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Pardon the dust! This page includes some jargon that hasn't been added to the site's glossary yet. I'll be around to fix this later, but sorry for the inconvenience in the meantime. |
Review: Tasty Planet: Back for Seconds
At a Glance
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How to Save and Pause:Your progress is automatically saved whenever you return to the map screen. To pause the game during a level, hit ESC or P. Time needed per session:The levels in this game are fairly short (and you're encouraged to be as quick about it as possible), so you can play this game whenever you have a few minutes of free time.
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Does this game pose issues for Christian players?
 | No - this is a great game for Christians Your ball of goo will consume literally everything over the course of the game, though this is never depicted graphically. Nor is it ever taken seriously. |
Screenshots
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/tasty_planet_back_for_seconds_0.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/tasty_planet_back_for_seconds_1.jpg)
![[view screenshot]](../images/screenshots/tasty_planet_back_for_seconds_2.jpg)
Game Overview
Chances are pretty good that if you've been browsing the internet for a year or two, you've stumbled across a game similar to this one. The basic concept has been repeated many times over, as it's a fairly simple thing to program. You control a small character, a blob of gray nanomachines in this case, and proceed to consume everything that is smaller than yourself. Each thing you eat makes you grow slightly larger, and eventually after eating enough small objects you can move on to larger ones.
What makes this game unique is the story and the level design it uses. Some levels are like puzzles or small challenges that you need to complete in a specific way, others follow the more traditional approach of eating everything until you're the size the level wanted you to reach. Meanwhile, the scientists that created your nanomachine swarm are trying everything they can to create a way to stop your constant growth and hunger.
I'd suggest giving this game a spin; it's fun, cute, and the end of the world as we know it.
What makes this game unique is the story and the level design it uses. Some levels are like puzzles or small challenges that you need to complete in a specific way, others follow the more traditional approach of eating everything until you're the size the level wanted you to reach. Meanwhile, the scientists that created your nanomachine swarm are trying everything they can to create a way to stop your constant growth and hunger.
I'd suggest giving this game a spin; it's fun, cute, and the end of the world as we know it.
Points of Interest
Stupid and fun
Games like this have been on computers for a long, long time and the formula never really changed. In each game, you simply moved your character over whatever was smaller than to make them grow bigger until the game decided that you won. Tasty Planet does do a few things to make this style of gameplay more unique, such as zooming the camera out to give you more room to run around once you've grown large enough or create mazes out of the things you can't yet eat.
However, every so often, a level will require you to complete some other task. For example, during the levels that take place in the Roman Empire, there's a level where you defend a series of ballistas against a legion of angry gladiators. Once you have defended the ballistas successfully, you get to eat them.
However, every so often, a level will require you to complete some other task. For example, during the levels that take place in the Roman Empire, there's a level where you defend a series of ballistas against a legion of angry gladiators. Once you have defended the ballistas successfully, you get to eat them.
Earn medals by beating par times
Each level records your best clear time. Once the level ends, your clear time is compared against the three par times for the level, and you'll get a medal if you do well. Getting bronze, silver, or gold medals is more than just bragging rights: they are required to give you access to bonus levels. So, if you want to play more Tasty Planet, you'll need to play a lot of Tasty Planet.
Achievements and Trading cards
Like most Steam games these days, there are achievements and a set of Steam trading cards you can collect. Most of the achievements simply record your overall progress through the story or milestones regarding how many medals you've collected, so while they are offered, they aren't exactly exciting.
Silly extra levels
There is a huge number of extra levels that you unlock by earning medals. Each bonus level is unlocked by a specific amount of medals, and chances are you'll have unlocked one or two by the time you complete the story. Unfortunately, the majority of the bonus levels require you to have earned a lot of gold medals, which are extremely hard to earn.
Local multiplayer
It's slightly awkward, but it's possible to play this game with a friend. One of you controls a blob of goo using the mouse, while the other controls their own goo using the keyboard. The awkward part comes from the fact that there's only one camera, and it doesn't really track two goos at once very well. This can make it hard to move around or see what you're doing, as the two of you are stuck exploring the portion of the level that fits on screen.
Seems overpriced
The basic concept behind this game has been around for a long time, and it's been implemented as free flash games several times over. This makes it a little hard to swallow the $7 price tag. Still, it's better than it could be; this is actually the second game in the series, and the first game, which is only available from the developer's website and reportedly has some gameplay issues, is priced at $20.
Concerns and Issues
You're directing an end of the world scenario
Think about that for a moment. In this happy game, you're actively directing the destruction of the entire universe. It's certainly not presented as a dark or horrible thing, but the fact remains that you're literally eating everything that exists.
Living things are on the menu
Most of the time, you'll be absorbing everything from candy to dinosaur bones to random insects and architecture. That's nothing to really be concerned about, but sometimes you'll be devouring people or other living creatures.
On a side note, this also highlights our own hypocrisy. While most of us don't think much about killing virtual people, consuming Mr. Kittykins doesn't sit very well with everyone.
On a side note, this also highlights our own hypocrisy. While most of us don't think much about killing virtual people, consuming Mr. Kittykins doesn't sit very well with everyone.
Bloodless munching
Nothing you absorb ever bleeds. Instead, they just make a noise and shrink into your growing mass. It's actually a little weird seeing people continue walking around as they disappear, but apparently nobody taught the nanobots to chew their food.