Oh, yay! Thoroughly enjoyed Sky Taxi 1 and 2 on my old XP machine before it died, and this one seems to be the same play so far. I appreciate a quick-loading, free-standing game that I can carry on a USB stick, and dip into when I need a mouse-clicking fix.

I don't like shooter games, but I don't mind this bopping cartoon bad guys on the head :-), and I like that you can immediately go back and redo a level if you find you've missed some secret place. The earlier Sky Taxi games players posted YouTube videos showing all the secret places: maybe this one has videos, too, for anyone interested.

Thanks Alawar, GGOTD, and Whiterabbit!

I looked in the forums but didn't find anything that would help there.

Installed okay on my Win8 desktop but when I try to run on my Win7 laptop I get a black screen and I'm stuck on it. No cursor is visable.
I had to use Ctl-Alt-Del to end the program because it has failed to respond. I have tried all the usual tricks in compatability mode and checking off the different boxes for screen reselution & such with no luck. Anyone have any ideas?

Well I am delighted with this particular game. Normally I have trouble playing this type using a mouse but this one is very responsive to mouse controls.

A poster above was taking about characters that are actually scenery and not part of the game and he also mentioned the boxes. You can pick up the boxes by using the right mouse button and toss them at the bad guys by right clicking again.

I also would like the ability to go back and repeat a level. Missed a door at the beginning of the game and would like to go back and redo that part as that miss is ruining my perfect game so far.

I usually don't like this type because I find the difficult to play with out a game pad or joy stick but this one is easy and I am enjoying it. Will definitely keep this one.

Laptop is Win7Pro 32/64, downloaded quickly, installed easily, and runs absolutely fine. I like it!

Glad you are doing okay after your fall....I fell down a flight of stairs and slammed up against a cinder block wall 6 years ago and still have trouble with my back. Has gotten a lot better over the past year since I retired though. I know how badly a fall can injure you and am glad you are okay. We would all greatly miss you if you weren't able to be here. You do the best reviews of any site I have used and are very sweet even to the few rude/obnoxious folks who have shown up over the years. Take care of your self WR.

Peace!
LadyLei aka
CabLady


........................Moderator comment........................

Thanks for your feedback, and thanks. :)

No comments on this game as I am not qualified to rate it; for the first time I can recall you have hit on the one genre of games i have never liked - the platform shooter. So I wait to see what next weekend brings.

But I take this opportunity to offer my thanks to all developers who have provided free games here, whatever the genre; and to those maintaining this site.

Couldn't get feedback for developers to accept my comment because of the code entering system. They should have a repeat level option at the end of the level, to acquire the items or secrets you missed.
Or, have counters during the game depicting how many items or secrets are left to find.

Nice game.

XP SP3 installed and running just fine.

This is very much like the "classic" 2D-side scrollers that started the genre years ago, and started gaming companies like ID and Epic (Epic Megagames). Games like the "Duke Nukem" series (which was just re-released in a bundle not long ago) and "Jazz Jackrabbit".

Easy to play, "just enough" tricky in spots to keep it fun. Good "no pressure" jump, run and shoot to kill some time.
Anyone who's embarrassed to be playing a "kid's game"... oh well.

Cool! I love retro and the graphics are adorable.

Thanks to Alawar and GGOTD for a fun game for this rainy, cold, damp day. And thanks to the Silly Wabbit for his review.

P.S. I hope you are doing OK after your fall, Wabbit. I fell flat off my feet onto my face and chin on the town's uneven sidewalk back in August. Falling at our age is not good. I broke 2 teeth and am having a root canal on one of the teeth this Tuesday. I am still limping and am going to see an orthopedic doc this week. I busted my lip and had to have stitches because I had a flap of skin that dug into my muscle in my lip. So I have kinda been out of commission for a couple of weeks.


.......................Modrator Comment.....................


Took three or four days, but am okay now. Thanks. :)

Ok Win 8.1.1 Pro x64. Full screen in game after start. Usual options.
If you've played any of the prior in series this is more of the same. Kid game. Very much repeating actions as far as I bothered to level 5 using kb/mouse. Can ESC-exit at start of a level & resume from start of that level. Thanks guys. Looking for something with more adult meat next time.

Great game! The kids will love this!Thank you GOTD!

Downloaded, installed, activated with no problems on my Win7x64 machine. Played just a few rounds/levels so far but I'll be keeping this game. A retro-ish side scrolling game. Not bad at all, but in the admittedly short time I've spent playing,have a couple of suggestions/comments. I don't know the target audience for this game but to ME (an old guy lol)the graphics are just ........too......... cute I guess is the word I'm looking for. Now, I don't mind cute as far as it goes, but this is just a tad too sugary for me. My main "complaint" with this is .... the background scenes.As I mentioned earlier,I've only played a few levels so far but have been "fooled", wasted around with many of the stock non-animated background people/boxes etc.The characters look so much like part of the game that I ended up wasting valuable seconds either trying to jump on them or the background crates that seem to be laying around everywhere, but are part of the inanimate non inplay background. I'm sure , but not positive,that this will continue throughout the game and I guess I'll get used to it but.......

Anyway, a decent enough game.I'll be keeping it for awhile. Thank you to GGOTD and Alawar for this!

"...magnificently old school" - if you're old enough to have been around when this type of old school was new school then you'll remember the time when ponderously slow platformers like this were cobbled together by kids in their bedrooms. Only worth bothering with if you've never played a platformer before now.

Sky Taxi 4: Top Secret:

In Brief:

The fourth in the Sky Taxi series, Sky Taxi 4: Top Secret is a sidescrolling platformer with loads of levels (I haven't played it to the end, so can't say how many levels there are, but judging by previous versions, we can expect at least a hundred plus levels) of running, jumping and bouncing off the heads of enemies. The game features simple controls (movement by mouse, keyboard or joystick ), colorful graphics, and tons of secrets! It’s a captivating and relaxing game with many secret rooms and hidden bonuses.



Installation:




Sky Taxi 4: Top Secret downloads to a 140 MB zip file that unpacks to a read me and a wrapped setup activation file (the orange colored file with the key symbol), plus there's a setup file with security (setup.gcd) that's protected from being hacked. This file may case some security software to alert the user to a possible malware attack, but it will be a false positive.

The game giveaway team check all game giveaways for malware using several well known anti -malware suites. There has never been a game giveaway infected with malware since the project started back in Dec 2006. Some community members have been having problems installing games since the security software was added. It's been found that turning off your security or configuring it to accept the setup.cgd file sorts the problem out. The installed game is 136MB in size. and installs to:

C:\Games\SkyTaxiTopSecret_game

by default, but can be changed to suit whatever your wishes are. There is no uninstaller, but this game is free standing so to delete just remove the installed folder from your hard drive. No shortcuts are installed so you will have to create your own which as most of you know is easy an easy process (right click on the games executable then select ‘Send to’ then from the drop down menu select ‘Desktop (create shortcut) ’). If you want to create a start menu/programs folder you’ll need to find the appropriate folders via your account. Once the game is installed you can delete the giveaway setup files.





I've only tested the game on Win 7 and Win 8.1. I've no longer got Vista or win XP installed.

If you miss getting Sky Taxi 4 or have problems installing the game, and missed any of the previous versions of the game you can get the first three in the series from MyPlayCity by clicking on the name of the games Sky Taxi, Sky Taxi 2: Storm 2012 and Sky Taxi 3: The Movie. You can also get Sky Taxi, Sky Taxi 2: Storm 2012 and Sky Taxi 3: The Movie from Jenkat games

Introduction:

Rescue a beautiful spy from the clutches of a madman as you run, jump and stomp your way through Sky Taxi: Top Secret! Guide Mitch, a movie star by day and superhero by night, as he sets out to save the day! Enjoy stunning side-scrolling action as you progress through different levels grabbing goodies, knocking out baddies, and discovering cool secrets! Survive epic boss battles and save the spy in Sky Taxi: Top Secret!

Reference accessed HERE 5th Oct 2014

The Game:


Sky Taxi 4: Top Secret features over a hundred levels filled with loads of enemies and obstacles. You defeat them by jumping on their heads or using the weapons that you can pick up on your jouney. As soon as you annihilate the enemy, you often get a bonus. But be careful because some times bombs are left behind with the bonuses that could explode and cause you to lose one of your lives.

The game contains loads of bonuses. You collect coins, food and power-ups as you work through the levels. The game’s Help shows the possibilities of bonuses such as superpowers. For example, “Time Bonus” freezes all the enemies for a set time, “Fly Bonus” lets you fly and “God Bonus” makes you temporarily invincible.

Sky Taxi 4 also includes lots of hidden items and secret areas. Sometimes you need to find a special path or door to enter a secret room. It may contain treasure chests, coins or food. Try jumping on all of the clouds because it often leads to a secret place or hold “Hearts” that give you an extra life. But don’t overdo the jumping and hopping! If you fall from a high cloud, you might get hurt. You can also change the apperance of your character by collection up to 25 different suit changes.


You can use either your mouse, keyboard or a joystick for movement, for example, by moving your mouse pointer in the direction you wish to go your character will move that way, using the left and right arrow keys on your keyboard or the left and right movement of your joystick will effect the same movement. The Left mouse button controls your jumping. Sometimes you'll need to get an extra boost to jump over obstacles by using the jumping platforms. ?These will be obvious. You also have to teleport from one place to another to progress. to do this stand in front of the door and click your right mouse button to transport to the other side of the obstacle. It's a simple as that. :)

System Requirements:


OS: Windows XP/Vista/8
CPU: 800 Mhz
RAM: 256 MB
DirectX: 8.0
Hard Drive: 142 MB



Video & Images:

You can see a slideshow of over 60 images of Sky Taxi 3: The Movie showing the menus, tutorial screens and game play etc HERE.


You’ll also find several videos of game play HERE, HERE, HERE and HERE.



Music:

If you want to change the music you'll find it via the following path:

C:\Games\Sky Taxi 4\WORLD\MAIN\music\x.ogg

Rename the files you want to use (music 0.ogg to music 13.ogg) and then convert your MP3's or other music files to the ogg format, then swap them over with the ones you want to change. I'd keep backups of the originals until you've checked that the game runs smoothly and that the music change has worked.

Conclusion:

A colorful platformer that'll keep the whole family entertained over the weekend.



Scoring

Game play – 9
Graphics – 8
Audio – 6
Re-playability – 8
Originality – 7

38 out of 50 which is equivalent to 7.6 out of 10



Problems:

If you are posting late in the day I would also suggest posting in the main giveaway forums in the game discussion section. If you've installed the game but it won’t work for some reason, it should still be registered, so someone may be able to help at another time. Unfortunately if your problem is actually installing it then once the giveaway period is over there’s nothing that can be done until the game is given away again (though that isn't guaranteed). It’s always worth checking out the free games sites as sometimes the games we get here are also available for free from them. MyPlayCity has the most with over 600 games to choose from.

If you have any problems installing or getting to work today's game please go HERE for help.

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Games, Games, and yet more Games plus Download, Installation & Game play Problems

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There's 464 games and dlc on sale over on steam at the moment. With a Paradox publishers sale with up to 85% off catalogue prices for example 75% off Europa Universalis IV, 75% off The Crusader Kings II collection, 75% off the Magika collection, 50% off Warlock 2: The exiled and 75% off Warlock - Master of the Arkane, 75% off Hearts of Iron II or try one of their packs with even better discounts, 75% off Magesty 2 collection, 75% off Dragon age Origins (I highly recommend this game), 75% off cities in motion 2, 75% off Rise of the Triad, 75% off Sword of the Stars, 50% off Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, 81% off Murder Miners, 75% off Evil Genius, 60% off Blackguards, 75% off King Arthur - The Role Playing game (I love this game), 80% off 4 Elements, 80% off europa Universalis III, 90% off Pool Nation, 80% off dino D-Day, 85% off Knights of honor, 90% off Hacker Evolution, 80% off Hearts of Iron II, 80% off Defenders of ardania, 75% off Bardbarian, 80% off Death to Spies, (The developers are asking for backers on Kickstarter for the third in the series), 60% off the Void, 90% off Sang Froid - Tales of Werewolves (an excellent and unusual TD game) plus many more too numerous to mention today. (It's after 3am and I need to crash).

To be honest there are too many game deals around too list them all. Just visit the sites I recommend below and I'm sure you'll find something that suits you for a decent price.

GreenManGaming There's usually a 20-25% off coupon available on GMG that can be used with most digital downloads.
Gamersgate Summer Sale
GOG
Desura
Gamestop
GameFly (Gamefly are selling off their digital distribution soon)

The Origin free game is still Bejewelled 3.you do require an Origin account to get the freebie.

To be honest there are too many game deals around too list them all. Just visit the sites I recommend above and I'm sure you'll find something that suits you for a very decent price. If like me you prefer Steamwork games, many of the above sites also sell Steamwork games.

If that's not enough, check out the Game Discussion forums HERE for details of other games either free or on deals such as the Indie Game bundles (there's over 20 of them - If you purchased all of them you'd be paying around $80 for around a thousand dollars worth of games); or check out the four day sales at IndieGameStand. I've not updated the Indie Game bundle thread for some time, but the links provided will still take you to the appropriate sites. you can find the thread HERE. Also check out HERE link for a list of all current bundles. I've just updated the thread last night. The latest IndieGameStand game is Star Nomad (less than a day left before it changes). a 2D top-down RPG/RTS tribute to classic spacesims of old such as Elite, Wing Commander: Privateer 1 & 2, Escape Velocity and Freelancer. If you are a fan of these games, then you're in for a nostalgic ride! In Star Nomad, you roam free in the Wildlands Sector, immersed in a sci-fi noir setting rich in depth and humor.

You can pay less than a dollar for this game, but if you want the extra's (usually game music, manuals etc, but with this game you get another game called Ninja Girl) you have to pay the average price which stands at $1.57 (at the time of writing).
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The latest Daily Indie game is 'SOUL GAMBLER' an interactive graphic novel inspired by Goethe's Faust, a tragic play written in the 19th century. This is a contemporary and engaging adaptation of the masterpiece.
You can get two keys if you pay more than the average, which at the time of writing was only $1.1 (one for a friend or family member perhaps?). There's also two DIG bundles (number 10 and a re-run of number 1), that contain the following games {Street Racing Syndicate, Eurofighter Typhoon, CT Special forces, Hyperfighters, Gun Metal and Incoming Forces, - all come with Steam keys. the re-run includes Steam keys for Hacker Evolution and Power Up, with Project Nigh and 50 years Act 1 on the Greenlight project, so if they are Greenlit, you'll get Steam keys, plus two Desura keys for Wisps: The Redeeming and Onager. You can get the bundles for $0.99, or if you pay above the average, you'll get two keys for each game.. You'll find those deals HERE.

Most of the bundles retail for around $5 give or take a few dollars, but you can pay as little as a dollar for some.

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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 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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