Pirate Kart #2 - 1 2 3

So, I'm only on my second game, and I've already broken my rule. I played Mike Meyers 1 2 3 for only 4 minutes and 15 seconds. However, this is by no means a knock on the game, beyond to say that it is short and sweet. I was able to complete it, in its entirety, in those 4 minutes and 15 seconds.

The game is a sort of tongue-in-cheek Super Mario spoof about hitting blocks in a very specific order. You get a super-deformed child Mario who apparently has the ability to not double, not triple, but quadruple jump. The ability of course leads to some fairly nasty obstacle designs for you to try to maneuver through.

The game itself is well-made. While the graphics and sound are clearly minimalist, they are done so very functionally and the game has a lot of polish. For example, falling a great-distance creates a nice screen-shake effect that gives the world more of a physical feel. The 13 short levels are fun, though the first 3 are really just tutorials. So you get 10 levels that are mostly platform skill challenges. The physics feel a little floaty at first, but not so bad that you can't get used to it, and it works well for the Asian-martial-arts-movie-levels of air-walking that you'll be engaging in.

Score:

Presentation: 2 / 3. Generally solid presentation, though obviously isn't going to win any graphics awards.

Originality: 1 / 3. Collecting items in a platformer, even in a particular order, is not new at all. However, 1 2 3 manages to provide some interesting challenges and brief but quirky humor.

Fun: 2 / 3. It's gone in 4 minutes, but if you like challenging platformers it's certainly worth a playthrough.

Bonus Point: 1 / 1. It's fun and well-made, and I found myself smiling while playing it. Worth a point to me.

Final Score: 6

Definitely worth a playthrough, but it's over and done very quickly. I suppose that successfully doesn't outstay its welcome and just gives you a pleasant and short experience.