Toss the Turtle is a new game located on Newgrounds that has taken the old Kitty Cannon idea of time wasting luck and added a bit of skill too it with upgrades and purchaseable items a la Hedghog Launch.  The game is brought to us by Newgrounds members Foreverkul and Gonzossm and has garnered a Newgorunds Weekly Users Choice and Daily feature awards with only having been released Monday. Now, I must say that I caught wind of this on Digg.com this morning as I find that any flashgame good enough to make it to the front page of Digg is worth my time.

My initial look at the game as it loaded up was one of suprise when I saw the detail and fun sketching of the art style which not only informative on how to play as the game opened up but also rather enjoyable to look at as it was not drab at all. A lot of games really skip the whole "make learning easy and fun" thing but I'd say that Toss the Turtle suceeds in the area. Even though the controls are easy to use I actually wanted to READ about them instead of just jumping into the game and in turn getting frustrated enough to chuck my mouse at someones face.

First off I'd like to say that Kitty Cannon, as much as it shows its age, is still fun even though it's pretty much just a point and click gimmick. I still go back and play it often when I'm trying to kill time and had been hoping for years that there would be an updated version or sequel offering certain features and upgrades. With that said, I will never be playing Kitty Cannon again as Toss the Turtle has served up every wish, hope, and dream I had for a sequel and went even further. Not only did the game offer four upgradable cannons with different power levels for flinging your Turtle across the world but it had multiple level backgrounds with more than just the same three perils repeating randomly. I really enjoyed progressing in the game as I was shocked to find that the further out you journey in your adventures with forward momentum the perils and helpful items actually EVOLVE and become different!

I spent the first two hours of my morning progressing in the game to get to the max cannon level and even purchasing one or two of the gun upgrades. Speaking of the gun upgrade I found that to be one of the most unique characteristics about the game really solidifying it in my eyes as my new fall back time killer. With the mouse controlled crosshairs you can use the firearm currently equipt to fling yourself forward or preven yourself from hitting traps thus prolonging your alrerady extended free fall!

After I figured out the quirks of the game and the best manner of progression I decided to put the game to the official trial, the Office Test. I introduced my other co-workers to the game as some are skilled and the others are not but they all love playing games. It went without a hitch. I came back from lunch to find that everyone was talking about the game as they continued to level up their equiptment.

One of the collest little factors I found might be an idea that belongs to Newgrounds but I found out only when playing this game. They have finally managed away to create a well functioning Achievement system for playing games with your Newgrounds login. I about shit my pants, because if you don't know I'm pretty much the biggest achievement whore out there. I love unlocking achievements while playing because it gives it that extra bit of spice to keep me going the distance. It's pretty much the Black Tar Heroin of my life.

The biggest impact that I found other than how smooth the game functioned (except for a couple freezes here and there that were probably attributed to my devastating play style) the art was fantastic. I felt close to my Turtle as he and I both journied through misadventures with gravity. It wasnt just one constant graphic either there was an animated response for everything that happened to the little guy. On top of that the enemies and "spingboard" type people were clearly designed with care and originality in both form and function. In one of my longest (or what would have been) flying sprees I found myself smacked in the face with a mace hanging from a baloon. Just when you thought it was safe to fly again right?

Continually challenging yet relatively easy to learn is how I would describe Toss the Turtle as it has quickly become one of my favorite flash games of this year and possibly will be of all time. On top of that I think it's become a reason for me to renew/recreate my Newgrounds membership as those achievements MUST BE MINE. I would definitely suggest dropping by the website and giving it a run. It's definitely a game you can play while doing other things which is very important to us Weekly Working Warriors. All in all I'm giving Toss the Turtle a MUST PLAY rating and if you're still reading this you should have already clicked the link and been half way through the game by now as it slowly erodes your soul and prevents you from being productive at all. I'll see you kids next week for another Workless Wednesday flash game review.

Think you can top DJ RedJeans score? Wanna talk that trash? Drop him some lines through the forums and show him up! Anyone who can top the challenge score of 547265.9 ft with only One weapon, One rocket pack, and One Cannon shot will win 1000 Wasabits! Make sure to drop your screenshot off here.

Got any ideas of flash games old or new you wanna see reviewed on Workless Wednesday? Drop by the forums and give us some ideas! Winning ideas will get props in the news article and win 2000 Wasabits!

Any and all winners will be announced the following weeks article and you are eligible to post any ideas up until the time the article is written the day before.