don't fret little car,
consumers are all just bums...
racing - there's a thrill!
Additional Comments:
I always feel I must predicate any lengthy flash-related essay with a myriad of justifications. Why do I always feel guilty of playing flash games? Because they're juvenile? Simplified? Typically representative of low quality output by bedroom developers? Perhaps, but perhaps juvenile or simplified games can be enjoyed for what they are. Low quality output on the other hand - eh...
One day, mixed among my recommended videos on YouTube was a video for an LP of one of the Wheely games - it might have been the fourth one, but I'm not entirely certain. Out of curiosity, I clicked on it. It was a short four or five minute playthrough of a cutesy point and click game that some how sold me enough on the idea to seek out the series and give the first game a go. Maybe it was just because it was a simple point and click series that embodied the absolute definition of casual game. Whatever the case, there was something about it that made me believe it was a worthy flash game, even if it appeared to be directed at an audience of four-year-olds. If anything, the one thing that stuck out is that it appeared as though the developer went out of his way for all the little details - that he chose to make something bespoken of quality, even if he's popped one or two of these games out every year for the past few years. It didn't immediately scream shitty Microsoft Paint drawings quickly embedded into some javascript in 48 hours so I can pop off my 145th game of the year. This is how the vast majority of flash games come off and Wheely took the effort to prevent itself from crossing that line and proved that simplicity doesn't necessarily equate to crap.
I remember reading a fantastic article several years back articulating the complexities of the hows and whys a given movie review is presented as it is, i.e. how some blowhard B-movie cheese can actually garner a decent review. The article's writer expressed his (or her) opinion that reviews should take into account whether or not the product accomplished exactly what it set out to do. If it was meant to be nothing but cornball camp, did it at least pull out all the stops to be the best damn camp it can be? Other than being of the opinion that all reviews should be argued as such, no more so than here. To the average gamer, and probably a wide spectrum of people beyond, Wheely is likely a pointless endeavor either meant purely for pre-Kindergarteners or simple drivel to plaster on Newgrounds, Kongregate, or other such Flash sites where it can further contribute to a plague of over saturation. Except, Wheely, in my book, hits all the marks it set out to, and perfectly at that.
Wheely, an obvious nod to Lightning McQueen, consist of (mostly) one screen puzzles - move the eponymous car from point A to point B while maneuvering around simple obstacles so he can make his way from a tired showroom floor to the day of the big race. Wheely's aspirations are admirable considering he's become last year's model - a victim of price reduction time and time again, proving he's no longer the chic auto he once believed himself to be. But forget materialism or consumerism. Instead, Wheely turns to ambition, to prove to himself as Red would come to learn in Shawshank Redemption - get busy living, or get busy dying. Who wishes to rust away as they're put on year end manager closeout special buy 99% off dealer's choice everything must go extravaganza only to watch everyone turn their heads towards other, more appealing buys?
The difficulty is hit and miss as the levels seem to progress more in favor of continuity between levels. I respect and appreciate that, but it does manage to fracture the gameplay a bit. There are a couple balance puzzles that are interesting, and at least a step up in difficulty compared to some of the earlier levels, but there's no solid progression. Granted, given the size of the sprites and the fact that most everything is confined to a single screen, it can prove restricting on what can be done. However, for the most part, I think the developer did a fair job with the levels at hand.
Honestly, it's hard to criticize the game only because the game is exactly as advertised...at least in the general presentation. Dig a little deeper, and it's a different story. My experiences with the game were unfortunately bitter as I had to shuffle through a few different sites before I finally found a version that I could get through without bogging my laptop down to an absolute standstill. The issue seemed reminiscent of a memory leak, eating up gargantuan amounts or RAM at an exponential rate once I got to about the seventh level. First attempt, I made it to Level 9 before my computer became frozen in time. Next two attempts - each on differing sites - I made it as far as Level 7 and began chucking F-bombs at a children's game as the lag became utterly disgusting. Using the air pump before the giant saw blade tore Wheely asunder was a venture in total futility.
I believe I finished the game on Kongregate, thanks to their cookies autosaving whatever level I was on, though I initially sought the game elsewhere due to the lag being so awful there, though it was no different anywhere else. Through personal tyranny of will, I decided to push through best I could, even if it meant restarting Level 7 multiple times until the lag was tolerable enough to work with. Once I pushed through Level 9, the issue disappeared, so I'm not entirely certain what was going on and based on a couple of LPs and some comments here and there, no one else seems to have experienced this awfulness. Thing is, I've never experienced this with any other Flash game, and Wheely brought my laptop to its pitiful knees no matter where I tried it. So whether it was a memory leak or some sort of malware piggybacking the game, it completely ruined my experience - an experience I'm quite certain would have been favorable in the game's lighthearted simplicity as I fully respected the game for what it was. But with all the trouble I had to deal with just to play a ten minute time waster built in the Flash medium, it's hard to heap praise of any kind. Instead, I find the game flawed and egregious and the developer should be ashamed if it truly exists in this condition. If, however, it was merely a fluke between the game and my own hardware, well, it's a shame. Although, I did run one attempt on a desktop; suffering the same deplorable conditions, so...for the moment, all signs seem to point to bullshit on the developer's end. Ah well.
Nevertheless, I probably would try out another Wheely title simply out of curiosity. Consider it personal interest in seeing how the developer grew the series - if any sense of complexity ever enters the equation or he simply stuck to his guns with one screen puzzles. I've seen some screen shots of the other games, and like I said, I learned about the series by watching an LP of the fourth(?) installment, and from what I saw - no change. If anything, I hope the bullshit lag is rectified.
Nano-What?:
Seriously, there's a level that is literally nothing but changing your paint, tint, and wheels? Why wasn't this simply an optional customization menu at the beginning of the game so we can all choose our personalized Wheelys from the get-go? I felt any attachment to Wheely as a character was lost since it happened in such an arbitrary way at such an arbitrary time - like an afterthought shoehorned in without any real thought.
Rating: 2 sunglasses adorned lorries out of 5
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