Since Firefox is getting to be such an expandable browser with so many add-ons, extensions, themes, and plug-ins, that we can start a new feature on this site: a regular review of a Firefox add-on! This time, we’ll talk about Firefox games.

What? No, not Flash. Not Java games. Not the games on any site. The games you can install into the browser itself! Now, first thing I must tell you: don’t get too excited. These are simple little desktop games, more for proof-of-concept than anything else. From the looks of things, Quake in Firefox is a long way off!

All of these were tested on Firefox 2.0. They installed easily, and after the restart (necessary for any Firefox add-on) they were accessible from the “tools” menu. None of them had sound and they all appear to be done in Javascript, DHTML, AJAX, or some member of that family.

Xoom

Xoom is a simple racing game, which offers two tracks - beginner and advanced. On the whole, I’d compare it to the old “Sprint” arcade game. The controls aren’t very much like steering - it takes a couple of laps to get the hang of it, but once you do and you use the strategy of sticking to the inside of turns, you won’t have much trouble staying ahead of the computer-guided cars.

Clines

Clines is a clone of the colored lines game you’ve seen here and there - I believe there was one that came with Windows back in the 3.1 days. The object is to build lines of five balls of the same color, which then vanish and give you an extra turn. The ball has to have empty spaces to move through. This game was a breeze to run, just click and go! It also has some features - it is compatible with a wide range of languages, can undo moves, save high scores, and switch to a more difficult mode where you have to deal with more colors. It’s an amusing enough time-waster, like a good desktop game.

Mozteroids

Well, this one certainly gets points for some nice graphics! This is of course a modern version of the old “Asteroids” arcade classic. The spaceship can spin, thrust, stop, and shoot. Blow up rocks before they crash into you. You’ll find it slightly difficult to survive at first, until you figure out that it’s best to stay pinned in the center and fire continuously.

All three of these are nifty for the idea - I’m playing games in the web browser itself! - but not for any kind of serious gaming. But because of the light system load, they are very cool to play to fill in time - that minute-long lag when Digg is loading a page with over 1000 comments, for instance. And how handy, they’re right in your browser menu any time.

Related Posts:

• Firefox Add-ons - Free lightweight games (Round 2)
• Making bad websites behave with Firefox
• What Your Web-Browser Says About You - part 2
• Five Web Browsers You Probably Haven’t Tried
• Vintage Gaming - part four: MAME and ZSNES

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