SilverGames.com has delivered quite a few Flash games, including Zombie Takedown, Hockey Shootout, Dino Assault, Jerry’s Merry Christmas, SmashZ, and Monsters’ Wheels, just to name a few. One of its latest releases is Graffiti Time, a Flash-based pixel game that has a 1980s arcade look and feel.
Graffiti Time Game Play
Like most Flash games, Graffiti Time employs simplistic user controls. Right and left arrows move across the screen in either direction, while the up arrow allows the character to jump. The idea is to search around for different landmarks to paint on using a spray can. Once a landmark is located (i.e. vans, cars, walls, etc.) the user simply has to press the spacebar, holding it down until the painting is completed.
Once the landmark has been tagged with the graffiti, a golden key will appear on the screen. The character must retrieve the key, subsequently opening up a door in the spray-paint-can spaceship, which then rockets off into the atmosphere before a menu pops up providing different options: More Games, Next, and Select Level.
As the levels of Graffiti Time advance, the character runs into different obstacles he must overcome in order to tag landmarks. The police are patrolling the area on certain levels, where other levels will contain landmarks on platforms which must be manipulated in some way before they can be tagged.
Level Features and Difficulty
As the levels progress in Graffiti Time, the character runs into bigger obstacles he must face in order to tag various landmarks. For example, level 3 has a feature where platforms must be created in mid air. Unless the platforms are properly aligned, the character cannot reach the golden key to unlock the next level.
One difficulty a player may encounter is the way Graffiti Time is set up for lives on a certain number of levels (not the entire game). Instead of failing a level or having the character die, the player must realize when he or she is stuck and subsequently click on the Main Menu section in the bottom-left corner in order to retry the level. The good news, however, is that players should be able to get the hang of the level after a try or two.
After returning to the Main Menu, players can replay any level they have already completed or have reached.
Cool Features of the Game
There are two features which really stand out in Graffiti Time and remind gamers of sticking quarters into the machines at their favorite arcades. The first is the platform feature. By jumping up and then immediately pressing the down arrow, a platform is created in mid air. This brings back memories of yanking hard on that joystick in classic ‘80s games. Another cool feature is the Mario-like obstacle course the player must run through in certain levels, like the freeze ray that will trap the player in a block of ice until he is arrested and the level restarts.
Overall, Graffiti Time is a good game for those who have a place in their hearts for arcade classics. It’s on par with arcade hits like Donkey Kong in terms of look, feel and function. Though it’s relatively easy to play.
The game is quite entertaining and won’t take you very long to complete in theory. However, the 16 levels get increasingly more difficult, so if you’re not an arcade gamer, you might get a little frustrated.