prices on the rise for well known companies and well known titles. Why? Because whenever a smash-hit game like a "Final Fantasy" or a new "Madden" hits the market, millions of copies sell, most of them within the first day.

But not all games worth playing are going to cost you an arm and a leg, and I'm not talking about the abandonware bin at Wal-mart with it's $5 and $10 games from before the millennium, I'm talking about the wonderful world of Flash Games.

There are literally thousands of sites that exist for the sole purpose of providing free, consumer-made games (which are, consequently, still of a relatively high quality, some with excellent storylines!) that consist of everything from your classic strategy and puzzle games to casino-style games, sports games, shooters, and even arcade-game remakes!

In your quest for free entertainment; I recommend you start at Shockwave (www.shockwave.com), where you'll find such addicting titles as the action-puzzle game "Luxor," the hi-graphic shooter "Laser Maze," and the fast, frenetic and challenging "Mad Courier" as well as some awesome multiplayer games like "Poker Blitz," "Subhunt" and even the nuclear-themed, head-to-head strategy thriller "Chain Reactor."

After that, stop on into Miniclip (www.miniclip.com) and spend some time with their amazing games. Inside, you'll find some great titles, including their endlessly popular 3D multiplayer RPG game, "RuneScape", their hit shooter, "Heli Attack 3" and their fast-paced and fun trip back to the days of the goldrush, "Reel Gold."

Another great place to visit in your hunt for great, free games is Electronic Arts' own POGO (www.pogo.com), which has a fair amount of games, most of them demos, but all worth at least a check-out. Their biggest attraction, though, are games where you can actually win cash and prizes (They claim up to $4999 worth is possible instantly!) So that's worth checking out too, especially if you're into doing a little gambling.

But my personal favorite, though, is 2Flash (www.2flashgames.com) because of their sheer number of games. It's a great site because most of it's games are the same hit games you'll find on other sites, but it also provides a great way for new and emerging flash game designers to showcase their work. Therefore, it's got it's fair share of duds, but with amazing games like Xgen studios' "Motherload" "Stick RPG" "Defend Your Castle" and "Fishy", Omnipen's "Proximity" and Arcadetown's "Blox Forever" it's well worth stopping in and trying a few at random (especially the ones with stars next to them, those are the hot ones!)

Of course, there are thousands more, but with these four, you've got a good base of sites to start with; each one has an incredible number of it's own original games, with something for everybody in the family, no matter how young or jaded. Some of the larger sites even go so far as to showcase videos from the ever popular website Atomfilms.com!

So if you're bored, strapped for cash, or even if you just need something to do for ten minutes (or longer, some of these games can get quite addictive!) Stop on into one of these sites and see what tickles your fancy.