Here is an exception that makes a rule, I guess; a browser game! Usually I wouldn't cover these no matter how awesome since Weekly Penguin arena is all about penguins actually in my collection, but in this case I sort of have a loop-hole – I happened to back this game on Kickstarter. And I'm very glad I did.
The game in question is Learn to Fly 3 from Lightbringer Games. It is obviously a third instalment in a series focusing on penguins trying to, well, learn to fly. The first two games were about penguins learning how master flight – and the third game picks right off from there. The head penguin at Antarctica is reading the eMails, mostly praising the penguin greatness and their newly acquired flight skills... until he reads a message mocking them for being too fat to ever reach the Moon. Obviously that doesn't go down well, calling for formation of penguin NASA, in preparation for the first Antarctic flight... to the Moon!
If I would have to describe Learn to Fly 3 as something-meets-something, it would be Kerbal Space Program meets classic Learn to Fly; it has the easy-to-get-into approach of the predecessors in the series, but when it comes to building the space vehicles, things get really interesting and fun to experiment with.
The basics are as follows; you have a body to which you can attach things and which you shoot up with a launcher. Once in the air, you can have multiple stages to propel you upwards and multiple manually-fired boosts to aid and compensate for environmental effects (wind, mid-air-collisions, etc.). And all the above can be swapped, upgraded and combined in almost any way you want. For example, for bodies you have everything from no body at all and simple cardboard boxes, all the way to proper NASA-style shuttles.
As for the Kickstarting part, Learn to Fly 3 goes way beyond your typical flash freemium game with crazy attention to detail – from all the fun minigames and animations for all the crazy launchers to even the bonus modes having their own mini-storylines and cut-scenes. And on top of all those are all the unlockables, achievements and customization options! Flippers up to Lightbringer games, they've spent their time and money well.
I honestly don't know how much time I've spent with the game; it's simply fun as heck and possibly the best way to spend your lunch breaks. I can't recommend it enough if you're looking for a fun and creative time-sink. Plus it's ad-supported form of 'free', so there's no reason not to give it a spin.
Also, it's a penguin game where this happens;
You simply can't argue with that.
Right now the game is waiting for the final release via Fishing Cactus, but in the meantime you can play the full game via Lightbringer Games servers. Give it a go, it's fun!
