The Turning Gate

The Games of Kenta Cho

Brilliant, free shooters for Mac OS X and Windows

I oft proclaim boredom with the Internet. Just as often, however, I stray off my own worn path and discover untold treasures lying deep within the labyrinthine online world. The games of Kenta Cho are one such treasure.

Shooters one and nearly all, Cho’s games adhere to codes of simplicity, presentation and fast, frenetic game play. And each offers a little twist to set it apart from its brethren. Also, they’re all free for the taking!

Simple and straightforward, the games are an excellent way to kill a few minutes when you want a quick gaming fix, but are good enough to warrant more in depth play as well. Anyone with even the most fleeting interest in games is would be well advised to check these out.

Cho’s games run natively in Windows and can be downloaded from his website, ABA Games, but a number of Mac OS X ports are also available here.

rRootage, Nois2sa and Parsec 47 are straight-laced space shooters. You control a ship, dodging bullets and enemies fighters, while retaliating with your own weapons. rRootage focuses on combat against large battleships; Parsec 47 features smaller, more numerous combatants; and Nois2za is more abstract than either of the others.

Torus Trooper sends your ship rocketing through a tunnel strewn with opponents in a race against time. When the timer reaches zero, it’s game over. You can extend your time limit by scoring points and defeating bosses, but lose precious seconds every time your ship is destroyed.

Gunroar is a 360º naval shooter. Players maneuver a gunboat through the seas, navigating around islands and fighting against innumerable odds to score points. In a very nice detail, the boats and ships even create wakes as they move through the water.

TUMIKI Fighters puts a unique twist on the side-scrolling airplane shooter. Players pilot a toy airplane against other toy airplanes and airships. The twist is that the player can catch downed opponents as they plummet; they stick to the player’s plane and can be used as shields against incoming attacks. Graphically, the ships resemble the gummi fighters of Square-Enix’s Kingdom Hearts on PS2.

A7Xpg may be the most unique of the bunch, as it’s not a shooter. Players navigate their ship around the screen, capturing gems as they appear and dodging attackers. Instead of guns, players and ignite a booster that propels their craft a short distance, and throws back any pursuer caught in the thrust as it fires out the rear of the ship. Careful players can earn temporary invincibility to improve their odds of survival.

Variations on the shooter theme continue with Titanion and Mu-cade, good-looking games that I can’t play – they haven’t been ported to Mac OS X (yet?). But surely Windows users will enjoy them. Otherwise, all of the above games are available to both Windows and Mac OS X users.

Cho’s games are brilliant examples of quality, independent game development. That being said, it’s time I wrapped this up and got back to playing. Enjoy!^^

 

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