So here we are, a
one-eyed yellow slab, ejected ignominiously into space and then crash
landed on a desert planet of mutants. What to do? Get a name for one,
and a chainsaw. Plus a fish.
A memory refresh won’t hurt
either. Then it's full steam ahead to saving the universe, and learning
to dance.
Ed is the name of choice, and
Marty the protagonist and progenitor. Last seen heading into a black
hole, we will likely see more of Marty and Ed. And maybe Rocky the fish,
depending on what you did or didn’t do with him.
I didn’t do what I should have
done, so still had him with me. It cost a few points, and I clearly
didn’t do everything else either. Or find all the collectibles. A total
score of 960 was 40 short of perfection, and my final rank no doubt
lacked a little something as well.
I did do a lot though, packed
into my 4 or 5 hours as Ed. I flung a few clones into space, built a
rocket ship, and crafted a large Afro wig to name but a few. Ingested a
few potions too, with some interesting effects. Almost all of it
inventory based, and some of it rather obscure.
I had quite a few conversations,
all of them read, none of them spoken. A generally percussive soundtrack
and some sparse but perfectly adequate sound effects provided the noise.
A number of other characters provided help, or posed problems, or ate
pizza.
Two of them danced, and Ed
triumphed over both. Press the arrow keys to respond to their dance
moves, and watch them tremble as you get down and get funky with it.
It's humorous, in a wry rather
than laugh out loud sort of way. You may find the cactus interaction a
little icky, but it’s the only such interaction I encountered.
Simple 2D animations and clean
and colourful backgrounds are just right for Ed and his meanderings. The
interface is efficient, all pointy and clickery, inventory at the
bottom, and menus down there too. Objectives pop up when triggered and
can be revisited if necessary. Ten save game slots is 9 more than
necessary. No crashes, no issues, no really getting stuck. It isn’t
hard, it isn’t long and it isn't expensive.
I will come back, if the black
hole allows it.
B
I played on:
OS: Windows 7
Processor: AMD Phenom 9500 Quad Core CPU 2.2 GHz
Ram: 4.00GB DDR2 400MHz
Gx card: ATI Radeon HD 3850 512Mb
Space Madness
is an Independent production and can be purchased via download from the
Spreadcamp website.
GameBoomers Review Guidelines
February 2012
design copyright© 2012
GameBoomers
Group
