Directory of the Best Games On the Web

Feature Game For 2006-05-25
Grid Lock
http://www.underdog.be/games/gridlock/

Back in the early days of computer games glowing grids were everywhere. They were the look of the future in the gaming world. At the time the best computer-game action was found on a sickly glowing trellis. Of course that was back in the eighties. Nowadays glowing grids are passe. A symbol of slow computers that couldn't offer more than low-poly surreal grating

Your objective in Grid Lock is to escape a maze. Which is the objective in every other maze game. But this isn't a run of the mill type of maze. This is a maze of three dimensions. You're given control of a shiny green metallic female with an air of desperation. She can run and she can jump but she can't make her own decisions. It's up to you to steer her clear of the maze.

Though the reticulated 3D environment gave us Tron flashbacks we still thought they worked well. Mostly because a name like, Grid Lock demands a grid. Or if not a grid, a slow moving mass of autos. The exploring aspect of the game-play appealed to us. Except we never found much more than glowing lines which felt like quickly became prison bars. From time to time Grid Lock will give you gridlock. Step or jump in the wrong place and the game will lock up. Which detracts somewhat from the entertainment value. But once you know what to avoid you can reload the game and play around the game freezing locations. This game will appeal to players who enjoy jumping, falling, and then trying again, and again. And it will likely frustrate players who suffer frustration fits while repetitively jumping and falling.

Just so you know, the eighties weren't just about glowing grids. It was a time when playing video games took work. Back then we had to wear parachute pants in the dead of winter and hike fifty miles uphill through fifty feet of Soviet nuclear threats just to play video games.

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