Thanks to the dedicated blogging of the folks at Behemoth, we pretty much knew everything there was to know about Castle Crashers coming into E3 -- it's the followup to Alien Hominid, a game that started out on Newgrounds, and ended up on the XBLA. It's got tons of playable characters, lots of "animal orbs" you can recruit to fight with you, and a great art style and a sly sense of humor. In fact, the only thing we didn't know about it was probably the most important thing: how it actually played.

After playing it with Microsoft Director of Digitally Distributed Content Scott Austin here at E3, we can safely say it's going to be one of the biggest XBLA titles of this year (it's due out before September 21st). Castle Crashers is crazy good button mashing fun, and we can't wait to lay down our hard-earned Microsoft Points for it.

Taking a cue from America's army and, er, America's Army, the Australian military is also using online games to pump up flagging recruitment numbers. As the New Zealand Herald reports, Australia's Defence Jobs web site allows visitors to control crude, Flash versions of ARV Tiger Attack Helicopters, F/A-18 Hornets and more.

The games aren't exactly new (JayIsGames discussed one of them back in 2004) but they're getting increased attention now as a way for military recruitment to compete with a fierce job market. "It is critical to the future of the ADF that Generation Y and beyond can access and interact with recruiting information via the technology they are comfortable with," said Defence Science and Personnel Minister Warren Snowdon, who sounds extremely old.

Two of the Air Force games have recorded over 300,000 plays, according to the Herald report, which might not seem like much compare to America's Army's 8+ million users. Remember, though, that America's defense budget exceeds Australia's (and indeed, the rest of the world's) by leaps and bounds. Whoo! We're No. 1! Don't mess with the U.S.! These colors don't run! And so on ...

You may remember that, back in the spring of 2007, we had what one might call a total crush on the zombie-killing survival game, The Last Stand. Now, almost a year to the day after we first brought word of it, the game has risen from its grave and begun shambling towards us with The Last Stand 2.

Though it's not a huge leap forward graphically, there are some significant improvements, especially to the daylight time-management part of the game. Now you'll be able to move from city to city as you try to survive the zombie apocalypse with your ragtag group of survivors, deciding exactly how much time (and where) they'll hunt for new weapons and others still among the living. Traps have also been added, which give the combat a little more depth. If you haven't checked it out (especially if you haven't played the first game) you absolutely need to.

We know it's a little early to be throwing phrases like "Game of the Year 2008" around, but when we discover flash games of this caliber, we can't help but voice our heartfelt infatuation. With its stunning character design, addictive gameplay, and breathtaking soundtrack, You Have To Burn The Rope is a smorgasbord of top-notch writing, programming, and design.

We must insist you try it out, and let us know your opinions, strategies and fastest speed run times for the game in the comments section. Though it may detract from the game's titular twist, we feel we must warn you -- you will
come across a rope during your journey through YHTBTR's lovingly-crafted world, and it absolutely must be burned. Anyone who tells you differently does not have your best interest at heart.

[Via Kotaku]

Play: You Have To Burn The Rope
Watch: The pulse-pounding teaser trailer
Read: The comprehensive walkthrough

Sacre bleu! Something odd seems to have happened to our favorite sardonic online flash quiz for its March 31 edition (embedded above). Questions like "Repeat after me!" and a comparison between lines from Great Expectations and Jackass 2: The Movie seem completely out of pace with the game's usual punishing difficulty. Don't even get us started on the "repeat after me" Jack Attack, which could probably be completed by a mentally handicapped surrender monkeys (cheese-eating or non).

We can only hope this is a one-time glitch, and not a trend that will last past through the beginning of the fourth month of the year ...

Spurred on by the apparent success of anti-KFC game Super Chick Sisters, PETA is once again entering the Flash-based interactive activism arena with Bloody Burberry: The Fur Fighters. This time, the action focuses on controlling cute animal critters who are trying to raise awareness of the cruel, fur-coat-selling ways of the Burberry clothing stores. They complete this goal by freeing caged bunnies, protesting at fashion shows and spray-painting coats, all while avoiding some shadowy, black-clad security agents.

You might think a game that encourages spray-painting private property might be a little irresponsible for an activist group, but an in-game disclaimer notes that it's all right because the animal characters are "not subject to human laws." It's like the ultimate diplomatic immunity! This gives us an idea for a crime spree involving trained penguins that the courts can't touch ... but perhaps we've already said too much ....

We've known about its existence for about a month, and now we get to know what cult classic Flash game Defend Your Castle will look like when it come to Nintendo's Wii Ware service. The answer, it turns out, is pretty freakin' cute.

Compared to the original Flash version, the Wii Ware Defend Your Castle sports a significant lack of blood, perhaps not surprising for the family-friendly system. What is pleasantly surprising is the new paper cutout aesthetic, which reminds us of a cross between Paper Mario and Pencil Whipped. We're also fond of the robust more robust animation, which doesn't miss a beat even when hundreds of stick figures storm the castle in the trailer's thrilling multiplayer co-op finale. We haven't seen such an effective mix of cuteness and carnage since the town's last kitten massacre (warning: this last link is not for fans of kittens).

MTV-owned Nickelodeon recently announced plans to add a whopping 1,600 Flash games to its network of web sites. That might sound like a lot, until you consider that the children's network already controls roughly 5,000 web games that reach over 20 million users every month.

Sure, a good proportion of those games are probably Space Invaders clones found at the acquisition AddictingGames.com. But the Nick portfolio also includes some deep, popular virtual worlds like Neopets and Nicktropolis, and the company has announced they'll be creating three more kid-focused, web-based MMOs in the future. When exactly did the first kids network become the first kids gaming network?

It's been a while since we talked about the cult flash physics game Line Rider. Last we heard, developer InXile Entertainment snatched up the rights to the project, with the intent to release it on DS and Wii. Now, industry newbie Genius Products has announced intentions to publish the game on the DS, Wii, and PC, with all three versions due out this summer.

Genius Products has up to now specialized in the distribution of home entertainment products like DVDs. With Line Rider, the Weinstein Holdings company is moving into the game publishing market, hopefully with a hit product. The retail versions of Line Rider will include a level creator mode with the ability to share creations online, but will also feature a single player puzzle mode with, inconceivably enough, a storyline.

As Bosh -- the "clever and cunning" protagonist -- players must traverse over forty sled-riding puzzles to reclaim their true love Bailey from the hands of the "sled-stealing scumbag" Chaz (seriously). The pre-made Line Rider levels were notably designed by TechDawg, the #1 Line Rider player in the world. Let's hope this big(ger)-budget, plot-driven version of the freeware classic is still, above all else, fun.

[Via DS Fanboy]

We know that Zack and Wiki is exceedingly old now. Having been released in the fall of 2007, it's practically an e-octogenarian at this point. But we also know that, for whatever reason, some of you still haven't sampled the delights of the whimsical puzzle adventure. Well, as so rarely happens in life, you are now being given a second chance.

A Flash demo for the game is available right here. Just click on "Gameplay" when the site loads up, you'll see the demo on the right. Keep in mind that the actual game has a bit more to offer (Wiimote action, Zack actually moves, etc.) but this brain-teaser should give you a good idea of what you've been missing.

With it's black-and-white aesthetic and isometric view, odd flash game Cursor*10 couldn't be any simpler. But behind the simplicity is a really clever game mechanic and an oddly addicting experience. Ten cursors race through a maze, but as you (the one controlling these cursors) will soon discover they're going to have to work together if they're going to reach the top.

As you layer the progress of your cursors, the beauty of the game reveals itself. Is there a quicker way to beat the game? Can you do it with more points? We're still trying to find the best way to beat it an our later, which isn't bad for a line-drawn Flash game. What's your best score?

With the launch of Nintendo's WiiWare just around the corner, we expect developers to begin coming out of the woodwork with support for the new download service, the latest of which is Canada-based XGen Studios. Wait, who? As a company known for, of all things, web-based Flash games, XGen has not specified what its initial WiiWare project will be, simply stating that it will release the game alongside the service's launch in early 2008.

On closer inspection, the announcement actually makes a modicum of sense for XGen, which has created browser games for a variety of web portals, including EA's Pogo Network and MTV. The studio's catalog of web games already included labels for those titles it feels are "Wii Compatible," paving the way for game development for the system itself. XGen notes that its first WiiWare title will be based on one of the studio's multiplayer titles, modified to use the Wii remote. But with titles like Fishy, Chicken Jockey, and Balloon Duel, how can you pick just one?

Atom Films hosts Kung-Fu Election, a Mortal Kombat knock-off fighting game starring Republican and Democratic primary front-runners. While the game is fairly deep -- boasting three attack buttons plus special moves -- the intro video snared us. Who knew Obama could shred like that?

See the non-embeddable video, play the game, then tell us how far you fared in the democratic primary tournament.

[Via AdRants]

Do gamers need yet another platform? GarageGames hopes so. The company's latest project, the InstantAction "platform" -- that word was specifically used -- sits inside a web browser, creating a new environment for gaming. And unlike Flash's 2D limit, InstantAction will support a variety of developer-driven technologies and engines, scaling up to first-person-shooters that even utilize video hardware acceleration. (GarageGames had its hand in the Tribes games after all.)

Like other browser plugins, InstantAction has cross-platform intentions. It's first launching for PCs in early 2008, Mac support will be coming as soon as possible, and a Linux version is under consideration. Gamers will be able to download several titles at launch with pricing to be determined. (Free content may be an option, while paid titles could follow subscription models, multi-game package sales, or single purchases.)

We recently explored an in-development version of InstantAction to wrap our heads around the platform-in-a-browser concept. The execution impressed us, but we're still unsure if InstantAction attempts to solve a problem nobody has. Will 3D and developer-driven environments be enough to displace Flash, as GarageGames hopes?

There are only two groups of people reading this: People who haven't tried Portal yet, and people who have beaten it and desperately want more. (On the off, off chance you've only started Portal -- what are you doing? Stop reading the internet and go play more!) For the rest of you though, you may be able to find a couple of minutes of diversion (or solace) from Portal: The Flash Game.

Sure, this version may lack it's big brother's sense of humor and 3D graphics, but what is here actually manages to catch the Portal gameplay experience fairly well. Heck, the portals even sound the same. If you've just finished the brilliant game, this Flash outing might just bum you out more, like looking at pictures of an ex-boyfriend, or a recently-euthanized family pet. But we're more than grateful for the shot of methadone to help us kick our addiction.

[Thanks, BPMΩ]