App Review: Lab Panic and #PlayItForward
A classic retro arcade game
Sam the maintenance bot has been assigned to the liquid containment facility. His only job, contain the liquid.
Sam spent most his days peacefully trickle charging on his charging station. He has often thought himself fortunate to have been assigned to the super secret chemical lab, or at least that’s what his simple AI routines led him to believe.
Unlike his counterparts stationed around the world, it has been days since a chemical leak has occurred.
Until now….
Lab Panic is a totally unique gaming experience with easy on screen controls.
Timing is everything. Keep an eye on the liquid barrels on the conveyor belts. You can only have 3 drops of liquid in Sam’s liquid reservoir so keep it empty if you can. You can only dump liquid when a liquid barrel is docked at one of the two liquid loading stations. A green light signals when it is safe to dump the chemicals.
The aim of Lab Panic is to compete with friends for the highest score, but be careful because the pressure is constantly rising increasing the speed at which the liquid is leaked from the pipes.
Created by South African Indie Developer Kobus Kleynhans “Lab Panic” is just what you want in an classic arcade game. Its simple, straightforward and addictive. Its free on Google Android and is a brilliant time killer especially on the long commute home.
This game reminds me of a simpler time where Manic Mansion and Crypt Keeper ruled the world, where Duke Nukem 2D was the next best thing. And I love it for that very reason !
The game is quite simple and is small enough app to have on your mobile device when you’re looking for something to kill a bit of time. The controls are simple but manoeuvring them in order to succeed is the challenge. The main idea of the game is to compete against your friends.
More importantly Kobus is involved in an initiative called Play It Forward. Kobus aims to assist other new and talented indie developers like himself get some well deserved exposure for their games. Having experienced the difficulty of getting noticed when competing with massive super game publishers, he has created a platform for give new developers a little boost.
As Kobus puts it “By no means a guaranteed ride to the top but every little helps”
This is a great idea in my books. The more exposure that we can give to the national and international indie game developers alike, the better. The Indie gaming scene, especially in the app world, needs our help to keep the amazing talent behind the games thriving. I’m sure most of you know that it is a tough industry out there. Not only is it a struggle to actually get the game created but once that is done there is a major difficulty in getting the game noticed.
Kobus explains the initiative the best on his website here
