Mars Attacks has a very niche appeal. It is a cult classic that broke through rather quickly into the mainstream receiving the response you would expect. The over the top style matched other cult classics that were not as fortunate to break through, such as Killer Clowns From Outer Space. Mars Attacks was in your face and for those that got it and found it funny, it was a welcome release. For everyone else, it was a reason to groan about lack of quality entertainment. Everyone won. Busy bodies got something to do and fans of modern schlock had more entertainment to enjoy.
Considering Mars Attacks came to life in the early 1960s by Topp’s as a trading card line (think Garbage Pail Kids decades prior and with an alien swing), you would think games would be everywhere. It seemed that Atari and their competition were down to license anything in the 80s, including Cabbage Patch Kids for ColecoVision.
I know, Cabbage Patch Kids was a, stupidly, hot property so that might make more sense than licensing a 20+ year old trading card series most might not remember. Hell, Topp’s probably didn’t know they still owned it by the 80s.
This meant no games based on Mars Attacks for the Atari generation, none for the NES generation, same for Sega Genesis, PlayStation, etc. Until now, we are finally getting a game based on Mars Attacks and it is a Theme Park clone of all things.
I guess it could be worse, they could have gone with the obligatory live service Fortnite ripoff that would be shut down in the first one to ten months of being available then never try again.
Anyone that has seen the movie Mars Attacks, or knows the card series (or subsequent media that has been released) can tell you, the aliens are not nice. They are not here to entertain humans.
They are here to ACK ACK them.
Mars Attracts keeps the idea alive and well, just set in an alien style amusement park. You must delight abducted guests, sometimes making them endure horrible torture (some people are into that, no shame here) and deal with the occasional human that finds an escape from the “fun”.
Right now, Mars Attracts is in Early Access and according to the press release this will last about nine months. After this apparently a “fan focused” development stage will begin giving fans a chance to have say in how the game is shaped.
I am concerned when I see “fan focused” stuff. We have seen with naming contests that collectively the Internet is not always focused on what is best.
Head over to Steam, grab your copy of Mars Attracts at a 10% discount, presumably while in Early Access. See if you can compete with Disney for #1 theme park, just for different reasons.
