1997 was a big year. Dolly the Sheep was officially announced as a successful clone, Madeleine Albright became the first female Secretary of State (go Maddy!), J K Rowling saw her first installment of the Harry Potter series published and Microsoft invested a cool $150 mil into the then financially troubled Apple Computers, Inc (ha!). However, whilst all of this was happening around me, I had my face fixated on my brand new Nokia 8210, my thumbs furiously pressing the keypad trying to beat my high score on the then brand-new Snake game. I look back on this simpler time of my life fondly, so when I had the chance to play it again on my iPhone with the same rudimentary dot-matrix graphics in tact on Snake ‘97 by dsd 164, I have to admit, I was chuffed.
Equipped with all of the same old-school controls, graphics and monotone sounds, playing Snake ‘97 is like taking a trip down memory lane. You can take your pick from the 5 worse-for-wear mobile bodies that are available to enhance the authenticity of your experience and play any of the 9 original and 3 extra difficulty levels that are on offer.
If you’re thinking that this game must be outdated and boring by now, you couldn’t be more wrong. It took me just one round before I was hooked again, the simple and frustratingly addictive premise of the game is just as powerful as it was 18 years ago and, after you start, you’ll have a hard time putting it down again.
The only drawback for me with this charming remake are the advertisements that come along with it. Although I understand banner ads and the like are just part and parcel of the mobile gaming industry these days I did feel that after a while it became a little gratuitous. However, if you can be patient and get past the necessary advertising fodder then you’ll be rewarded with a blast from the past and a fun way to kill half an hour.
If you’d like to time warp back to ‘97 then you can download this app from the App Store or play online for free at poki.com.
