It might be a slow news day but that’s an excuse to cover a small update of a game that I like – PAKO, the car chase simulator built by Helsinki’s Tree Men Games.
Pako, which means “escape” in Finnish, does one thing and it does it well. Opening up a level it throws you immediately into the action where you’re behind the wheel with cops after you and no brakes to slow you down – the only way to control your speed is to give a little fishtail action that’s just as likely to make you crash.
And when you crash (which you will do, often) you’re thrown right back into the beginning to do it all over again. For killing time I’m a big fan of the game because it gets right down to what you want to do – run from the cops and flood your brain with endorphins whenever you beat your high score by a second or two.
Pako’s a premium priced app, but that doesn’t mean they’ve forgotten you after you’ve bought it. We received word that they’ve updated the game with three more levels worth of stuff to crash into, with a little more interactive dynamic.
The “Old Town” level is more of the same – you’re escaping from the cops in a frustratingly european town with skinny streets going every which way. But “Desert” changes up the dynamic by starting you off in an illegal desert race course where you can go wherever you want, but you best stick fairly close to the pack to have them hit the oncoming police cars for you. There are checkpoints that make noise when you pass them correctly, and it seems possible to do a full lap (something I haven’t accomplished yet) but you’re still playing for staying alive as long as possible here.
The final update is Arena, which gives you a a tiny destruction derby course littered with piles of cars. Here you’re hunted down by monster trucks and cops, but it’s surprisingly easy to stay alive despite the small working space.
If you’re a fan of little arcade games I’d give Pako a shot, which is available for half off at €0.99 for a limited time, and is available for iOS, Andorid, and Windows phones.
