Names are important. Names are one of the first things that define your game. They help set the player’s expectations and are a key marketing tool. Seriously. Choosing something too whimsical or esoteric and you can confuse and alienate your potential audience, or lose thousands of potential sales.
So imagine our pleasure and delight in receiving information regarding a new title from Edinburgh’s NevisTech called, simply, Pet Roulette.
We can pretty much stop there, right? You’re already leaping ahead here and imagining either a charming Wheel of Fortune type game which features puppies, kittens and ducklings instead of cash prizes… Or, if you’re a more experienced gamer, a Deer Hunter type experience in which you fire partially loaded weapons at small fluffy creatures, blowing them into a pulverised haze of blood, bone fragments and burnt hair, probably accompanied by an amusing ‘squeak!’ or ‘Uh oh!’
If you chose the second of those options, you’re correct. Have five points. If you chose the first game concept, we’d suggest you stop reading here because the rest of this post is going to upset you…
Pet Roulette is a new game which allows players to enjoy a relaxing game of Russian Roulette with a variety of small, squeaky, fluffy animals of the family Cricetinae. Hamsters in other words, but we’re trying not to upset the PETA crowd (yet).
The concept is simple. You get a revolver which is partially loaded. You spin the barrel. You take a shot. Sometimes you shoot a great big smoking hole in your beloved Cricetinae companion. Sometimes you don’t. Some bullets are normal. Some are not (nuclear). Some are extremely peculiar (bubble?)
Players can compete against their friend’s scores online and show who’s the most cold blooded slaughterer of rodents in the whole wide world (note: rodents simulated, no actual pets were harmed in the production of this game. We’re told).
The faster players spin the barrel, the higher the potential prizes and bonuses. Players have to collect gold and buy bullets if they’re to continue their merciless decimation of the rodent world. Hamsters can not only be trained on the hamster wheel, but also ‘pimped’ with bandanas to provide a more authentic and terrifying experience.
Pet Roulette is one of those games which has the potential to achieve greatness, especially if the Daily Mail or PETA gets wind of it. It’s simple, fun and played for laughs throughout. It makes great use of the touch screen and has a wicked dark humour running throughout. If you’re yet to make the leap from the grinding grey/brown worlds and body counts of hard core FPS glory, this could be the game which makes you appreciate the simple joys of mobile gaming.
Pet Roulette is OUT NOW for Android devices, FREE. You can also follow the game on Facebook or find it on Twitter.
The chances are 1:6 it’ll blow you away…
