for mac download Paranoia: Happiness is Mandatory

The writing is strong and the gameplay is fun, and that mandatory feeling of happiness may well be easy to achieve when you play the full game. This new game may not have the sheen of bigger-budget RPG projects, but, in a way, that just adds to its charm. It’s hard to get a true sense of a game from one and a bit levels, but it was obvious from our time in Alpha Complex that this is an intriguing world that we’d like to explore more. Maybe if the Starbug crew ended up in an Orwellian nightmare, it would feel a little like this. This combines nicely with the sci-fi setting and the lo-fi feel of the game’s retro graphics, with everything blending together into a tongue-in-cheek world that feels like a sibling to the likes of Red Dwarf. What really stands out is the game’s sense of humour, with gags (of various levels of darkness) packed into every possible sentence. Well… the world still felt utterly barmy, but our objectives and our skills became easier to understand. We had time to try level one a little later, and after that everything made a lot more sense. Jumping in at level four, the game felt quite difficult, but that could just be because we skipped the tutorial stage and weren’t really sure which attacks and items were the best ones to use. You’ve got to be tactical to win the day, and you might find that you lose teammates along the way. Each area is filled with hazards, and most places that provide cover are capable of being destroyed. This particular level builds to a confrontation between our squad an a sentient vending machine, the Vendanator, which is trying to lead a revolution against Friend Computer.

You can hack terminals, craft equipment and dish out damage in a variety of ways, from the aforementioned rocket launcher’s powerful blasts to wacky mutant abilities like incineration attacks. The gameplay is fun, once you get the hang of it, as you guide your squad through various areas and wipe out all the naysayers that get in their way. While much of Alpha Complex’s citizens remain merrily drugged up and oblivious to their dystopian living situation, the rebels we’re battling have realised that Friend Computer is a violent dictator and that life could be better without it.

It certainly feels like we are, as our squad of geared-up troubleshooters is despatched to take out treasonous people that actually seem pretty reasonable.

For mac download Paranoia: Happiness is Mandatory