I tried to download and install the last game giveaway: 7 Gates: The Path to Zamolxes, hut it would not install and my web browser stopped responding every time I tried to install the game so I never got to install and try the game, I honestly believe there is a computer virus in that game or in the install wrapper provided by thegame.giveawayoftheday.com and I really wanted that game.


.........................Moderator Comment........................

Hi Thomas,
All game giveaways are checked throughly for malware. As I've said in my review, there has been no games ever given away via this site infected with malware since the game giveaway started on the 2nd Dec 2006. If there had been a virus there would have been many complaints in this comments section. There have been thousands of downloads (over 10 thousand).

Try installing the one available from Jenkat games that I linked to in my review.

There is a security file included with the game giveaway. This has caused some community members to have problems, but it's usually the users software, or other conflict or the way they have their computer set up that's the problem.

Sorry I can't be more helpful.

I like it! Thanks! :)

Hola: Las descargas que haga las puedo poner en la web que estoy preparando, y cobrar por la descarga?Gracias

Have this game on my other machine running XP and was pleased to see it again for my new one running Win 7. I like this one better than others I have found. Others have been deleted but this one is a keeper. Thanks!

Don't feel bad #5 am almost older than computers, definitely older than pong, (wonder if that old game is worth anything?). My first computer in 1984 was a used Kapro IV, supposedly portable. And it was if you weren't walking far, cause that sucker was heavy! You got a 4" screen and a C prompt. Was so proud when I taught myself enough basic to make a checkbook proggie! LOL Sold it at a yard sale about 8 yrs later for 25 bucks.


Just found a fix for no cursor in some games (not this game, its fine). Fix is for Win 7 don't know if it will work on other systems but worth a try. Go to your control panel and click on 'mouse', look for mouse trails box and then uncheck it, which turns it off. Reload your game and presto, you now have a cursor!

Been searching for a fix for this problem for years and this is the only thing that worked. Course if you don't use the mouse trails in the first place this won't help.

Anyone know why this only happens in a few games?


.........................Moderator Comment........................


Thank you for your feedback CabLady. I remember getting a console that had Pong and a very basic golf game way back in the 70's (with stick man like figures. Can't remember the name of the console).

howdy, all! i really like Egyptoid and give it a thumbs-up. to me, there's much to like about it: the music, the graphical style, the physics, and the satisfying crunch of breaking down the more resilient bricks. the fireballs are cool, too. it occupies a solid place in my array of games. it's not too stressful and requires limited time commitment; it's OK for tired eyes and brain, but reflexes have to be on.

i downloaded egyptoid during a ggotd a while ago and was surprised that my installed game did not seem ever to have been run. there was no saved game or high scores, and i encountered a launch problem that i had fixed long ago.

as with a lot of stars ashes games, i have to tweak the display on my netbook to get the game to run the first time.

if the computer is at its native 1024x600 at first launch of the game, i get a black screen and in the background (visible only if i Alt-Tab) is a window displaying a SOFTWARE_VERTEXPROCESSING error.

to fix it, increase the computer's resolution to 1024x768. i used a1ctl with downscaling, but that creates two independent cursors that are a hassle. it's probably fine to increase the resolution in the Display control panel and just deal with panning for the moment.

the game should launch now. go into Options and set the resolution to 800x600. exit out and set the computer's display back to 1024x600. the game should launch fine from now on.

it's an easy fix, but it would be nice if the game could detect the resolution and adapt automatically.

thank you to stars ashes, ggotd, and whiterabbit!

(system info: winxp home sp3 on an acer aspire one d250, 2gb ram, 1.6ghz, 1024x600 resolution, a1ctl 1.0)


.........................Moderator Comment........................


Thank you for your feedback Tinyearl. :)

Love this game. I've installed this one as well as the sequel (which unlike a lot of sequels, IS better than the original, IMHO :))on the last three computers that I've owned. Probably two of of my favorite breakout clones of all the ones I've tried.

.........................Moderator Comment........................

There are much better Breakouts available, but Egyptoid is a decent one. Try A Ball from Gametop. It's actually Nuclear Ball (Gametop change the names of some of their games), similar to Egyptoid, but better. Also try Geometry Ball from Gametop, it's anothewr with a name change, forgottewn the original game. It's got an A.I. opponent playing agains you. Interwsting take on breakout. Any bricks your A.I. destroys appears on your side of the arena. any you destroy appear on hios side.

also I highly recommend Hyperballoid 2 and Action Ball 2 and Strike Ball 3, both of which are available free from MyPlayCity. do watcho ut for toolbars and home page changes. these can be avoided by unchecking the boxes. Well wrorth purchasing IMO, also Acky's XP Breakout, Incrediball: Seven Sapphires, and Ricochet infinity as well as shatter. There are loads more, but I'm too tired to remeber the names at the moment (it's after 3 am here in the UK). I used to collect breakouts several years ago and have at least a few hundred in my games library.

:)

p.s. check out the games synopsis over in the game discussion forums. (You can find a sticky in the main forums. There's several freeware Breakouts well worth trying.

Ditto about rounded pots act like brick shapes. Otherwise fairly ok game if have patience to find the correct spots to hit for a level win. Tried this at least twice and gave up after a while either from carpal or got bored on a level. Once last shot, as it were. Win 8 x64 Pro, Nvidia gtx460. No probs. Thanks GOTD. 7.5/10


.........................Moderator Comment........................

Hope your hands are okay. :)

Just wanted to say I've had this since the 2011 giveaway and it is still a fun and reliable go-to when the mood strikes.

As always, thanks to the GGOTD staff and Stephen for all that you do.

Any way to make this portable on a USB stick?


.........................Moderator Comment........................


Copy it over and see. :)

It's a good game but by now everyone must have downloaded it so there's not much I can say that people don't already know.

I've found Ricochet Infinity at a dollar store for only a couple bucks so if you look about you can find some of the older games cheap.


.........................Moderator Comment........................

Ricochet infinity is still one of my top 5 favorite breakouts. The immence number of custom made levels keeps me entertained. It can be too easy at times due to the over use of power ups, but the levels that come with the game are a pleasure to play. I remember when the first of the ricochet games was released almost 10 years ago now. It didn't have a levels editor, but the game was similar to the l;atest iteration except it didn't have as many power ups.

Check out my post on Breakouts over in the game discussion forums.

http://www.giveawayoftheday.com/forums/topic/2607#post-17584

You'll find details of many breakouts both freeware and commercial.

have this and the 2nd version as well. very good game and not as easy as it seems. thanks so much for giving us so much free entertainment!


........................Moderator Comment.....................

:)

This is one game I keep going back to, yet I usually don't like this type of game.

I had trouble with mouse sensitivity in this game, it required excessive movement to get the paddle across the screen; I could tweak my mouse settings but that would require remembering to reset them after playing, so in-game adjustment would be nice. When I finished the first group my stats flashed on the screen for perhaps a second - not long enough to read - then the "continue" screen appeared, I thought the game had locked since clicking on continue or on the image of the next level did nothing; after about a minute the next level appeared (though it was different from the one pictured on the previous screen). And I agree saving should be possible between each level, we don't always want to play eight levels at a time.

But I enjoy such games (still have the old "Electranoid" on my system) so this one is a thumbs up.


........................Moderator Comment.....................


Ah, I remember Electranoid. :) Thanks for your feedback.


You can get Electranoid for free from several Abandoware sites. you will probably need to run it using DOSBox.There's a thread posted by Wizzard of Oz over in the game discussion forums that gives a tutorial on how to set up game sin DOSBox. :)

http://www.abandonia.com/games/1055

I got this last time it was offered, I don't see a lot new to it, but it's still a pretty decent Breakout clone.

I'd like to see the developers make rounded pots actually act like they were round, and not square blocks... As it is, you send your ball at a rounded pot and it bounces off like it hit a square brick. Other than that I like the game quite a bit.

I agree w/ the 7/10 rating given above.

If the devs are looking for more to add you might consider "Achievements"... Things like "Broke 1000 Pots" or "Collected 10,000 Jewels"... Perhaps these achievements could unlock new features of the game...

Thanks for the offering & thanks to GGAOTD & GAOTD for their continued work!



……………………Moderator Comment…………………


Thank you for your feedback.

I had this one before and lost it. Glad to see it come back. As a brick busting game, it is pretty good. Like the power ups and the graphics.
Thank you GameGiveAway.


……………………Moderator Comment…………………


:)

Wow! Two good games in a row AGAIN! You are spoiling us. GOT to keep it up now!

It's PONG! I used to have the original PONG game. Hooked it up to my TV and had to turn the knobs to bounce the square pixel with the paddle pixels!

WAAAAAAH! WAAAAAAAH! I JUST REALIZED THAT I AM OLDER THAN VIDEOGAMES! THAT'S BADBADBAD! WAAAAAAAH!

I can certainly say this, its graphics are better than PONG's.

It looks fun. Kinda like the opposite of Atlantis - Pearls. I LOVE LOVE LOVE Pearls, so I think I will like this game a lot too. Going to DOWNLOAD it and add it to my QUEUE of games to play.

Thanks, White Rabbit! Hope you have a great week and that work on your new house continues to go well! Whoo Hoo! It's got to be almost finished by now!


................Moderator Comment..................


Hi Swampy, yes, two weeks for the builders, then we have extra's like a new driveway, plus some minor stuff. We are intending moving in between the 16th to 20th Sept. :)

Hi, you can save anytime you want, but this game calls it Suspend Game, then when you play again just chouse option Continue, hope this helps.

The only gripe I have with the game is having to complete all the levels within any one of the temples before your progress can be saved.


……………………Moderator Comment…………………


Thank you for your feedback Day.

Downloaded last time. It's quite a amusing game, sufficiently so that I return to it every now and then. THANKS!


……………………Moderator Comment…………………

Hello Stephen :)

Is this the same version as was given away in 2012?

................Moderator Comment..................

Hi Deen,

I mention in my review that it's the same version as last time this was given away.

This has been given away several times now, but has remained a firm favorite with above average positive votes. The last time this was given away was last year (Jan 2012 it received a positive 82% of votes out of 375 votes with 34 comments; prior to that, October 2011 where it received a positive 80% of 350 votes with 81 comments and again earlier that year back in March 2011 where it received a positive 76% out of 372 votes with 59 comments, then previously in Feb 07 when it received one of the highest positive ratings a game giveaway has ever received at 94% out of 203 votes (was 95% out of 195 earlier this year); only 12 community members voted thumbs down for this game (10 earlier this year). (Personally I don’t think it deserved such a high percentage because there have been much better arkanoids given away since the project started, IMO). There were 66 comments of which comment #33 by Game Seeker is probably the most useful to read; then it was given away again back in February 2008 where it received a decent positive 89% of 360 votes and 62 comments, and Dec 08 where it received a positive 68% of 667 votes. You can see all the comments made about this game via the following links. I’ve also included a link to Lockett’s forum review:

Feb 07
Feb 08
Dec 08
March 11
Oct 11
Jan 2012


You’ll find a review by Lockett a reviewer from four years ago HERE








Installation:

The download size is 19.3Mb and once installed is 16.3Mb. The downloaded zip file unpacks to a read me that states the terms and conditions as well as a dual activation and set up file, which for those new to the game giveaway project means the game is automatically registered once the game is installed.. By default the game installs to:

C:\Games

There is no shortcut installed to the desktop or Start menu, so make sure you make a note of where the game installs to so that you can create a shortcut once the game has installed. The version we are getting today is v1.101 which is the same as previously given away back in Jan 2012. The installed games size is 16.3MB.

The game plays on Win XP Pro 32 bit, Vista Home Premium 64 bit, and Win 7 Pro and Ultimate 64 bit versions. I wasn't able to get it to work on my win 8 setup the first time I tried. All I got was a black screen and had to Ctrl, Alt, Del to escape. On rebooting my computer I found the game worked okay, though It did hesitate to start with a black screen for a second or two.

Introduction

Egyptoid is a perfect blend of classic Arkanoid with the magic of Egypt. Traveling through 72 never-the-same levels, your objective will be to destroy various patterns of blocks by bouncing the ball. In doing this, you must keep an eye out for bonuses that can speed up or down the paddle, give an extra life, extend the paddle or make it magnetic. Featuring 8 spectacular worlds, 17 types of bonuses, Egyptoid is bursting with arcade fun!

Reference accessed HERE 5th Dec 08

The Game:

This is a decent 3D arkanoid; though I wouldn’t place it in my top 20 list of arkanoids. Compared to some breakouts Egyptoid actually requires some skill to progress through the various temples of which there are eight because to destroy most bricks on some levels you have to make particular shots to be able to progress. Each temple comprises of eight levels, and to progress from one temple to the next you have to complete all levels within that temple. Besides the 64 temple levels there are also 8 secret levels that can only be opened by collecting special keys that look similar to the other symbols that you collect to unlock the magical powers. You cannot save levels while playing a specific temple until you’ve completed the temple and unlocked a new temple, then that particular temple can be replayed at any time, though you still have to start from the beginning of the level. All arkanoid fans will probably like this one despite the power ups being nothing special; except for the symbols that you have to collect that unlocks magic powers and secret levels. The ball physics allows for good control. So if you’re skilled with ball and bat you’ll need to play on the more difficult settings of which there are three.

Decent graphics add to a pleasurable game to play. I bought this quite some time ago and had forgotten about it, so thanks for reminding me.

The options menu allows you to adjust sound and music as well as toggle between full screen and windowed mode. You can also select several screen resolutions varying from the lowly 640x480x16 up to 1600x1200x32 and there are also three lighting settings, no light, normal light and advanced light. It appears that some people did have problems with some levels appearing black. This may be down to the type of graphics card you have as well as which setting you have it set on. If you do get the black screen problem, try changing this setting. Someone posted in the comments section previously that this definitely worked for them. See the problems section above for more fixes.

System Requirements:

• Pentium II 750

• Win 98/2000/XP

• DirectX 8.1

• 128MB MB RAM

• Video: 3D

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Images & Reviews:

You can see a slideshow of about 20 images of Egyptoid HERE, plus a page of googled images HERE.

You can see a video of game play HERE.

I posted an earlier version of this review over in the forums. If you need to post any problems after the giveaway is over you can leave comments THERE
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Conclusion:

Today’s arkanoid is worth 7 out of 10 in my opinion. It’s not the best, but good enough for me to have bought it before it was first given away. The only gripe I have with the game is having to complete all the levels within any one of the temples before your progress can be saved. As there are only 8 temples to explore, that means you’d have to play the game in eight or fewer sessions to complete the game. I much prefer to be able to save each level you play, and even better; being able to save a game mid-level. If you managed to get Egyptoid 2 you’ll find the game play similar though the original has a couple less power ups and the graphics aren’t as sharp, plus there are additional elements added to the gaming boards that make Egyptoid 2 more interesting to play.



Scoring:


Game play: 7

Graphics: 7

Audio: 6

Re-playability: 7

Originality: 6

33 out of 50 = 6.6 out of 10

If you don't like the music you can find the games music files in the Data/sounds folder. all files are ogg files so you'll have to use a audio converter to change any music files you wish to exchange the default music with. Make sure if you do this that you back up the original files and rename the replacements to the name of the files you are replacing. You can get several freeware audio converters via the Giveawayofthedays freeware section. there's a link to the freeware section on the front page of the giveaway site at the bottom of the page.

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Problems with the game?:

If you have any problems installing or playing today's game please go to the game discussion forums where you'll find a FAQ's section HERE. It may also be a good idea to post details of any problems you have over in the game discussion forums. You can find the thread HERE. I've included a return link to this comments section over in the game discussion thread. :)

If you see someone's query and are able to answer them, would you please also post over in the thread I've linked to above because moderation is going to be very sporadic today and queries and answers may not appear for many hours.

Thank you in advance to anyone who takes the time to help. :)

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If today's game doesn't take your fancy then check out the game discussion forums and the free games synopsis. We’ve posted a couple of thousand free games over the last four years, many of which are excellent alternatives to their commercial cousins. You'll also find loads of sale items via the didimatic site HERE, (though there are a couple more sites that list even more games but I've lost the links):








Similar Games available for free

You'll find loads of Arkanoid/breakouts HERE, HERE (Giveaway forums) and HERE (Caimans – almost 200 2D and 3D breakout games)


You can also download today’s game every day for free over at Gametop as well as several others such as A-Ball (which is also known as Nuclear Ball), Geometry Ball, Scaraball, Cosmoball plus others, though you will get your browser opening every time you shut the game down. Thankfully this is one of the games they have had for quite some time so there’s no tool bar or home page tick boxes to bother with, but just in case they've changed it since I last checked make sure when you are installing the game that you watch each step of the installation wizard.



You’ll also find quite a few breakout titles over at MyPlayCity HERE, that now include several of Alawars breakouts such as all of the Strike Ball games (Strikeball, Strikeball 2 and Strikeball 3), as well as one of my early favorites called Actionball Deluxe and it's sequel Actionball 2; oh yeah and not forgetting the second Hyperballoid game, which in my opinion was a big improvement on the original despite the first one having a massive number of levels (over a thousand) with gorgeous graphics called (not surprisingly) Hyperballoid Complete Edition (or if you purchase it from Big fish Hyperballoid Gold edition) - the down side w.r.t. the original, was that even with the speed up power-ups, the ball used to go too slow for me, (however; GMMan did create a speed-up mod for me); there's also previous giveaways (though not Alawar games) such as Egypt Ball and Egyptian Ball as well as several others that you can download for free. I recommend all of the Alawar titles especially Hyperballoid 2 (Which has an editor for making more levels - there may be custom made levels to download via Alawars site, but I've not checked in some time) and the original Actionball Deluxe (the sequel also has upgradeable power-ups) and Strikeball 3 (The third in the series is similar to the earlier Magic Ball games {Magic Ball 2} but with better graphics and power ups that are also upgradeable, plus the game is slightly more challenging than any of the Magic Ball series (which for some reason Alawar decided to change the name from Magic Ball to Smashball Frenzy)). Unfortunately the best (IMO) arkanoid/breakouts such as Ricochet infinity, Acky's XP Breakout, Reaxxion and Shatter are not available for free via any of the free game sites apart from illegal ones. You can purchase Shatter from Steam for £6.99, though during the big sales over the summer and Christmas period and maybe thanksgiving you can get up to 75% off. Both Ricochet infinity and Acky's XP Breakout have editors and for the former thousands (literally well over 60 000) of downloadable levels for free. There are also free level packs for Acky's XP Breakout, but not to the same extent as Ricochet. you download the levels for Ricochet directly from the game and can upload your own creation from the game as well (which probably explains why there are so many - all the levels are graded for game play, graphics etc and get a score of A to D with +'s and -'s (for example B+; though the best of the best are starred as well)



The deals over on Steam include a free weekend playing Orion Dino Horde with 75% off if you decide to purchase it (£2.99). The witcher franchise is also 75% off this weekend, plus there are loads of other excellent deals such as 50% off Don't Starve, 75% off the Total War Master Collection (includes Empire, Medieval II, Napoleon, Rome, Total War Battles: Shogun, Shogun 2,5Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai and Viking: Battle for Asgard. - it doesn't include any of the dlc's. to get all of the dlcs with this bundle you need to purchase the Total War Grand Master Collection which is almost £60 ). It doesn't include the soon to be released Rome 2 or the original Shogun and Medieval games. There's 50% off Insurgency, 50% off Wargame: Airland Battle, 75% off Arcania + Gothic Pack (Arcania, Arcania: Fall of Setarrif, Gothic 1, Gothic 3: Forsaken Gods Enhanced Edition, Gothic II: Gold Edition and Gothic 3). 75% off Of Orcs & Men, 75% off Blood Bowl, 40% off Remember Me, plus over 100 games ar eon sale.

Also there are over a hundred games on sale this weekend on Steam alone. If you pre order The Bureau: XCOM Declassified (£26.99 with 10% off) you'll get a bonus mission, a free copy of Spec Ops: The Line, (an excellent third person shooter, with gorgeous environments plus the whole collection of X-Com games (6 games) including the latest X-Com: Enemy Unknown (doesn't include any of the dlc's)

Today's 24/48hr deals are 66% off Thomas Was Alone plus 75% off the Fallout Collection (this pack includes the first three games in the fallout franchise).

For more deals check out the latest game available on IndieGameStand HERE
You can pay as much as you want but no less than $1. The present game is called Questrun. If you pay more than the average which stands at £1.75, you also get a second game called Skies and the music for Quest Run. Both games come with Desura keys as well as DRM free downloads and both are on Steams Greenlight list, so you may also get Steam keys later. This deal ends Wednesday morning 4am (GMT)


There's also quite a few decent deals over on Desura, Greenman Gaming as well as other game distributors such as Gamersgate and Gamefly. Finally, you'll also find a few indie bundles still live. You'll find details of all the bundles still available over in the first two pages of the Game discussion forums HERE These are the best way to get bargains as you can often get $100 plus worth of games for around $5 or less. (e.g. last November/December THQ sold their entire recent catalogue worth almost $500 for less than $6 and presently there's a Humble bundle Origin bundle - see below for details)

Check out the Bundle Stars deals for the best bundles around at the moment. There are at least 4 Bundle Stars packs still available, each with at least 9 or 10 games (all with Steam keys) for less than £4 for each bundle. Best of all, the latest Humble Bundle beats last years THQ bundle with several high profile games included in the Bundle (Battlefield 3, Medal of Honor, Dead Space 1 and 3, Burnout Paradise: The Ultimate Box, Mirror's Edge, Crysis 2: Maximum Edition, The Sims 3 + Starter Pack, Command & Conquor: Red Alert 3 Uprising and Populous (this bundle ends on Wedsday 28th at 6pm GMT). The Origin bundle would have cost you literally hundreds of pounds (or dollars) worth of AAA games, many of which are still current; and all for less than $5. Some of the games require Origin, others Steam. Some you get both Steam and Origin versions. This is an amazing deal, with First Person Shooters, Real time Strategy, First Person Horror, Racing (bikes and cars) and simulations as well as a beautifully rendered and executed parkour like game (Mirror's Edge) (Parkour is where a person runs and jumps over roof tops and other high places)





Please note that if you get any games from Gametop or MyPlayCity you need to watch out for toolbar installations and home page hijacks. Just un-check the check boxes. with MPC games you may need to do this every time you boot a game up unless you create a new shortcut from the installed executable.

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A Request for help:

Developers rely on good feedback to improve their games. If you download this game please take some time once you’ve played it a while to leave some constructive feedback either positive or negative. The more constructive feedback we get, the more likely developers are going to give more games away. The giveaway site already has a very good standing with the search engines. Developers want their products out there on the WWW, this site has the potential to do that. The game giveaway project gives away on average between 9 to 17 thousand downloads for each game depending upon what genre and how obscure the game is. That’s a lot of homes these games are being downloaded into and a lot of 'potential' cash that’s being lost by the developers. If we get better games because of better feedback, the community are likely to continue to benefit from the generosity of the developers. Satisfied community members are then more likely to visit the home sites of those developers and purchase games that they may not have bothered with before they discovered the developer via the game giveaway site, thus giving the developers more incentives to give away even more decent games.

Please leave some feedback once you've checked the game out. It can be positive or negative, but please explain what your reasons were for the feedback you post. You could also leave suggestions for improving the game, for example, this game could do with more block types for the levels editor, add more power-ups, describing the ones you think would be suitable, add some mini games (which seem all the rage in some arcade games now) or enable the user to be able to change the in game music easily.

Thank you in advance to all those who take the time to post a constructive comment.

Regards

Whiterabbit aka Stephen

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