Three-day weekend you say? While you were out celebrating the beginning of the end of the worst of the main-stretch of Houston's hot-and-humid uniseason, swatting mosquitoes and emptying six-packs, Art Attack was hard at work trying to find legal loopholes in the Federal Holiday Codex that might allow us to get back to our desks in time to find some really motivational material to get you through what's bound to be -- let's be honest here -- a disappointing post-holiday work week.
We had great plans, truly, but all our lawyers had gone out of town to do some catfish noodling and none of us bloggers knew how to read those old-fangled government books that don't light up from behind. So there we were, cursing our old pal Labor Day when it hit us: motivation schmotivation! The entire country just spent an entire day celebrating working by not working. Why stop there?
We were going to do it big. Really big -- a whole retrospective of our favorite time-devouring browser games from the past year, but then we got distracted all day playing this new one we just found out about. So, if you want to continue celebrating working by not working, we have just the thing. Each week Art Attack will be throwing out a new game to keep your fingers busy and your mind (somewhat) at ease. This week, we're hooked on Fishbane, a deceptively simple-looking platformer featuring old-timey diving suits, harpoons, and retro graphics.
Sounds easy: You collect harpoons, you throw harpoons, you even surf on harpoons, and of course there are the requisite things-to-avoid. Before the game really gets going, though, you're put through a series of "how the hell am I supposed to do that" moments that help build up the skills you'll need to get through the increasingly puzzling levels.
Luckily, this game has no concept of lives and there's no real danger just standing still, so it's a tab you can leave open and come back to in between whatever the hell else you're doing. Each level is divided into rooms you can replay until you finish or give up, and each room is basically just a puzzle that requires the occasional well-timed button mash.
