30 Hidden Gems #24: PAM: Post Apocalyptic Mayhem

Featured in the same indie bundle that gave me The Ball, I got P.A.M. because I needed to get a third game with the promotion and it looked pretty cool. It's a vehicular combat game that is destined to draw comparisons to Twisted Metal or Vigilante 8, even though it takes a different approach to the genre. The world has apparently collapsed, and the only way for the survivors to pass the time is by racing weaponized vehicles and killing each other. The main game is exactly that: you pick a car and track and go at it. You score points both for laps completed and for enemies destroyed, and whoever has the most points when time runs out wins.

 

There are supposedly other game modes. There are different ways to play in multiplayer, such as pure race mode or last man standing type things. I've never played them; as far as I can tell, single player is limited to one set-up, and multiplayer is dead. I started playing it well past its heyday (if it even had one) and every attempt I've had at playing has failed. The closest of I've ever come resulted in a lag out from the host. This means that playing it nowadays is limited to a single game mode, with the only opponents being the game's AI. The game also got terrible reviews, and has a nasty score on metacritic, owing to a perceived lack of content and too heavy reliance on DLC.

 

 

And you know what? I don't even care, because P.A.M.: Post-Apocalyptic Mayhem is incredibly fun. It is pure chaotic, nonstop action. Playing this game is a thrill ride. It's a fast-paced adrenaline rush, with plenty of "yahoo" moments as you fly around corners or try to side-swipe and enemy with a giant saw blade. Much of the criticism is probably a victim of the modern era, which is rife with online multiplayer. In a younger age, I could easily see this being an arcade classic.

 

It may not be the deepest game. It may not have the most content. What P.A.M. does have is the most important thing in gaming: raw entertainment value. In that regard, this game eagerly delivers. I also think it stands as a modern hardcore testament to lessons that older games and casual games have taught us. You don't need a lot in your game. Three minutes of the same game mode can still make one great if it's fun enough.

 

Buy it here, if you're interested.

 

 

 

 

 

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