Act: Best Friends [by Retro64]

At first glance I thought this crisp and cartoony looking game was going to be a 3d platformer, oh ‘cool!’ I thought but as I started getting into the game I realized it wasn’t, then I started thinking, ‘of course, it’s a 3d real-time puzzle game, like marble madness with a penguin’ (I assume that was some sort of penguin, but I know I am wrong, since he looked nothing like a penguin…hmm…) it was not a puzzle either though. So what is this game? It is kind of hard to describe, I’m sure many of you have played games like it, I know I played a flash Santa (as in Christmas) game like it once.

The thing about best friends is you are in no real hurry (though there is a timer), and there are no enemies to jump on, so it doesn’t resemble the better known platformer games. Also the game is very linear and in each level the player easily sees both his goal and the path to take. I would best describe Best Friends (BF) as a control game, in that the skill of the game lies in your ability to control your little bird thing along a very eventful path to his little blue bird thing friend. And from this formula I christen a new genre of game, the ‘control game’. (hey maybe it’ll catch on…)

All pigeonholing aside, the game is fun and addictive. If it weren’t for the limited number of lives I may never have stopped trying the loopty loop mission. Besides being very good looking (the game has a crisp 3d engine that it uses very well) the game engine sports very nice physics. This is what makes the game a control game, your little bird stars gaining momentum as he speeds down that icy chute and you have to be ready to hop-jump-and-run your way to safety, less you fall off of the games level (which are suspended above the familiar endless chasm a la Mario). The game is at its funnest when your bird is flying through half-pipes and slides and you are frantically trying to keep him alive.

The game boasts 72 levels across 3 terrain types (ice, jungle, and dream) and I suspect the last two may involve more platforming or puzzling though I didn’t get a chance to try them out. The only buttons the player uses are space to jump and the directional keys to move about. The game has no options whatsoever, but the first few levels serve to ease the player into the game (in fat the first level is simply, walk forward). The camera doesn’t serve to be a problem as it does in so many 3rd person 3d games.

Sound is good to really good. They have this cute little squeaky voice that really shows the spirit of the game, fun cute and quirky. Aside from the very well implemented squeaky bird voice, the game sports some fine music and basic platform sounds. Some of the games other sounds really help add to the feel though, like your bird-thingy squealing in excitement/fear as he gains speed and air, simply delightful.

I don’t think there is much more to say about this game. I think people who enjoy little games for their fun factor will most appreciate best friends. In fact I’m going to be getting this one for my girlfriend for sure (its one of those games that I know she’d enjoy, and I suspect the growing market of women gamers would enjoy as a whole) and I’m sure it would make a great gift for kids under 10 as well. Fun, cute, but not enough to the play mechanic to keep neither the gamer looking for a deep and immersive experience, nor the avid FPS fan, who I’m sure would rather stick to unreal for his dose of simple gaming pleasure.

Added: January 3rd 2004
Reviewer: Joe Macias
Score:
Hits: 1346
Language: english