There was a time when you had to pay fifty bucks for a new video game, and if you didn’t like it, tough luck. Gamers may have a warm nostalgic feeling for the games of the past, but we certainly don’t miss the business model behind old school games. Today you still have those mass market, fifty bucks a pop games, but you also have a world of alternatives on the web. Here are five of the top sites where you can play free online games:

Newgrounds.com

Newgrounds.com is sort of a Youtube for Flash creations with a huge gaming section. The site offers an opportunity for amateur and semi-pro animators and game designers to show off their stuff. A lot of these games are pretty crude and amateurish, others have a rugged charm in their unprofessional feeling, and others will leave you wondering why nobody’s paying this programmer six figures a year to design video games for a living yet.

Retrosabotage.com

This site is kind of a weird one, built around a fun concept: Classic video games remixed with a twist. They don’t just get new graphics or anything, rather, the whole way they’re played is changed. A remixed Super Mario Bros. has you jumping right out of the Nintendo system while a Space Invaders remix ends with a zoom out showing thousands upon thousands of invaders. Old games with a new twist make for a fun and weird gaming site.

Addictinggames.com

Most of the games on this site are just what they’re advertised as being: Addicting. Some of them are pretty simple, others a little more challenging, but all of them are hard to put down.

Semisecretsoftware.com

This site is host to some pretty amazing games. Gravity Hook is a lot of fun, but the real treasure here is Canabalt, a sort of endless platformer that has you jumping from roof to roof from some unseen threat just off the left side of the screen as enormous robots trudge around in the background. Canabalt will make you rethink how much fun you can have with nothing but a jump button.

Foddy.net

Foddy specializes in games that challenge you to do some pretty simple things like running or climbing a rock face, but with difficult and hilariously awkward button layouts. QWOP has you using the Q, W, O, and P keys in order to operate your runner’s legs with Q and P corresponding to the hips and W and O corresponding to the knees. All you have to do is run, but it’s a lot harder than it sounds and immensely satisfying when you finally get it right. This site is all about adding more challenge to the simplest of activities.

PlayFreeOnlineGames.tv
Video games have exploded. In the past, they were a nerd hobby or something for kids; they weren’t the kind of thing that just anyone could pick up and play, with a few exceptions like Mario and Tetris. Today, everyone you know probably has at least one game they love whether it’s Angry Birds or ZiGGURAT, and the market has responded with fun, pick-up-and play free online games. PlayFreeOnlineGames.tv specializes in classic games or at least they have a section dedicated to them. I personally love the old arcade classics like Pacman and Space Invaders. If old school games is more your flavor head over to PlayFreeOnlineGames.tv.

This article was provided by Shon. Shon is a avid online gamer with a passion for old classic games. Visit Shon’s site if you love to play the good old arcade games like Pacman and Space invaders. www.playfreeonlinegames.tv.