Race the Sun

Keeping it short and simple: not many games can make me return on almost daily basis to them for months. This game did it. Also: it's one of the few games where I am able to stay somewhat chill despite losing (normally I get pissed off really easily). Get it, it's worth it :)

This game reminds me of the classic Sega racer, a lot. You race against the clock, in this case the setting sun, trying to get as far and getting as many points as possible. The gameplay is simple but incredibly fun and addicting, the graphics are simple but the levels are really cool looking, and the music and sound effects make for a really compelling game. We have to applaud that the developers created a virtual community and online features from scratch, using their own software and servers, wich means that we can have this game in GOG with all the functionalities. My surprise game of 2013, so far.

It's a great game for the price. Beautiful and simple fun. It's also difficult and repetitive, like games used to be in the good old days, but the levels change every day so the game stays fresh. My only complaint is that there is no multiplayer aspect in the game at all, even though it's classified as "Multiplayer" on GOG. There's an online leaderboard, but that's not multiplayer any more than a bulletin board is a social gathering.

In 1992 there was a film based very loosely on a Stephen King novel. That movie was Lawnmower Man, and because it was the 90s, there was a tie-in videogame, released on the following year. While the game was a poor run-and-gun itself even more loosely based on the film (I'm not even sure if King would be that mad at this point), it had a twist - pseudo-3D levels, where the player has to transverse a somewhat strange, very abstract world at high speed without hitting too many walls. Sounds familiar? Race The Sun picks up bits of the concept, and turns it into a at times brilliant, at others rough around the edges arcade racer. The concept is simple and already well explained by others - the arcade clock is the sinking sun, the player has to chase it as fast as possible. Maybe the biggest problem are the levelling up challenges - Sometimes I got stuck with a tough one, but breezed past 2 or 3 higher ones, while on one occasion, had to beat one by sheer luck to keep progressing (and unlock one upgrade that made others simple). If this happens early on, it might become a deal breaker.

This game is way too hard. I don't know if it's just me, but I can't get past level 3. I keep restarting, I get upgrades, but it isn't really getting easier with those. Recently, the game told me that because I'm such a pro (yeah right), I can enter a more difficult mode. No thanks. I like the concept behind this one, and it looks addictive when you watch it, but playing it was not much fun for me.