Ha! ROM CHECK FAIL!

I can't remember the last time I tried out a game and it made me laugh like this one. ROM CHECK FAIL is a free download that was put together in a few weeks for a game contest. I tried it because someone posted it on MetaFilter. It's made from the sprites from a bunch of old games. The kicker is, it isn't the game it looks like at first. While you are playing the game, the game's graphics and rules change. But the level layout and opponents do not. The game becomes a test of adaptability.

You may start the game as the spaceship from Asteroids, then find that moments later you are Mario or Pac Man. When you change, your abilities change. Sometimes you get dealt a bad hand -- the Space Invaders gun, which can only move left and right -- and you have to try to stay alive until your luck changes.

This article will give you more details about how to play, and you can go here to download the game.

It's a supremely retro blender experience...a mashup of a game. The author was able to create it because he was able to get graphics and development tools off the net for free. Lately I've been thinking that you could try a new free game on the net every day for the rest of your life, and never run out. More and more I've been thinking that you could find one highly recommended, excellent game every day...and still not run out. It's a great time to be alive.