I’m getting old, I guess. I don’t really feel that old, but now that I’m on the wrong side of 40, my life is likely approximately half-over (and that presumes that the unforeseen doesn’t end my life even sooner). So I remember the hardcore difficulty of games gone by. And this game embraces them, and all the good and bad that entails.
Games are easier these days. Regenerating health in first-person shooters, for example. You generally get hand-held as you learn how to play the game, everything carefully explained as you advance. It kind of makes sense; if you paying $60 for the latest, hottest game, you want to feel good at it in a hurry, not frustrated, and the publisher doesn’t want you trading it in towards something else (meaning more used copies on the market). For some people, these are good advancements. For the rest of us, there’s “Parkza”.
“Parkza” embraces old school at it’s best and worst. Best in that it’s challenging. Worst in that it makes it less accessible to newer players who don’t remember an era where perfection was required to pass levels. Gameplay is heavily reminiscent of “Pang”, the classic balloon busting game, but here you’re defending against gigantic suns (I kid you not). There are some light platforming elements too which I think added to the game, as you position yourself to best attack the suns as they bounce around the levels. It’s a dollar well spent if you have fond memories of “Buster Brothers” (as “Pang” was known as in North America), and I don’t discourage the unfamiliar from checking it out if they’re curious. And… hey, you kids, get off my lawn!
Here’s what the publisher (Martin Eriksen) has to say about the game:
“Can you rescue your love from the evil sun? Shoot the sun and avoid getting hit to win. Inspired by Cannon Ball, Ooops up and Pang.”
Writings of Mass Deduction 