Insufficient Funds: Give Up, Robot 1 and 2

Insufficient Funds is a weekly post in which we feature a free, or very close to it, piece of media that you can enjoy without overdrafting your bank account. So if you're low on funds, stay tuned to Cerebral Pop every Friday morning.

I don't play many Internet games. I usually get bored or frustrated and all too easily navigate away from the page. But after the first few stages of Give Up, Robot from Adult Swim games, I was hooked.

You play as a charming little robot with a grappling hook, being watched over by a God-like computer -- much in the vein of Portal. This head computer wants nothing more than your death. He actually tells you that he loves you when you indeed die -- and believe me, you will die... many times. The game is just hard, and you may want to quit, but provides enough fun that you'll want to see it to the end. The encouragement of the head computer telling you to give up after you complete a stage is another reason to push on through.

The music in the game is top notch. I usually find myself desperately trying to mute any music on Internet games, but with this one I actually enjoyed it. It's really simple electronic/hip hop music that has an 8-bit sound. It goes perfectly with the way the game looks and feels.

In the second game, the relationship between your robot and the main computer is expanded upon and becomes even more tangible, but I don't want to give anything away. There are also a lot more puzzles and obstacles to overcome. I obviously suggest playing Give Up, Robot 1 before you play number two. Trust me, you will get frustrated, and want to punch your computer, but it's oh so satisfying in the end. So, do yourself a favor and play these games.

Click here for Give up Robot 1, and here for the second.