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26th Jun 2011

Stylish app Hard Lines takes Snake into the 21st century

Remember Snake? Of course you do and you probably have no interest in playing it again. Hard Lines will work its damnest to change your mind.

JOE

Remember Snake? Of course you do and you probably have no interest in playing it again. Hard Lines will work its damnest to change your mind.

By Emmet Purcell

Before the world of apps, there was one game that had mobile users enthralled on public transport at the turn of the millennium – Snake. One of the most crudely-drawn but indescribably addictive games of all time, anyone that ever owned a Nokia 3210 or 3310 should be nodding with approval right now.

Although it’s taken near a decade, it appears as though Snake is back and yes, it’s better, more relevant and modern than you could ever imagine. From the minds of Spilt Milk Studios, Hard Lines is a game of skill and quick reflexes that owes its debt to Tron nearly as much as the humble game of Snake.

Described as ‘the funniest game you will ever play that has a glowing yellow line as the main character’, the app is packed with personality and coated in a faux-retro sheen that includes colourful lighting effects and throbbing electro beats.

Hard Lines tasks players to take control of the aforementioned yellow line, charmingly named Lionel, and take part in six modes – ‘Snake’, ‘Survival’, ‘Dead Line’, ‘Time Attack’, ‘Gauntlet’ and ‘Pinata’. Lionel’s job is simple – gobble up points, avoid enemies, rack up scores and in true Tron Light Cycle-style, trap enemies into crashing into your lines.

One of the most surprising and extremely welcome design features of Hard Lines is the app’s excellent sense of humour. While roaming each grid, Lionel and his rivals utter their thoughts in text form, which provides some excellent quotes, most of which are nonsensical.

Whether it’s Lionel asking your opinion of Pink Line (‘she’s really pretty’) and dismissing comparisons (‘people say we look alike but I don’t see it), there’s always something to liven up a game, while a favourite favourite of ours was one rival telling us ‘I am Batman!’ with an air of unearned confidence.

As for game modes, our particular favourite was ‘Survival’, which includes a ticking clock that can be extended via increasing high scores. Another favourite is ‘Gauntlet’, which fills the screen with rivals and asks Lionel to dodge and weave his way to survival. ‘Dead Line’, however, is where most users will ply their trade – with 3 minutes to hit your best score, it’s sure to keep you returning over and over.

Surprisingly, we were a little less enthused by ‘Snake’, a self-explanatory mode that takes a little to long to liven up, considering the sheer size of the grid compared to the old version of the game.

The final two modes, ‘Pinata’ and ‘Survival’ are fun diversions though, with the former asking you to ‘Kill them all and NOM their entrails! KILL THEM!’ and the latter tasking you with ensuring Lionel’s survival for as long as possible. The lack of a two-player mode is quite conspicuous, though the variety of options on offers meaning that it would be the icing on the cake, rather than a vital ingreidient, if you’re following our delicious cake metaphor.

As you can probably tell, Hard Lines is an absolute blast throughout. Split Milk Studios have done to Snake what Pac-Man Championship Edition did to Pac-Man in 2007 – enlivened a perfectly understood but stale concept with pulsating beats, a stylish retro sheen and Hard Lines case, splashes of humour and irony.

All that is left is to tell you that name is Lionel, he is our new app gaming hero and trust us readers, he is the one you’re looking for.