Spigot
09-27-2009, 03:40 PM
Is it a tech demo? Is it a game? Is it just plain wrong? You decide with this week's entry in the Turning The Spigot pantheon of strangeness.
Stretch Panic
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2534/3960415244_b829daa02b.jpg
Year: 2001
Platform: PS2
Rating: Purpley Nurpley
# of Players: 1
Oh, Stretch Panic. Where to start with this incredibly strange piece of software.
Stretch Panic was made by the fine folks at the acclaimed Treasure studios. Unlike most of their efforts, Stretch Panic was not a shooter in any sense of the word. Instead, you play a young girl with a possessed scarf who must exorcise the demons that have corrupted her 12 sisters. And that's the straightforward part of the game.
You have no real weapons to speak of in Stretch Panic. Instead, you use your possessed scarf to grab almost everything in the game and, well, stretch it or fling it around. You can alter the landscape, pull parts of your enemies off or just mess around with some of the truly bizarre creations in the game to see what they'll do.
How strange is Stretch Panic? I'll point your attention at this quote regarding the most infamous demon enemies in the game:
Bonita Zakos are the most human looking demons in the game (despite their giant breasts.) They are girls with ponytails who use their giant breasts as helicopters to fly out of danger, to punch Linda, and belly-flop Linda to the ground. They sometimes run and use their breasts to push Linda. Their weak points are their heads and backsides...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2522/3959643723_945568eae5.jpg
And they're the more normal enemies in the game. If you take a look at the Wiki for Stretch Panic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stretch_Panic), you'll see how truly bizarre and creative the team made the 12 sisters/bosses in the game.
It's a shame that the production values outside of the bosses are so abysmal. Sure, we're talking about an early PS2 game, but many of the levels were composed of flat textures and simple geometry. The biggest contention surrounding Stretch Panic is that outside of its surreal trappings and inventive boss battles, there isn't much to it. The game comes off more as a glorified tech demo to show off what the PS2 could do than as a full-fleshed game.
Hmyn5VkLMYU
Stretch Panic is worth at least a quick look to see something truly unique. I wouldn't recommend paying very much for that opportunity, but if it presents itself, take advantage of it.
Stretch Panic
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2534/3960415244_b829daa02b.jpg
Year: 2001
Platform: PS2
Rating: Purpley Nurpley
# of Players: 1
Oh, Stretch Panic. Where to start with this incredibly strange piece of software.
Stretch Panic was made by the fine folks at the acclaimed Treasure studios. Unlike most of their efforts, Stretch Panic was not a shooter in any sense of the word. Instead, you play a young girl with a possessed scarf who must exorcise the demons that have corrupted her 12 sisters. And that's the straightforward part of the game.
You have no real weapons to speak of in Stretch Panic. Instead, you use your possessed scarf to grab almost everything in the game and, well, stretch it or fling it around. You can alter the landscape, pull parts of your enemies off or just mess around with some of the truly bizarre creations in the game to see what they'll do.
How strange is Stretch Panic? I'll point your attention at this quote regarding the most infamous demon enemies in the game:
Bonita Zakos are the most human looking demons in the game (despite their giant breasts.) They are girls with ponytails who use their giant breasts as helicopters to fly out of danger, to punch Linda, and belly-flop Linda to the ground. They sometimes run and use their breasts to push Linda. Their weak points are their heads and backsides...
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2522/3959643723_945568eae5.jpg
And they're the more normal enemies in the game. If you take a look at the Wiki for Stretch Panic (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stretch_Panic), you'll see how truly bizarre and creative the team made the 12 sisters/bosses in the game.
It's a shame that the production values outside of the bosses are so abysmal. Sure, we're talking about an early PS2 game, but many of the levels were composed of flat textures and simple geometry. The biggest contention surrounding Stretch Panic is that outside of its surreal trappings and inventive boss battles, there isn't much to it. The game comes off more as a glorified tech demo to show off what the PS2 could do than as a full-fleshed game.
Hmyn5VkLMYU
Stretch Panic is worth at least a quick look to see something truly unique. I wouldn't recommend paying very much for that opportunity, but if it presents itself, take advantage of it.