JelloCar is a free physics game where you drive your car through a world where everything is made out of Jello, including your car, the terrain, and the objects you have to interact with along the way. The objective is to make it to the end of each level while making the best possible time.
I’m always looking for interesting and/or original games, and even before its release when I saw a video of this game in action I knew I had to post it on Freewaregenius (see video below).
The reason this game is interesting is the physics engine behind it that models the way these objects would behave to very pleasing effect. Here are some notes on this game:
- Controls: use left/right arrows to go forward/back, and the z and x keys to make your car lean forwards or backwards. Pressing space blows your car up so that it becomes temporarily much larger, which is very useful in many situations where you need to climb over obstacles.
- Objective: is to reach the end of each level (marked by a circular ’target-like’ object) in the best possible time.
- The levels: over 15 levels that in general are well made and interesting, and you can play any level at well without having to finish a level to unlock another.
- The level editor: is included in the download; if you’re into level creation be sure to send your creations to the author.
- The graphics: are really cool simple yet well done. You can switch between 4 visual styles: crayon (the default ’Jello’ stlye), vector, blueprint, and graphic. Try them all they’re all interesting. Note that you actually need a halfway decent graphics card for the game to work. (It worked on my home computer but not my work laptop).
- The sound: is reminiscent of a child’s ’vrooming’ while playing with a car. Very nice effect.
- Gameplay: don’t expect to have your car always behave like a car; it is, after all, a Jello car. Ito learned that to get to the end of the level you might spend as much time with your car upside down that it spends on two wheels. (Oh, and by the way, yes it is possible to break the car, so be careful).
Wish list (or how this game can be even better):
- Some of the levels can be quite difficult to figure out, simply because you have no way of knowing what the level looks like and how things inter-connect. It would be cool if there was some sort of “zoom out” button that you could use to take an overall ’macro’ look and see where things are in relation to each other, in order to plot your strategy.
The verdict: an interesting and original game; fun to play yet hard to master. Try it out for yourself now.
Version tested: 1.0
Compatibility: WINDOWS: Windows XP / Vista + .NET 2.0 + DirectX 9.06 + Xbox 360 controller recommended; a video card capable of Pixel Shader 2.0 is required. Also available for Xbox 360.
Go to the game page to get the latest version (approx 7.47 megs).
