Two Frogger games for you today, they aren’t much different from each other. They are even practically the same size. The main difference is that in the second one, everything goes a bit faster – great for advanced froggies!

1. Frogger(2.5 MB)
2. Another Frogger (2.5 MB)

Here are 3 different versions of the classic arcade game Missile Command. There are a lot of 3D remakes of this game but I had a devil of a time finding a classic version. Of the games I tested, here are three good portable versions, depending on your tastes.

ABM COMMAND (only 78 KB!)
This one is my favorite, probably because it’s the most faithful to the original. A nice 2D version that will bring back memories for us older folk! Use your mouse and click on the incoming missiles. For Windows only.

DOWNLOAD: http://www.worldvillage.com/wv/gamezone/download/abmcmd.zip

PENGUIN COMMAND (2 MB)
Another 2D version with some nice backgrounds and additions. You have 3 missile launchers to control and you can play with your mouse (I haven’t figured out how to launch anything with the center launcher, but use your left and right buttons for the respective launchers) or the keyboard using the keys A, S and D. Available for most platforms.

DOWNLOAD: http://www.linux-games.com/penguin-command/

MISSILE COMMAND 3D (takes up 12 MB)
Here’s a 3D version with a panoramic view. Cool sounds; tough to play.

DOWNLOAD: http://www.minionsoft.com/arcade/download/MC.zip

I wonder if there are readers who remember this great game, Aztec Challenge. I invested most of my teenage years playing this game on the Commodore 64 and managed to complete all the levels once – one of my greatest accomplishments! I have been looking for a PC version of Aztec Challenge for ages and I happen to have found one today!

You start off running the gauntlet of spear throwers – avoid the spears by jumping and ducking with the UP and DOWN arrow keys – who are trying to thwart your escape from slavery. The pyramid gets closer and closer, but if you get hit you have to start the level all over!

I don’t know if all the levels are there (I’m a little out of practice and can’t seem to get past the first level!! *blushes*) but it’s a completely portable version of the game with modern graphics. Neat! It doesn’t save high scores though. I still wish I could find a full screen PC version with the original look. Playing in the small VICE emulator window just doesn’t have the same effect.

Download the Aztec Challenge remake here: http://www.merseyremakes.co.uk/games/aztecchallenge.zip

For some help with this game, check out: Aztec Challenge FAQ/Walkthru.

I’ve separated my portable apps links (LINKS) and games links (GAMES) pages. The games page will continue to grow as I test out and review new games each week.

There are already plenty of excellent sites dedicated to portable apps (see my LINKS page), so I thought I would switch the focus of this blog to portable arcade games as I find there aren’t any sites dedicated to these. This site will focus on portable old-style arcade games and modern remakes of these games. I will also evaluate other types of games (puzzle, strategy, etc) on occasion.

Check out the new list: GAMES.

I tried out a new Space Invaders today that I really enjoyed. It’s an OpenSource version and you can download it from here: http://spaceinvadersgl.sourceforge.net/. Select the third download file: “Space Invaders-0.6.1.zip(650 KB) – Program executable in zip archive.” You only need to copy the executable to your flash drive. This game is available for Windows only.

It’s a very good remake with modern graphics for the explosions and the backgrounds. Also, for those of you who are 3D fans, you can press F1 at any time during the game and the mode changes into 3D. Move your mouse around and you can adjust the angle of the screen. It has a built-in MP3 player so you can listen to your favorite tunes as you save the universe.

If you like to download flash games (.swf ) onto your flash drive, here is another site that has a few: allthingsflash.com. There are a few gems in this list, one of which is Curveball.

Another site where you can download Macromedia Flash games is http://www.freegamesforyourwebsite.com/.

A portable Sudoku game is now available on John Haller’s portableapps.com website. Check it out!

I’ve been using OpenOffice all this time and I just find out I had an integrated Space Invaders game inside of Calc! Who knew!?

Play the game by typing =Game(“StarWars”) into any cell. The game unfortunately is VERY slow! Maybe there are instructions to fix that but my German isn’t that advanced – the game notes are all in German. If you want to play a second game, you have to restart Calc – I guess that’s to encourage us not to spend all day playing games and get back to work.
There is also an unimpressive game of Tic-Tac-Toe. Enter =Game(A1:C3;”TicTacToe”) into cell A4. The game plays out in cells A1 to C3.

These two games are available in both the portable version and full version of OpenOffice.

All in all, I guess it’s fun to know about their existence and to impress your friends but that’s about it. OpenOffice is a great (terrific, wonderful, awesome, etc…) suite but I won’t be playing these two games unless I’m really desperate!

Bookmark Base is a commercial bookmark manager that supports Firefox, Internet Explorer and Opera. Available for $19.95 US, it can be carried around on your flash drive so that you can easily manage all your bookmarks no matter how many computers you use.

Bookmark Base has a clean easy-to-use interface. Import and export with the click of a button and it automatically checks for duplicates. A bookmark checker button checks for any dead links. The bookmarks are kept in an encrypted file on your flash drive and leave no traces on the PC. An editor allows you to add or modify details and notes to your bookmarks.

A simple and practical little app that’s completely portable. You can try it out for yourself; download a free trial at

http://www.bookmarkbase.com/download/.

Here are two small chess games for chess lovers.

• NagaSkaki
• Slow Chess Blitz