Well, that may be the most interesting title I’ve seen for a game yet.
In this little indie game, you play the eponymous “Buddy on Rails.” When a space lab’s experiments go too far, all the lab rats are now poised to conquer Earth, once they dispose of the cats. It’s up to you to battle through the levels, take on the rats, and free the cats, including the titular Scram Kitty. The story is not exactly Shakespeare, but given the arcade nature of the game, stories are just excuses to explain why you’re doing anything.
The gameplay is hard to describe. Is it a platformer-puzzle? A literally on-rails shooter? A hybrid of all of the above? Essentially, you control a spinning gunship that traverses the 2D levels by sticking to the rails that run along the walls, with the ability to jump to other rails (with gravity effects making things interesting) and even become a fireball during the jump, as well as shoot in a perpendicular direction to the rail you’re riding. You essentially have to explore each level, finding the cats. The more cats you find, the more levels you unlock. Finding the cats can be as simple as just grabbing them at the exit, some only are freed when you kill enemies, and some have to be chased through the level before a timer runs out.
The game is addicting, with its bright colors and sounds, and deranged gameplay. However, if there’s any faults, it’s that the game’s difficulty can ramp up rather quick, mainly due to the inability to manually aim your attacks, forcing you to constantly move to find the right place to get the shot. The other fault? Scram Kitty’s advice at times just seems to come too little too late.
Scram Kitty and His Buddy On Rails is addictive, pick-up-and-play fun. It can get frustrating, but in a time when so many games keep trying to be both more complicated and similar to others, it is a refreshing change.
Pros:
– Great graphics and sound
– Addicting gameplay
Cons:
– Can get frustratingly difficult really quick
– Scram Kitty’s advice isn’t always helpful
