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Review: Showtime 2073 – Pac-Man Meets Unreal Tournament

Showtime 2073
Review: Showtime 2073 – Pac-Man Meets Unreal Tournament
3.5

Platforms: Windows PC, Mac, Linux, Steam

Game Name: Showtime 2073

Publisher: GenomGames

Developer: Bernard Nicolas

Genre: Action

Release Date: February 12th, 2016

Showtime 2073 – What We Think:

Showtime 2073 from indie developer Bernard Nicolas is a high speed shooter that uses a cyberpunk aesthetic and plays rather like a mash-up of Unreal Tournament and Pac-Man. Whilst the content on offer is not extensive, the game makes up for this with its competitive pricing. Showtime 2073 strives to deliver a short, punchy experience that’s always tempting you to give it one more try.

The gameplay of Showtime 2073 is that of a fast-paced shooter. Situated in a large arena, and most often divided up into a sprawling maze, you must rush around collecting a set amount of orbs to complete the level. Red orbs provide rockets that can be used to blast through walls or kill numerous enemies in a single shot, green orbs heal you to full health and white orbs have no effect other than to add to your count of orbs collected.

Showtime 2073 1

Hampering your efforts are a variety of enemy types that harass you around the maze. Standard enemies appear to be humanoid robots (or perhaps simply armored humans) that pursue you relentlessly, attempting to melee you into submission. Turrets fire rapidly when you approach them, and large robots lay down heavy fire that can kill you with ease.

All of these threats must be continuously avoided or neutralized while you strive to collect a sufficient number of orbs. In terms of weapons, you are armed with an energy rifle with infinite ammunition and a rocket launcher with finite shots.

Show of Force

One of the most enjoyable aspects of the game is the destructible nature of the arena. Walls often bar your way to your optimal orb collecting path, so you’re faced with the choice of either going around or shooting your way through with rockets. The latter option may seem superior, but it’s easy to become entangled in the rubble of a broken wall, and this is often fatal.

Unfortunately, this can sometimes seem almost glitchy, as you become stuck and unable to move at all whilst travelling through damaged walls. Another – intended – hazard of using rockets is that holes can be blown in the floor, adding to the dangers of the arena.

Showtime 2073 2

The design of Showtime 2073 seems to be heavily inspired by the high tech style of old arena shooters like Unreal Tournament. This is also evident in the single music track, which is highly reminiscent of UT99. Generally, the graphics are quite effective for conveying the action and the visuals should be familiar territory for fans of classic shooters.

Super Pac

Showtime 2073 is a bite-sized shooter experience that creates an entertaining spin on the genre with Pac-Man style orb collecting. There isn’t much here, but it is enough to pull you back for a few extra tries, and the challenge is certainly adequate to stretch out the content that is present.

If it had come out 15 years ago I might have thought it a well-conceived mod adding a new game type to the original UT. As it is, and for the price, Showtime 2073 offers a quirky, fast-paced shooting experience that could eat up a few hours with its challenge.

Showtime 2073 is available via Steam.

[xrr rating = “3.5/5”]

Watch the official trailer for Showtime 2073 below: