Squake is a racing / action game developed and published by On5.
If you're over 20, you probably remember our frenzied games of Snake on the school benches with our old Nokia 3310, capable of knocking down a wall by throwing them at them? Well Squake brings this game up to date and adds a whole bunch of new game modes!
History
Uh ... Well, in fact there is no story. You are a kind of locomotive and have to pick up wagons. We are directly immersed in the action, no blah, no fuss!
The game
Squake managed to mix the Snake game with a hint of Carmageddon and Micromachine. We are therefore at the controls of a small vehicle in an arena.
There are a total of 10 arenas, each with different objectives. There is the basic arena, where the object of the game is to have the longest line of wagons, by collecting objects on the ground which adds each time, a wagon in a line. There are also “Capture the Flag” arenas, where you have to go to the enemy base in order to retrieve their colored wagon and bring them back to yours. Or even the “dynamite” arena, where the wagons are replaced by two types of dynamites, red and blue. You must pick up those of the enemy's color and bring them to their base to detonate them inside, reducing the latter's life points, the first base to reach zero life points is gone. There is also the 'survivor' arena where players start out with a certain time countdown and it will decrease as soon as you are the one with the longest line of wagons. The first to reach zero wins the game. And there are other game modes!
The arenas are all different and some even have traps to trigger to kill your enemies, but be careful, because you can also catch them!
The levels are filled with wagons, but also with various bonuses and penalties scattered all over the place. There are bonuses such as the magnet, which is used to attract cars around, without having to roll over them. There's also the wagon multiplier, which makes when you pick up a wagon you get two, etc. On the side of the penalties, there is the one which allows to freeze all the players on the board, slowing them down enormously for very long seconds, or the penalty which reverses the directions. Others add a drill in front of the locomotive, allowing you to explode your enemies, or cut the line of cars or even a speed boost, etc.
During your games, it will be possible to collect coins and you will also earn coins according to your ranking. These allow you to improve the duration and power of the bonuses, but also to modify (very slightly, however) your locomotive by adding small smoke effects.
Graphics and audio
The graphics may seem "ugly" at first, but actually stick perfectly to the style and atmosphere of the game. On the sound side, it's quite "simplistic", just a few sound effects and that's it. It's a shame that there isn't some music to accompany the parts, but it's not disturbing in the end.
Conclusion
Squake is ultimately a good little game, very nice and fun. It's not the game you'll be spending hundreds of hours on at a stretch, but it's perfect for quick little games when you have 10-20 minutes of free time. The different game modes allow you not to get bored.
