Handy Man

Handy Man was one of those straightforward action games you'd find during the Flash era. It didn't have a complicated story or elaborate graphics. You just loaded it up in your browser and started shooting. The game had a certain simplicity that fit right in with other titles from that time.

You control a lone operative viewed from the side. Your character stands behind a low wall, and waves of enemy soldiers approach from the right side of the screen. You aim with your mouse and fire with a left click. The core loop involves picking off these enemies as they advance, using the number keys to switch between a few different weapons. A key mechanic is using the space bar; holding it raises your character to shoot, while releasing it makes him duck behind cover to avoid incoming fire and reload. The main objective is simply to survive each wave and complete the mission by eliminating all targets. The pacing is methodical, not frantic, but the difficulty comes from managing your exposure and ammo. It feels like a tense game of peek-a-boo where a mistimed shot can get you killed.