Each level has you at the top of the ramp driving a car. You can straight away decide if you want to be driving in the driver’s seat, or flailing along at the back, hanging by your knuckles while the car drives maniacally. It is never really explained why this is an option, nor is there any indication as to the benefits, but… seems interesting.
The UI, without explanation, offers two buttons, a brake and an accelerate. It’s comforting to know that the developers trusted their players enough to not need any explanation for the meaning of the pedals; makes you feel all warm and fuzzy that they understand you know these things. What is less warm and fuzzy is the complete lack of any kind of actual gameplay.[sc name=”quote” text=”What is less warm and fuzzy is the complete lack of any kind of actual gameplay.”]
You drive forward – there doesn’t seem to be any point to pressing brake, crashing always results in the vehicle righting itself after a while – and hit stationary stick figures who decided that the best place to hang out was standing with arms spread out on a giant, leaping track in the path of a speeding mad man.
The game takes cues, interestingly enough, from the Sniper Elite series; each time an enemy is hit, time and sound effects slow down to demonstrate the crumpling of their bones and the injuries they suffer. Obviously, it doesn’t give the exact detail of Sniper Elite – no exploding Hitler’s left fibia – but it’s interesting to see the physics engine at work, showcasing exactly where and how badly you hit those poor pedestrians.
After the initial few car rampages… You do some more. There doesn’t really seem to be anything else to do. You get points based on the number of bones broken and the time you spent flying madly through the air. You can use those points to purchase new vehicles, as well as new levels with different and more varied tracks and stationary stick figures, but there doesn’t seem to be any real point to it.[sc name=”quote” text=”You can use those points to purchase new vehicles, as well as new levels with different and more varied tracks and stationary stick figures, but there doesn’t seem to be any real point to it.”]
What are you working towards? Do the cars get cooler, the levels more interesting? Nothing really changes other than the scenery or the engine noises of whatever vehicle you’ve chosen. As you get lighter vehicles like the motorcycle, the game just becomes exceptionally frustrating, as they constantly fall down or don’t have the ability to actually hit anything without falling down.
Stickman Dismount 2 Annihilation is confusing; there doesn’t seem to be any kind of incentive to keep playing past the initial joy of smashing stick figures apart. You have to wonder what kind of demographic this game is aimed for – are there people getting home from work, desperately wanting to take their frustration out on stick figures?
The motivation of other players is, as ever, unclear. What is clear, however, is that Stickman Dismount 2 Annihilation is far too boring, far too uninteresting and far, far to unfun to actually play and continuously enjoy.
[appbox googleplay com.stickman.annihilation.dismount]
