Portabliss: Serious Sam Kamikaze Attack (iOS/Android)
Did you know that you can download handheld games now? That's amazingly convenient! The only inconvenient part of it is finding the right games to buy -- and that's where we come in, with our Portabliss column. In each installment, we'll tell you about a downloadable game on the iPhone, iPad, Android device, DSi, 3DS, PSP, etc. Today: Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack.
I've never played any of the Serious Sam games, so I approached Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack without the benefit of context. So, to me, this iPhone game is about a heroic, headless man in boxing gloves who runs and kicks missiles until he can tackle a guy in a white t-shirt, at which point he explodes.
I'm having a hard time believing that this makes sense to other people.
Despite the total insanity of the premise ... OK, because of it ... I'm really enjoying this game. As a Headless Kamikaze enemy, you auto-run through short levels, jumping over and kicking obstacles like cacti, frogs, missiles, and bouncing bombs. As you progress through the level, you run with increasing speed, unless you pick up a slow-down item. The goal is to tackle and blow up Sam at the end of the level, who is running away from you.
However, that goal isn't really the goal. Each stage has a "bonus objective" usually involving destroying a specified number of a certain obstacle -- "kick 15 frogs" -- before you reach Sam. In these cases, you may actually want to delay reaching the end of the stage.
It's kind of neat to break what feels like a "run forever" Canabalt-style game into discrete, short levels. Well, it's either neat or entirely missing the point, but I happen to like the change of pace. I also like the cold shock of being dropped into this world. Are all the Serious Sam games this weird?%Gallery-134562% Serious Sam: Kamikaze Attack is available from the iOS App Store as a universal app for $.99, and from the Android Market for the same price. We're always looking for new distractions. Want to submit your game for Portabliss consideration? You can reach us at portabliss aat joystiq dawt com.
