There are plenty of free games on the internet. Let's, for a moment, focus on one little gem that hails from the tiny island nation of Japan. For five years an artists known only by his internet pseudonym Pixel toiled away crafting one of the most entertaining throwbacks to the era of 16-bit shooters that you can find anywhere.

Cave Story (or Doukutsu Monogatari as it's titled in Japanese) is a hard game to pigeonhole. It's a shooter much in the vein of Mega, but there are exploration elements like a Metroid game, plus an innovative hassel-free psuedo-RPG system for upgrading your weapons. It succeds where many home-brews fail by taking the best elements from other games and bringing them together to create something unique. It doesn't feel like you're retreading old ground.

As the game starts you find yourself alone in a cave. In true Metroid fashion you know nothing about your surroundings, and as you slowly progress you'll find weapons to dispatch the thousands of baddies and punishing bosses you'll come across and meet dozens of characters that will progress the surprisingly interesting plot. As you progress you'll see the polish that makes the game so appealing. Everywhere you go there are secrets, some big, some little. Deviously hidden weapons to acquire, optional bosses to conquer, and a secret hidden final stage that only those with cores of pure titanium with be able to uncover without running to a strategy guide.

The polish doesn't begin and end with the secrets though. Everything in the game feels right. Running and jumping through the games many caves quickly becomes second nature. The risk-reward weapons upgrade system is simple yet offers room for strategy. The bosses are gigantic, challenging, and fun. The level design is consistently varied and well designed.

Is it perfect? No, but as freeware you'd be hard-pressed to fins anything better. Do yourself a favor and check it out.