Flash Games, a Cheap Rip of Real Games?

Many of us, as children, were likely introduced to computer gaming by simple flash games made by a single or a small group of developers. Such games are usually simple, have basic game-play, and a pretty straight-forward story, if there is any.

As we get older, some of us simply give up gaming. Some of us continue to pursue online gaming to several new levels.

But the question here is, are flash games really games?

Personally, I don't think flash games are something to be waved away without further examination. However, the simple majority of flash games, suck.

Screenshot of Bloons Tower Defense 4

I mean, search for "free online flash games" and you'll be overwhelmed by sites which offer several thousand free flash games. Randomly choose a site and game, and you'll be bored within minutes. Many of these flash games have little to no development and barely any thought into it. And I'll bet you that game is swarming with advertisements.

Now, there are exceptions. Flash games do own their own category of games. Let's ignore all the sucky flash games for a moment. You're left with a small few that really can amaze you, and can even rival games made for portable and console games.

I'll give you a few examples:

1. Sierra 7. A first person shooter, featuring very detailed weapons, smooth 3D environment, and stickmen.
2. Bubble Tanks 2. A very simple shooter game with simple graphics and addicting game-play.
3. Little Wheel. A game that doesn't focus so much on game-play, but more so on the plot and story as well as the graphics.

Flash games can really be quite amazing depending on the time and effort that was put into creating the game.

If you'd like to try some relatively high quality flash gaming sites, I recommend Kongregate (all the games listed above are played on Kongregate) and Armor Games.

It's unfortunate that so many flash games are low quality, that they tarnish the very name. But just please don't forget and ignore the ones that are truly creative and fun.