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Genre: Arcade

Developer: Mac Joy

Minimum System Requirements: Mac OS X v10.2, OpenGL video card

Price: $19.95

Demo: 3.3MB

I'm confused by the main character in this game. I get that he's supposed to be a cool skateboarding kind of guy—he has a goatee, after all, but his head? It's a hot dog bun with teeth and eyes. It's Kermit the Frog after a warehouse fire. It's a naked Glove from Yellow Submarine. I wish this guy was the mascot at Chuck E. Cheese so I could have yet another reason to forbid my children from going there.

But anyway, there he is, delivering pizzas for cash and points while trying to avoid the usual hazards a skateboarding pizza delivery boy would face: remote control cars, cats, fish, floating saws, etc. I can't help but think cars are a more efficient method of delivering pizzas, but I applaud this little guy's concern for the environment.

Your character works for Mr. Ravioli, the greatest pizza chef in town, we're told. I'm glad to see Mr. Ravioli didn't feel pigeon-holed by his name to become a pasta chef. More power to you, good sir. You cook what you want. Live that dream.

Mr. Ravioli has you out delivering pizzas. You do this by skating around town until you find your customers, who are indicated by a Sims-like speech bubble with a pizza in it. An arrow indicates your way, but it's really not necessary as the screen scrolls to the right or left only. Hard to get lost. Just skate a while, and you'll find your customers without effort. All the arrow is really good for is indicating whether you missed your customer, as it'll turn around and face the other direction if you do.

When you deliver your pizzas, you get your payment and a tip. It's then on the next customer until the level is done. The more money you take back to Mr. Ravioli, the better. Unfortunately, it's possible to lose your cash along the way; run into an obstacle, you lose a coin, and you can't get it back. You're provided with no weapons to help rid the town of the crabs and such that stand in the way of your big payday, but you're not without hope. It's transportation as weapon, here, as you can dispatch of most obstacles by jumping onto their head with your skateboard. In some cases, it's wise to do this. More often, though, it's easier to simply avoid them by either jumping over them, jumping to a higher or lower position, or simply waiting for them to pass.

My wife developed a different strategy regarding the obstacles. Whereas I'm all about finishing levels, she's more of a completist who couldn't cope with lost coins (her dedication to Mr. Ravioli is heartwarming). To that end, she would skate around town and eliminate as many villains as possible before delivering a single pizza, giving her a clear board. You can't lose money until you have it, after all, so she'd make the level as easy as possible once she started to collect delivery payment.

Chances are, though, that many of you won't find this necessary. Pizza Panic is a fairly simple game, designed for the whole family to play. Although you may lose a few coins as you proceed through the levels, there's not much chance for even some beginning gamers to actually lose a life (yes, hitting obstacles hurts you, too, not just your wallet). The challenge isn't in surviving, it's in collecting as many coins and bonuses as possible. In fact, there are even bonus levels which you race through at a pre-set speed, controlling only the ability to jump so you can grab as many bonuses as possible. The bonus levels run at a breakneck pace that would be fun to see in the normal levels, as well, ala Sonic the Hedgehog.

The graphics in Pizza Panic are colorful and fun, like those of a faithful Nintendo platformer. The animation is fluid, and should work without flaw on any computer capable of running Mac OS X v10.2. The music is bright, upbeat and quite appropriate for the gameplay. It all comes together quite well, and I can see that Pizza Panic would've fit in quite well in the local arcade in the mid-80s before all arcade games became about either racing a car or combo-attacking someone.

This is a good game that's worth at least a demo download. Experienced gamers will probably find the $20 price tag a bit steep considering the game's simplicity and, therefore, short shelf life. But those who like their action in manageable doses, and especially those with child gamers in the house, should get more than their money's worth. And besides, what else are you going to spend $20 on? Pizza? If so, tip the delivery boy a bit more than normal in case he runs into a crab on his way back to the shop.

Download Pizza Panic.