The first five minutes: Looming.

(As part of a game design exercise, I will be reviewing the first five minutes of a random game from the internet every day)

Looming:

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/541333

This game seems to have the atmosphere and story thing down--the sounds are not very complicated, but I immediately understood what kind of setting the game took place in from the grayscale and windy noises, and from the text I read. It seems like the searching aspect of the game could become quite tiresome--finding objects on a grid is not my idea of an involving gameplay experience, even for a flash game. I think it's probably bothering me that this game's core play gameplay mechanic is not very complicated--it just seems kind of erudite and mysteriously intellectual, but without any real seeming gameplay elements.

The game also seems to have a technical issue, as it is impossible to click on the screen without going to another website, but you must click on the screen to unpause it. Approve of retro graphics, disapprove of player involvement.