Review by Jabberwock April 26, 2009

Releasing short games, made at frantically high speeds, seems like something of a trend lately (propogated by the folks at The Poppenkast, among others). Often, the finished project is not really complete, or not really even fun. Stampede's frantic action-platformer GOFOR10000 has neither of these problems, however.

The game's premise is simple - you're a little blobby creature with prominent ears, who is climbing to escape an ever-ascending barrier of electricity. You must battle stock opponents - moving, disappearing, and bouncy platforms, your own racing heart, and awkward controls - a distance of 10000 pixels to the top of the chute, at which point you will be safe. Simple, right? Right. No, really, it is, this time. But the controls really are awkward - you play with the mouse, with clicking left or right to move your character, and clicking both buttons to jump. It's kind of annoying and kind of tricky, but in a fun way. It sounds like a gimmick, but it turns out being an interesting challenge, if a simple one.

Everything else about the game is simple, too, but I don't think it's really a fault. The graphics are sketchy, but somewhat charming. The music is repetitive, but fittingly frantic and with retro charm a-plenty - I rather like it. There are only two sound effects, a jumping noise and a lovely sizzling sound when poor Mr. Blob fries himself. Speaking of which, I like Mr. Blob's animation, too.

For three hours and twenty-four minutes of development time, this really is a quality game, and if you're in the mood for some none-too-complex (and somewhat frustrating) action, I suggest you give it a try.