I have been a fan of Armor Games since I was still playing Flash games on Newgrounds. They publish a lot of quirky games, and the ones I demoed at PAX West today were no exception. First was a brutally challenging platformer developed by Massive Monster called Never Give Up. The other was the latest in the zombie infesting series, Infectonator 3: Apocalypse. Let’s see how they played.
First let’s talk about Infectonator 3. I had played the original game years ago, so this brought back a lot of memories. It’s still a simple point and click with lots of upgrades and strategy involved. Sure, all you have to do is click on a person to spread the infection, but managing your burgeoning apocalypse takes effort. One of my favorite aspects of the demo were the truly creepy clown zombies, fond nods to IT, as well as splicing zombie DNA to make horrible mutants. To keep things from getting too unbalanced, the more effective you are, the more panicked the populace becomes, and they start fighting back with cops and other nuisances. Overall, Infectonator 3: Apocalypse is a satisfyingly simple experience.
Next up is the real reason I went to Armor Games, Never Give Up. I’m gonna say that this is a game only for hardcore platformer fans, which I count myself among. I played the first demo stage gauntlet and wasn’t sure what to expect. It started with one simple sequence and it became more and more dangerous and devious. Guns and buzz saws were added in new iterations, as well as charging metal rhinos. They also challenge you by placing coins in your path that you can either collect or ignore, but any completionist will tell you they have to collect everything. I had that urge too, but some of the coins were too deviously placed and I didn’t necessarily feel like dying just to prove my worthiness.
I really started to enjoy the demo was when I tried the harder stages. Whereas I got through the initial demo stage with only 10 deaths, this other stage was much harder, and ended up taking 23 of my lives. All said, I really enjoyed Never Give Up, and would recommend it to fans of such classics as Super Meat Boy.
Both titles I played at Armor Games were great in their own way. While Infectonator 3: Apocalypse is already out, Never Give Up has yet to announce a release date. Once they do, you can be sure I’ll be picking it up. If you love quirky and challenging experiences, Armor Games looks like they have plenty to offer.
