Okay, now this, this is fun. Not the fun of a compelling storyline, or an intricately crafted world, but the fun of simply being able to cut loose and cause as much havoc as possible. Climbing up the side of the building, I take a moment to survey the destruction I’ve caused: windows are shattered in the wake of my passage, tiny humans wave in desperation from their units as a gigantic monster (me) merrily pounds away at their dwelling. Each blow rattles the structure, causing more people to rush to the window to call for help, or for some of them to topple out completely. With one last smash, the side of the building gives away, causing the entire structure to topple over and smash into another building, bringing both down in a fiery display of destruction. Leaping to the ground, I idly munch on a few people to restore my monster’s HP, and then, as an afterthought, kick a passing car into the side of another building, destroying both car and building in one go. After a few more minutes, I’ve caused an impressive amount of destruction, as well as having splatted several hundred digital people. On to the next level!
Terror of Hemasaurus is a bonkers, 2D, physics driven destruction arcade game which puts the player in the role of a Godzilla like monster hell-bent on causing as much destruction as possible. And there are lots of ways to do this. At its simplest, this involves simply smashing buildings repeatedly at the same point to try and make them topple over, and causing havoc eating or kicking the occasional passer-by. This soon opens up however: you can hurl cars and tanks into buildings, throw bystanders into the blades of enemy helicopters, jump from great heights and activate your ‘atomic butt slam’, and some scenarios even include giant-size trampolines. It’s crazy, it’s ridiculous, it looks and feels great, and it’s also a ton of fun.
Now if the above sounds a bit gruesome, this game is also a shining example of just how much you can actually get away with if you present it correctly. In fact, the bright, pixel art style of Terror of Hemasaurus manages to turn what could be utterly horrific into something which is exaggeratedly comical.
This is no accident, as Terror of the Hemasaurus is also a surprisingly sharp and funny satire, mercilessly poking fun at the more extreme views on both sides of the climate debate. There’s the uncaring, super-rich businessman Richie Hoarderson, there are two rather comical aliens watching with bemusement at the goings on, there’s the climate-cult that unleashed the Hemasaurus in order to raise awareness of climate change (a group who have determined that cannibalism is the ultimate in green cuisine as eating a person greatly reduces their carbon footprint), and even a mini-game where you get to rescue cats and dogs instead of eating them (you know, for PR). Somewhat unusually, the game also pokes fun at itself, the games industry in general (especially monetization-centric mobile games), and the developer. Chances are there’s also something there having a dig at the player, but I was probably laughing to hard to notice. The finale is also suitably comic – and while I won’t spoil it – the payoff is well worth it.
There’s also options to play in story mode, arcade mode, and even multiplayer. With four different monsters, complete with their own special abilities to choose from (ranging from slowing down time to fire breath and even a rocket launcher) there’s plenty of scope for players to unleash their more destructive tendencies.
Whether it was carefully hollowing out the centre of a building to cause it to collapse in a neat pile, swatting tanks and armoured cars into helicopters, climbing up buildings to launch myself at pesky blimps, or simply kicking all and sundry into next week, there was never a dull moment. If you like farce, satire, and over the top physics based destruction, then Terror of Hemasaurus is a must have. ■