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Here’s a quick look at gameplay in BigTree Defense, which just launched today. The battle we focus on in this clip is Battle 2 from Act 1, and shows you how to upgrade and equip weapons before the battle and how to construct multiple branching limbs on the main tree in order to build up your defenses.

Next Tuesday, we’ll be launching one of our most highly anticipated releases (well, highly anticipated internally since this is likely the first time you’ve heard of it!). It’s called BigTree Defense, from developer Burstyx, whose previous games include Time Goes By and Glow Cut, both of which are oddly addicting in their own right.

BigTree Defense takes its inspiration (as the name implies) from the tower defense genre that has become hugely popular in the Flash gaming community recently. Waves of enemies will come to attack, and you’ll need to purchase and upgrade weapons in order to fend them off.

That’s where similarities to other tower defense games end, though. BigTree Defense has multiple layers of complexity, starting with the fact that you’ll have to control the actual shape of the tree by growing branches and stems on which to place weapons.

The weapons themselves are inspired by plants — you’ll use fruit cannons, shine flowers, nut snails, rocket fruit and more in your quest to defend the Big Tree from insect attacks.

Before each round, you’ll be able to upgrade and equip up to seven different plants to use during the battle. Each weapon can be leveled up to 5 (which means you can use water points during the battle to upgrade the weapon).

Once the battle starts, an arrow will indicate which direction the first wave of insects will approach from — that’s when you’ll need to strategize plant/branch placement. If an insect reaches the main trunk of the tree, they’ll start draining HP — and since you won’t want your weapons to damage the tree itself, insects are invincible for this short amount of time. This means you’ll protect the tree most effectively by building branches outwards.

There are three ‘Acts’ to BigTree Defense, with three battles each. The trees you can build are unique to each Act, so you might find that a strategy that worked perfectly in the first few battles will fail you in the next.

And fail you probably will. BigTree Defense is one of the most challenging and punishing games we’ve put on Candystand in recent memory. Even after testing and replaying this game for weeks, we still run up against waves of enemies that overpower us sometimes. We’ll post a ton of tips and tricks for this game after it releases to point you in the right direction

BigTree Defense will launch on Candystand.com on Tuesday March 2nd. Check back to play the game!

This Tuesday’s upcoming big game launch is a strategy game called Civilizations Wars, where you’ll take on the role of an omniscient deity commanding troops to take over forts and defeat enemies. Don’t let the title scare you off though – behind this game is the simple mechanic you’re likely familiar with in the card game War (larger groups of soldiers will overpower smaller ones).

The main goal is simple: eliminate all the opposing forces in each level by sending your troops out to their bases and outnumbering them. This is done by clicking on a base from which you want to send troops and dragging them to another base to take over.

Protip: you can send multiple sets of troops to the same base by dragging your cursor over different bases that you’ve already conquered. This helps when there are a high number of enemies in the base you’re gunning for.

With over a dozen levels, a handful modes per level (including a Mummy mode where you have to fend off waves of undead!) and numerous upgradable special powers, we think Civilizations Wars is going to be hit when it releases tomorrow on Candystand.com, especially for those of you who may have thought last week’s parking game was too ‘easy.’ Who loves ya?

Platform-adventure game Wrath of Anubis launched on Candystand and viral sites a few weeks ago — the game features dozens of levels of mummy-avoiding, tomb-exploring and gem-collecting entertainment, and we were lucky enough to snag a quick interview with the game’s developer, Jeff Louie at JFlashGaming. Read on to get a glimpse inside the game developer’s mind.

Tell us about the development of Wrath of Anubis – when did you start development?
It’s been about 6 months since I started tinkering around with the engine that powers the final build of the game. After developing a level editor and playable character, the game elements were slowly added. However, most of the development time was spent on creating the individual levels that fill the three worlds of Wrath of Anubis. Much care was taken ensuring the player is not overwhelmed by difficult or underwhelmed by a slow-paced game. I believe the current version has a nice balance between the two.

Why Egypt?
Wrath of Anubis was originally just a tech demo for a tile-based platformer. I experimented with different movement and jumping mechanics that are the basis of Wrath of Anubis. Incidentally, I included yellow bricks as wall and ground tiles and the game was formed around that.

Jeff used this playable tech demo to find an artist for the final version of the game.

What are you working on next?
Right now I’m looking in to incorporating new themes into the platformer genre. Re-working some of the code in Wrath of Anubis and implementing some enemy path finding has created some interesting possibilities. Without giving out all my ideas, just think how awesome “platforming zombies” would be. And no, right now I don’t even know what that fully means.

What are some games you’ve been playing lately? Any cool things you see happening?
Jayisgames.com just wrapped up their user-voted top games of the year segment. It’s nice to have a list of the top games in each category and see what gameplay innovations have been introduced. This is especially important for a game designer to see what others have done which is hard given the sheer amount of flash games released.

As for console games, I have been working hard levelling up my character in Modern Warfare 2. However, like many others, I am also getting torn apart by the gamers online. Oh well, I’ll get better some time!

Play Wrath of Anubis now >

This week’s Tuesday new game release takes the normally-mundane task of well, parking a car and turns it into a frenetic race to score points.

Super Parking World contains fifteen levels – in each, you’ll be tasked to park as accurately and quickly as possible in a predesignated spot. Unlike real life, you won’t have to circle for half an hour only to have your spot sniped by another driver. But like real life, you’ll have to avoid other cars, traffic cones and other structures as you try to navigate the crowded (and sometimes, awfully designed) lot.

Controls:
- Use the arrow keys to drive your car.
- Hit the spacebar once you’ve reached the accuracy you’re happy with.

Super Parking World launches on Candystand.com Tuesday morning! Check the homepage to play, and then let us know what you think

We’re kicking off your Tuesday afternoon with a one-two punch of games, starting off with Mechanical Commando 2. MC2 is an action game where you’ll need to blast your way through waves of invaders in order to complete missions and defend the federation from enemy attacks. You control a mechanical commando (really, it’s just a dude in a mech suit) with arrow keys or WASD, shooting lasers by holding down your mouse button.

Since we rarely feature games on Candystand that involve much shooting, you should know that by default we’ve turned off the gore in the game — when you hit an enemy, they’ll just fall over, no blood. This could make the game a bit more palatable for those who are squeamish or unsure if it’s suitable for younger teens.

Like most of our new games, Mechanical Commando 2 features trophies! The scores are set at 10 points for Bronze, 20 for silver, and 30 for gold. The game awards one point for each completed mission, as well as for each medal you earn for the levels. Example: if you complete the first mission and earn a silver medal for your performance in it, you’ll get three medals (one for the mission, one for bronze, one for silver).

What about the second game? Glad you asked! The second title we launched today is actually a minigame tied into Mechanical Commmando. The MC2 minigame is a spot-the-difference puzzle where you’ll have to inspect two pieces of Mechanical Commando 2 art for variations. Like with all good spot-the-difference games, you’ll find a few new changes the second or third time you play as well.

The best part about the minigame is that if you complete the puzzle (which shouldn’t take you more than a few tries), you’ll unlock a special upgraded weapon to use in the main Mechanical Commando 2 game. This is done through the GamerSafe login system (different from your Candystand login).

You can register for and log into a GamerSafe account directly inside either game — once you’ve done so, the weapon will automatically show up in the main game’s inventory. It’s a cool bonus you’ll get just for playing both Mechanical Commando 2 and the MC2 Minigame.

Play Mechanical Commando 2 >
Play Mechanial Commando 2 Minigame (unlocks new weapon) >

Let us know what you think of the games! Did you try logging in with GamerSafe? Do you want to see more games that are tied together like this?

Ever wondered what you’d look like with a sweet beard? We often do (no, seriously). But thanks to our upcoming game, Give It a Ponder, you won’t have to spend months growing out your facial fuzz to find out!

Give It a Ponder will be launching later this month on Candystand.com — the game will let you upload a photo of yourself (or you can use one of our models), then answer a series of ten beard-related questions. The more correct answers, the bushier your beard.

Check out the video above for a sneak peek of the game, and then watch for the launch on Candystand.com soon!