World of Padman Game World of Padman review

[page=World of Padman]

In the crazy World of Padman, insanity, creativity and action come together to create an amazing experience that everyone, even non-Quake 3 owners, can enjoy.

Cannonball!

To me, creativity is what modding is all about. While game industry giants are forced to go with old concepts in order to ensure financial stability, indie developers can go all out with new concepts and creativity without fear of loss.

World of Padman is one of the best examples of how taking some risks, and working with something new, can result in a fantastic game. World of Padman is a comedic, action-packed shooter that pits crazy characters against one another in a fight to the death. With zaniness that competes with the likes of the Hammy-bob Mod and an entertainment value to match, World of Padman definitely has something going for it.

It didn't start as a game, though. The world in which Padman thrives began life as an ongoing comic strip in PSX Magazine back in 1997. Featuring brutal action and a zany art style, the comic was an instant hit with readers and continued to thrive in popularity even after the magazine went under.

The rest, as they say, is history.

INtense! Says: "World of Padman was once a mod for Quake 3: Arena and it rocked. Everything that could be made, was, and it was all done with skill. The standalone game uses the mod as a base and improves on it in all areas, from the colorful visuals to the creative game modes. This game isn't for everyone, but it strives to be different and original, and that is a big plus in my book.

The World of Padman team members have certainly put their hearts and souls into this game and it really shows. No detail has been missed --their work ethic rivals many commercial games. It's great to see and I'm sure many will appreciate the time and energy that has been put into creating this."

Stepping into the world of Padman is a bright experience in even the most dimly lit room. An unbelievable amount of detail and color is packed into every map. When you break out of the Padman experience in order to play other games, you'll quickly realize that the majority of mods and video games fail to exploit the 256 color spectrum.

Trust me, you do not want to see Padman without his morning coffee.

World of Padman's colorful graphics are rendered by the dated Quake 3 engine. However, despite the fact that the Quake 3 engine has fallen behind modern standards, you'll seldom realize the lack of detail due to the prominent stylization of the visuals. This mod proves that the visual appeal of a game isn’t about fancy bloom or HDR effects, but instead about the quality of design and style. The creators use their background in comic illustration to evoke a world of colorful artistic accents.

The visuals will not cater to all tastes and those more interested in realistic graphics may be turned off by World of Padman's unrealistic, cartoon style. Nevertheless, don't let the colorful, almost child-like visuals fool you into thinking that the gameplay lacks the violence and brutality of other shooters.

The game play is quite similar to the wildly fast combat that Quake is known for. World of Padman offers up the classic Deathmatch, Team Deathmatch and Last Man Standing modes, while also introducing two relatively original modes of play.

The first of the these new modes is Spray Your Color, which tasks you with spraying your selected logo in an area of the map known as the Sprayroom. However, you must first frag your opponents in order to acquire color cartridges, which you need to paint your logo in the Sprayroom.

Big Balloon, the next game mode, is easily compared to Unreal Tournament’s Domination mode. You must take control of as many of the map's balloon shaped command posts as you can in order to generate points for your team.

Unfortunately, you'll have a hard time playing against live opponents in the new game modes. Most active servers use the basic Deathmatch mode instead of offering Big Balloon or Spray Your Color. On one hand, the choice is a fair one, as many players care little for new game play and would rather stick with some straightforward Deathmatch. However, the Deathmatch mode often begins to feel a bit too much like Quake 3.

PadMan: The Breakfast Cereal

Each level is based on a real world location, but with a Padman feel. Since the Padman characters are tiny, some great situations arise, such as epic battles for the kitchen sink and gun fights upon the coffee table.

While the maps are large, the blazing fast pace of the combat never seems to falter. The vertical axis of movement plays a larger role than usual--expect to be spending a good bit of time boosting your way up onto tall objects and then diving down into the crossfire. Those accustomed to newer shooters will have to adapt to old school, Quake-style fragging. But when you adjust to the fast-paced carnage of World of Padman, you'll have an amazing time. There's something about diving head-first off a kitchen shelf, guns a' blazing, that simply cannot be beat.

World of Padman also offers a formidable selection of weapons for Padman and his motley crew. Most of the guns look like comical variations on the stock Quake 3 arsenal, but a few stand out. My personal favorite has to be the Punchy, a bird-like puppet that you begin each match with, which boosts your speed and supplies you with a dangerous melee attack. The Balloony releases deadly balls of water that bounce around the map, but a great deal of skill is needed to actually hit a target.

Its also worth noting that the weapons resemble squirt guns.

That said, there isn't a lot to criticize in the World of Padman. Players looking for something beyond a basic deathmatch game may be disappointed by the lack of servers to accommodate them, but the novel presentation should be more than enough to charm a wider audience. Plus, the promise of a single player component on the horizon means the future is bright for the World of Padman.

JoeX111 Says: "When I first saw the screen shots for this game, I fell in love with it. I watched it coyly from a distance, never willing to make eye-contact but always hoping for the briefest of glances. I wrote fondly of it in my diary, dreamed deeply of it in the evening and one day built up the courage to ask it for a tissue, please, I dropped it on the floor right there and I really need to be going sorry to bother you bye.

When it was actually released, however, all of the gloss and luscious eyelashes and sensuous curves couldn't cover up the fact that this number danced to a beat I'd seen too many times before. All the pretty faces in all the world don't amount to much when, under the hood, it's all the same plumbing ticking underneath.

She may smell as sweet as candy, but she's just another showgirl."

(+) Charming style.
(+) Level design is effective both visually and game play wise.
(+) Commercial quality presentation
(+) Solid game modes...

(-) Feels a bit too much like Quake 3 at times.
(-) The cartoony visuals may disappoint those more interested in realism.