I know I’ve mentioned this before but one of my all-time favorite mobile games is Pako – Car Chase Simulator ($1.99) from developer Tree Men Games. The basic idea in Pako is that you’d control one of a variety of cars as you try to outrun the police for as long as possible. The pedal is stuck to the metal so your only responsibility is to steer left or right and to try and avoid running into objects or the police. The longer you’d last the more aggressive the police would become until you’d inevitably succumb, and the time that you managed to survive would act as your score. Pako featured simple mechanics but extremely fun driving physics, and its great variety of different levels to play and unique vehicles to drive is a big reason why it’s remained on my iPhone for going on four years now.
So, when I started seeing that Tree Men were developing a sequel, but that it was destined for desktop, it felt like a punch to the ol’ gut. One of my favorite games getting a sequel with all sorts of new features, and it’s not coming to my favorite mobile platform??? Well, as we learned just last month Tree Men DID plan on bringing Pako 2 to mobile following its release on Steam last November, and today we’ve learned that the mobile release is scheduled for next week! I know you can’t see me but I’m totally doing The Dance of Joy right now.
So obviously if you’re familiar with the original Pako you can see what a big departure this sequel is. It’s a much less passive game as you’ll actively be picking up your crew members and escorting them to safety and you even have the ability to fight back against the police by shooting at them. The visuals in Pako 2 also get a huge upgrade in terms of lighting and effects compared to the minimalist, lower-poly look of the original. While I love the original for its simplicity (and I’d LOVE if it were updated for the iPhone X, hint hint Tree Men) I’m really looking forward to this more action-packed take on the Pako formula. The game has gotten great reviews on desktop, and I don’t see why that won’t translate just fine over to the mobile version, so look for Pako 2 when it releases as a full paid no IAP game on iOS next week.
