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Teenage Lawnmower |
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Developer: Robinson Technologies Publisher: Robinson Technologies Genre: Action > General Released: Jul 25, 2004 Players: 1 |
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It feels odd to even be typing it, but Teenage Lawnmower might be one of the
more progressive game titles I’ve played in a long time.
If you think you’re not sure what the deal with the game is, I’ll simply suggest re-reading the title. Teenage Lawnmower. That’s it. You are a teenager. You mow lawns. Game on! I always have a bit of a soft spot for games that take mundane activities and turn them into addictive fun. Games like Diner Dash with waiting tables, or Flip or Flop: Home Edition where working on a house is a game. Gaming is everywhere around you, and this includes your front lawn.
Built using the 3-D engine built by the game’s creator, Teenage Lawnmower has the gamer controlling a little red push mower around on 3-D lawn landscapes. The goal is to simply mow all the grass (broken into convenient squares that change their shade of green once mowed) in the time provided. Some lawns are trickier than that, though and can have the gamer needing to avoid a homeowner’s pet moles in the backyard, dodging falling boulders or skeleton’s arms, some have the gamer avoiding guard dogs or leaping over chasms to reach the next patch of unruly grass. Along the way, the gamer can pick up cans of gas for boosts of big speed and every now and then a random five dollar bill that’s been dropped on the premises.
All of this lawn mowing is done to accomplish a single goal: getting money. In the game’s storyline, the gamer is a young teen who is the only one in his household who has his act together. Your mother in game is a co-dependent alcoholic with a boyfriend who abuses her and without cash to support herself. Things, naturally, fall to her son with his lawnmowing side business to save the day. The storyline is very straightforward (and fairly limited), but it deals bluntly with some heavy issues, and it should be commended for that. The edgy content made the game instantly more compelling to me. I had a reason to make my character push a mower around all these lawns and it was something more grandiose than simply wanting to buy something nifty or an equally fluffy story hook. Sprucing up the limited story, too, are a number of branching options that will crop up through the course of a play through the game. Essentially, these choices give the gamer the chance to be a troublemaker or not, but it adds some instant replay value.
The
storyline for the game encompasses 30 total days. Each day starts at 9am and
ends at 6pm, or whenever you get back from your last job of the day.
Essentially, the gamer sits at their desk and waits for phone calls for mowing
jobs. When they get a proposal, they are told how long the job will take and how
much they will earn for doing it. If the gamer passes on a job, they lose one
hour of the day. Trust me, some jobs are worth skipping on. If, by the time a
specific amount of money is due, the gamer has not earned enough money, the game
is over. At the end of 30 days, once the story is done, the gamer can continue
the game for as long as they’d like, with new random money goals being set for
them as they go.
Control for the game is very simple, with the arrow keys dictating the direction the mower is moving, the “v� key used for sharp turns and the “1� key deploying weed killer which, by the way, I never once found a use for in the game. There are three camera angles to view the action from. The first is the standard behind the mower viewer, the second is a bird’s eye view of the action (great for avoiding obstacles), the third and final view is a first person view reminiscent of racing titles that’s very fun, but a little impractical for the purposes of the game.
The graphics in the game are decent, with simple models being the only real detriment. Environments are easy to move through, and there’s never any difficulty viewing each stage with the game’s camera. There’s a raw and almost rough feel to the game, given mostly by the graphic style used for the transitions between mowing sessions, but that almost works in tandem with the darker storyline of the game. The music in the game, though, has a surprisingly rich feel to it. The tracks used in the game have the feel of movie soundtrack tunes, and I found myself leaving the music on in the game much more than I tend to with other titles.
Replay
in the game comes with the curiosity to follow some of the branching options in
the storyline path. For mower geniuses there’s also the game’s expert mode, but
I found it to be wickedly hard. Otherwise, the game is basically never-ending.
Gamers can mow and make cash as long as they’d like. That much is great, but
it’s likely to loose luster before too long. There are about 16 levels in the
game, a couple of which are simple variants on some of the others in the game.
It’s not a paltry number, but there are a few levels that gamers are likely to
avoid like the plague due to the time-cost/benefit of attempting to mow the
lawn. The issue, though, isn’t the number of levels but rather the variation of
gameplay. There are really only two levels that break the mold of standard
mowing. They combine mowing with platform jumping into a game experience that I
really found myself enjoying and wanting more of. Otherwise the game rotates
around the concept of mow these areas of varying size and avoid hitting things,
and that will get old before too long.
All in all, it would have been nice to see a bit more variety and a bit more content from Teenage Lawnmower. What’s there, though, is entertaining. The game’s offbeat story engaged my interest, the gameplay is simple and fun, the graphics engine is competent and left me with no complaints and the music was awesome. I’m not sure that the game is worth it’s moderately hefty price-tag, but it is worth a look.
Graphics:
There
are better looking games out there, to be sure, but Teenage Lawnmower has a 3D
look that ran smoothly and without error on my machine. Not a bit of slowdown or
jagged edges or odd clipping. The available camera angles are all useful and
none of them were frustrating for me. No complaints.
Sound:
Abnormally good. The music in the game has, if not a more polished feel, a richer feel than the rest of the game. There’s a bit of a sweeping feel to the music that made me a little bummed that it vanishes for the actual mowing portions of the game. This is really the only element that kept this score out of the “+� range: good music, but not enough of it. The mowing sound effect is ever-present and accurate without being too loud and the sound effects of little creatures throughout the game are entertaining.
Gameplay:
The controls to the game are very simple. The arrow keys are all you need. As a plus, the game supports gamepad play, probably enabling players to ratchet up their mowing prowess a bit. It’s also very easy to switch between camera angles on the fly. However, on the negative side of things, the gameplay is also very repetitive. All there is is mowing a grid, when it’s clear that the game is capable of providing more variety than that.
Concept:
Teenage Lawnmower really shines here. A gritty, edgy storyline that manages to feel both real and fantastical all at once and a gameplay concept that takes the mundane and makes it a gaming event. Bold moves and successful execution.
Value:
At
$25, Teenage Lawnmower costs more than many titles that are quite simply better
games. This cost hike may be due to the fact that the game was built from the
ground up by the developer, but even considering this, there need to be more
incentives for the gamer to drop that much money. Maybe a promise of expansion
packs later on? Perhaps a level editor for user created maps? Different mower
models? Maybe expand the use of that soundtrack a bit? Any of these items would
boost the package that Teenage Lawnmower brings to the table. As is, it’s hard
to recommend a purchase, but easy to recommend a demo download.
Overall:
Teenage Lawnmower is a lot of fun but when it comes down to it, it costs too much. When you can grab titles like Gish or Democracy or Gametunnel’s 2005 Game of the Year Oasis for less, you need to think hard about what a title like this is offering. While the gameplay is there, the extras are not. While those titles may have been the product of teams of designers and promoters, games like Teenage Lawnmower can shine by simply offering a few extra options at a slightly lower price.
If you think you’re not sure what the deal with the game is, I’ll simply suggest re-reading the title. Teenage Lawnmower. That’s it. You are a teenager. You mow lawns. Game on! I always have a bit of a soft spot for games that take mundane activities and turn them into addictive fun. Games like Diner Dash with waiting tables, or Flip or Flop: Home Edition where working on a house is a game. Gaming is everywhere around you, and this includes your front lawn.
Built using the 3-D engine built by the game’s creator, Teenage Lawnmower has the gamer controlling a little red push mower around on 3-D lawn landscapes. The goal is to simply mow all the grass (broken into convenient squares that change their shade of green once mowed) in the time provided. Some lawns are trickier than that, though and can have the gamer needing to avoid a homeowner’s pet moles in the backyard, dodging falling boulders or skeleton’s arms, some have the gamer avoiding guard dogs or leaping over chasms to reach the next patch of unruly grass. Along the way, the gamer can pick up cans of gas for boosts of big speed and every now and then a random five dollar bill that’s been dropped on the premises.
All of this lawn mowing is done to accomplish a single goal: getting money. In the game’s storyline, the gamer is a young teen who is the only one in his household who has his act together. Your mother in game is a co-dependent alcoholic with a boyfriend who abuses her and without cash to support herself. Things, naturally, fall to her son with his lawnmowing side business to save the day. The storyline is very straightforward (and fairly limited), but it deals bluntly with some heavy issues, and it should be commended for that. The edgy content made the game instantly more compelling to me. I had a reason to make my character push a mower around all these lawns and it was something more grandiose than simply wanting to buy something nifty or an equally fluffy story hook. Sprucing up the limited story, too, are a number of branching options that will crop up through the course of a play through the game. Essentially, these choices give the gamer the chance to be a troublemaker or not, but it adds some instant replay value.
The
storyline for the game encompasses 30 total days. Each day starts at 9am and
ends at 6pm, or whenever you get back from your last job of the day.
Essentially, the gamer sits at their desk and waits for phone calls for mowing
jobs. When they get a proposal, they are told how long the job will take and how
much they will earn for doing it. If the gamer passes on a job, they lose one
hour of the day. Trust me, some jobs are worth skipping on. If, by the time a
specific amount of money is due, the gamer has not earned enough money, the game
is over. At the end of 30 days, once the story is done, the gamer can continue
the game for as long as they’d like, with new random money goals being set for
them as they go.Control for the game is very simple, with the arrow keys dictating the direction the mower is moving, the “v� key used for sharp turns and the “1� key deploying weed killer which, by the way, I never once found a use for in the game. There are three camera angles to view the action from. The first is the standard behind the mower viewer, the second is a bird’s eye view of the action (great for avoiding obstacles), the third and final view is a first person view reminiscent of racing titles that’s very fun, but a little impractical for the purposes of the game.
The graphics in the game are decent, with simple models being the only real detriment. Environments are easy to move through, and there’s never any difficulty viewing each stage with the game’s camera. There’s a raw and almost rough feel to the game, given mostly by the graphic style used for the transitions between mowing sessions, but that almost works in tandem with the darker storyline of the game. The music in the game, though, has a surprisingly rich feel to it. The tracks used in the game have the feel of movie soundtrack tunes, and I found myself leaving the music on in the game much more than I tend to with other titles.
Replay
in the game comes with the curiosity to follow some of the branching options in
the storyline path. For mower geniuses there’s also the game’s expert mode, but
I found it to be wickedly hard. Otherwise, the game is basically never-ending.
Gamers can mow and make cash as long as they’d like. That much is great, but
it’s likely to loose luster before too long. There are about 16 levels in the
game, a couple of which are simple variants on some of the others in the game.
It’s not a paltry number, but there are a few levels that gamers are likely to
avoid like the plague due to the time-cost/benefit of attempting to mow the
lawn. The issue, though, isn’t the number of levels but rather the variation of
gameplay. There are really only two levels that break the mold of standard
mowing. They combine mowing with platform jumping into a game experience that I
really found myself enjoying and wanting more of. Otherwise the game rotates
around the concept of mow these areas of varying size and avoid hitting things,
and that will get old before too long.All in all, it would have been nice to see a bit more variety and a bit more content from Teenage Lawnmower. What’s there, though, is entertaining. The game’s offbeat story engaged my interest, the gameplay is simple and fun, the graphics engine is competent and left me with no complaints and the music was awesome. I’m not sure that the game is worth it’s moderately hefty price-tag, but it is worth a look.
Graphics:
There
are better looking games out there, to be sure, but Teenage Lawnmower has a 3D
look that ran smoothly and without error on my machine. Not a bit of slowdown or
jagged edges or odd clipping. The available camera angles are all useful and
none of them were frustrating for me. No complaints.Sound:
Abnormally good. The music in the game has, if not a more polished feel, a richer feel than the rest of the game. There’s a bit of a sweeping feel to the music that made me a little bummed that it vanishes for the actual mowing portions of the game. This is really the only element that kept this score out of the “+� range: good music, but not enough of it. The mowing sound effect is ever-present and accurate without being too loud and the sound effects of little creatures throughout the game are entertaining.
Gameplay:
The controls to the game are very simple. The arrow keys are all you need. As a plus, the game supports gamepad play, probably enabling players to ratchet up their mowing prowess a bit. It’s also very easy to switch between camera angles on the fly. However, on the negative side of things, the gameplay is also very repetitive. All there is is mowing a grid, when it’s clear that the game is capable of providing more variety than that.
Concept:
Teenage Lawnmower really shines here. A gritty, edgy storyline that manages to feel both real and fantastical all at once and a gameplay concept that takes the mundane and makes it a gaming event. Bold moves and successful execution.
Value:
At
$25, Teenage Lawnmower costs more than many titles that are quite simply better
games. This cost hike may be due to the fact that the game was built from the
ground up by the developer, but even considering this, there need to be more
incentives for the gamer to drop that much money. Maybe a promise of expansion
packs later on? Perhaps a level editor for user created maps? Different mower
models? Maybe expand the use of that soundtrack a bit? Any of these items would
boost the package that Teenage Lawnmower brings to the table. As is, it’s hard
to recommend a purchase, but easy to recommend a demo download.Overall:
Teenage Lawnmower is a lot of fun but when it comes down to it, it costs too much. When you can grab titles like Gish or Democracy or Gametunnel’s 2005 Game of the Year Oasis for less, you need to think hard about what a title like this is offering. While the gameplay is there, the extras are not. While those titles may have been the product of teams of designers and promoters, games like Teenage Lawnmower can shine by simply offering a few extra options at a slightly lower price.
By: Michael Scarpelli
Posted: Friday October 06, 2006
Posted: Friday October 06, 2006
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