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Genre: Game - Arcade

Developer: angelfroggames

Price: $19.95

It's no secret that Mac shareware consists largely of remakes of popular arcade games. This is not a bad thing; while it's nice to see innovative, unique titles out there like Gish!, I love seeing independent developers recreate arcade classics as they see fit. Mac gamers know well from years of playing through addictive Ambrosia Software classics like Apeiron and Maelstrom (which were derived from Centipede and Asteroids) that the game experience is not exclusively created by whatever it is the gamer is doing (blasting centipedes or asteroids or what have you) but is instead a product of both the actual physical gameplay and the atmosphere created by the sights and sounds of the game.

aquadot! red is a particularly compelling example of this lesson. Yes, it is Pac-Man at its heart, but it is Pac-Man combined with a few gameplay tweaks and a wonderfully solemn atmosphere that make for a completely different game experience.

aquadot! red takes the Pac-Man formula—bad guys, dots, power pills, and neon mazes—and throws a few more elements into the mix. For starters, our lovable Pac-Man has been replaced with a bizarre red-and-white protagonist who resembles a cross between a mushroom from Super Mario Bros. and a soccer ball, and instead of being hunted by ghosts, he (she? it?) is being pursued by really nasty-looking insects. Said insects each have their own different methods of exterminating you; some of them are slower but more tenacious, others will chase you down on the straightaways and lose you on the turns, still others will fade in and out of visibility to make things a little bit more difficult. Which isn't to say things are unbalanced, thankfully; you now have an energy meter at your disposal, so instead of getting instantly killed upon contact with a nasty bug, it will gradually drain your energy, meaning that you can, in most circumstances, survive a little bit of direct contact if you have been cornered (the dreaded Black Reaper bug being the most notable exception!). In addition to the power pills of aquadot! red's predecessor, you may also avail yourself to various different power-ups, ranging from Quick and Invisible and Untouchable (which allow you to move faster, prevent the insects from actively chasing you, and prevent the insects from touching you, respectively) to more abstractly-named ones like Dreamy (slows all enemies down), Scary (enemies don't chase you at all) and Energetic (replenish energy slightly faster). There are also power-downs, like Sick, Blind, and Slow (which prevent you from consuming dots, seeing enemies, and moving at your normal place). All of these, as well as bonus multipliers and score power-ups, appear randomly on the game map for your pleasure. Needless to say, it keeps things interesting.

It isn't the game changes alone that make aquadot! red as interesting as it is, though. aquadot begins with a visual style that refers heavily to old arcade games; just like Pac-Man and Galaxian and Defender, the black background and brightly neon-colored foreground are in stark contrast. Rather than merely create fiendishly complicated mazes, though, it really feels like the developers designed the levels with genuine artistic inspiration. One level, for example, resembles a black-and-white skyscraper cityscape if you look at it for long enough. Other levels will abandon symmetry, or guide you around extraordinarily intricate twists and turns. All of this compliments aquadot's random ordering of levels to create a genuine sense of exploration; something which is rare indeed for an arcade game. aquadot's sounds are no less mood-inducing. While there is no proper music per se, transitions between levels are punctuated with rich, melancholy violins, and the game action itself elicits cutesy beeps and gurgles that sound kind of like a cross between R2-D2 and a baby. aquadot's atmosphere is bizarre, to be sure, but it never comes across as incongruent or audacious. Rather, it combines an artistic take on old-school arcade game graphics with a very evocative sound set to create a very playful, childish vibe. And, heck, it's got giant insects, neon colors, and non-verbal communication. It's like Pac-Man plus LSD.

All in all, aquadot! red is worth checking out; not just because it's a solid remake of a classic arcade game with its own gameplay touches to spice things up a bit, but also because it's a splendid illustration of the influence that the game's atmosphere has over the whole gaming experience.

Download the free demo.