Filler

I've been playing Filler for the past few days and despite it's simplicity, I'm still having fun. The objective is simple enough, fill in 2/3 of the box with your balls and you get to move on. Get hit by the balls flying around and you lose a life. Lose too many lives and it's game over.

To play, hold down the left mouse button. A 'filler ball' will begin to expand at that point until you let go of the button. Don't get hit by the 'flying balls' (ever play jezzball or qiz?). You can move your filler ball around by moving the mouse around while it is expanding.

If your filler ball hits another filler, it will stop growing. Walls do not stop the growth, while the flying balls kill it off. (I think the flying balls hit the filler balls too soon. It can be very frustrating, so err on the side of caution.) Once the filler ball is finished (you let it go), it will drop down to the bottom of the screen. The filler balls are not static and will bounce around, or be pushed off to the side. It's very hard to build up a 'wall' that you can work behind. It can be done, but it's not easy and it really isn't worth trying since the wall will just fall down a few moments later anyways.

Another tactic may be to just build hundreds of small filler balls until you get to the 66.6% mark, but you only have a limited number of filler balls to make. Once you run out, the game is not over, but you lose a life for every ball you create from that point on, so it's not a great strategy.

Instead, try to make your filler balls as big as you can when you can. Smaller filler balls can be used later on in each level to fill up those spaces, or just to make room. A great strategy is to work in the upper corners. Create a ball, let it drop away and then start making a new one. The first one you built will act as a shield allowing you to build the second one. As long as you wait a moment for the first one to start dropping away, you should be fine.

Play Filler at Kongregate.

Flash Element TD 2

Normally, when I'm disappointed or bored after a few minutes, I don't post about a game I've been playing. But given that this is a tower defense game and I normally like these games, I'm willing to talk about Flash Element TD 2, even if it is disappointing.

Like most tower defense games, your job is to place towers along the pathway to fire down on the creeps as they pass by. Your objective is to protect the goal, whether it's a castle or a city or whatever. This time, you're protecting your elements, the objects you need to build the towers in the first place.

There are five elements (green, purple, yellow, red and blue) that you use to build your towers (arrow, splash, sniper, fire and ice, respectively). If you've played other tower defense games, you understand what each tower does. There are two levels of towers for each element. The second level is a whole lot better, but they are also a lot more expensive.

Once placed on the field, each tower can be upgraded to level 5 allowing it do more damage (or slow the creeps down more). Each tower also has the ability to build up experience (up to level 4), giving it a slight edge.

There are 50 levels on the easy map. The best part of this game is the quips the creeps give just before they come forward and just after they die (I like the 'meep meep' from the yellows). After each level, you get interest payments, so you should try not to spend all of your money.

You can also sell your towers at 100% buy back, but only in between levels. If you sell them during the fight, you can only sell them at 80%. Which means you can totally redesign your tower placement in between levels at almost no penalty (you lose the experience your towers build up).

But despite some changes in the game play (experience, being able to sell the guns at 100% buy back in between levels), I felt bored. The levels weren't that challenging. It seems the creators want you to play again and again in an effort to build your score up. After playing Flash Element TD, I expected more from the sequel than what we've been given.

Play Flash Element TD 2 at casualcollective.

Warbears: An A.R. X-Mas Walkthrough

Warbears, an A.R. X-Mas Adventure lets you take charge of the Warbears once more, but this time it's serious. Kla is on a shopping adventure and Steve is on a mission to pull the ultimate prank.

Like the other warbear adventures, this is a point and click adventure with a little bit of wit and weirdness thrown in to keep things interesting. Click on anything and everything to work your way through the adventure. Don't forget to open up your inventory (top left) and combine the various items and try them out on other objects to move along. If you get stuck, there's a walkthrough below:

Play Warbears: An A.R. X-Mas at warbears.com



Walkthrough (Spoilers below!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Pick up the gift. Click on the fur scan on the far right. Go talk to Bob. Click on the fur scan again.

Go up and grab the batteries and the neon wires. You can't find the wires, though. Open up your inventory and click on the present. Click on the goggles and then on Kla to put them on. Click on the goggles (up in the inventory) to turn them on.

Click on E-dude, then on find item. Grab the wires.

Cut Scene

You are now Steve. Open Kla's wallet. Grab the taser and the BTE map. Give both to Bob (one at a time) to buy them. Go outside. Go to the far right to go off screen. Click on the bank (green highlight on the map).

Walk into the bank.

Play as Kla. Click on the far left to get the red thread (behind the cliff). Click on the blue thread (looks like a box to me?). Click on the virtual tree across the way. Talk to e-dude and get him to cut down the tree.

Grab the green thread after it bounces out of the tree. Go up the cliff, then jump down onto the tree. Head on over to the right side.

Play as Steve. Leave the bank screen to the right. Click on the park.

Talk to granps. Try Plan A and Plan B. Click on the locker. Look at the circuit panel. Head back to Bob's shop.

Talk to Bob: click on I want to order and choose the nuclear device. Open up the toolbox while Bob's gone (Be quick about it). Repeat the process (order another nuclear device) to get Bob out of the way long enough to grab the screwdriver. GO back to the park.

Open the circuit board with the screwdriver. Use the taser on it circuit. Talk to granps and select plan c. Use the taser on the circuit again. Head on over to the bank and talk to granps.

Go back to Bobs and grab the hacking device. Give it to Bob to purchase it with your reward money. Use the hacking device on the door upstairs (panel next to the door). Go in the door.

Play as Kla. Place the threads into the boxes below the tree in the following order (red, green, and blue) as the tree lights up in those colors.

Play as Steve: Pick up the wires, batteries and neon lights. Connect the wires to the neon lights. Connect those to the batteries.

Kla defeates the evil spirit of X-mas. Click on Get out of here.

The end (or is it?)