Does anyone remember what an actual old school arcade game was? You know, the ones where every stage is the same, just more difficult the farther you get, like centipede or missile command. Well, EnjoyUp Games recently released 99 Seconds on the Wii U and it is a nostalgic trip back to those old school arcade days. The whole premise of the game is controlling an unanimated human shaped object around the screen avoiding black shapes and projectiles that change shape as they move and all within “99 Seconds”.
This indie title has extremely simple controls, with the analog or D-pad being used to maneuver you around to avoid the other opposing objects invading the screen and all the other buttons just stop objects on the screen to make maneuvering easier. As each shape or object appears on the screen it is constantly moving and changing size or it could make a sudden movement to crush you or close a gap and make it difficult to avoid. If they even just barely touch you, then it stops you for a brief moment and prevents your character from getting points while stopped even though the timer still ticks.
There are little dark flashy circles that will extend time if collected and little people pickups that will give bonus points. If you are about to hit opposing objects you can press any of the buttons to stop everything on the screen except for the timer that will constantly count down, so use it wisely. If the timer reaches 0 then the screen will change colors and you can still move and even add more time if you get pickups, but if you get hit while it’s at 0 then that’s gameover. 99 Seconds has only one level per say even though it starts from level 28, but it constantly changes depending on how many time extensions you acquire and will keep the challenge permanent. I’ve never made it from level 28 all the way down to zero, but I’m sure it’s possible with patience and sanity.
99 Seconds is actually playable with up to five people local, which makes for a very cluttered screen and hectic experience. I’m not saying that it’s a bad thing simply because it holds that edge of your seat type arcade style trying to get the highest score amongst friends. Multiplayer is available in both of the game’s modes, which are Arcade and Survival. There is a leaderboard that tracks your total points and ranks you across the Wii U online system and I actually made it to 8th place in the world after I got the hang of 99 Seconds.
The music is actually a decent high quality midi soundtrack and there is a narrator who speaks occasionally upon pickups and saying “danger” in between levels. The slowdown effect on the music sounds pretty cool when you press a button to stop the moving objects and the excess sound effects are very old school arcade sounding.
My Recommendation
99 Seconds isn’t the best title available on the Wii U eShop, but it definitely is a decent time killer. It’s $2.49 on the Eshop which is actually priced just right for the amount of content it has. If you are a fan of the older arcade style retro games then I believe 99 Seconds might be up your alley.