Baby you can park my car

September 29, 2006 on 9:54 am | In Game Reviews, Social Issues |

Here’s something odd: the latest phenomena to hit the casual gaming scene is parking cars. At last count, Millions of Games was tracking 20 of them, and the number keeps growing.

For me, parking the car is about as exciting as checking the mail and locking the door. It’s a fleeting inconvenience that almost goes unnoticed — certainly not something I’d expect to inspire a sensational game.

And yet, I was intrigued, so I tested my ability and was surprised by what I found:

• Parking: Battle of the Sexes challenged the notion of men being good with cars. Nice touches in this game included hazard lights that flash when you bumped another car.

• I also found myself losing track of time with Parking Perfection 2. It was encouraging when awards were given for top efforts.

• The puzzle idea behind Parking Zone was monotonous and fairly plain.

These games are infinitely more forgiving than trying to navigate a real car park. At least you can revise your efforts until you’ve done a good job without someone beeping, swearing or laughing at you.

My verdict: while the games could be fiddley and the sound was generally mundane, I had fun. I liked the fact that objectives were generally clear, and playing them was usually simple even when it was tough.

Let me know whether they do the same for you.