The next game up in our Weekly Spotlight Best Games Under $15 program is a rather unique one. In fact, it’s safe to say that you’ve never played a game like it before. You’re the driver of a constantly revolving limousine and must make your way through the city without causing too much, or any, damage to the town. It was released on PC in 2014, and came to Xbox One back in 2015. Picture a blend of Crazy Taxi, 70’s porn music, some full motion video scenes with a little explosions thrown in (or in our case a lot of explosions) and BOOM, you have Roundabout – available now for only $9.99 by developer NoGoblin.
You start off as Georgio Manos, the best there is at driving fully revolving limousines around the city of Roundabout. We begin with a little driving test that is unconventional to say the least. Straight away Georgio is put to the test in order to receive her revolving limousine license. Upon completion, which is rather easy thankfully, the full story begins. Along the way, we get to observe the funniest full motion video scenes I’ve ever witnessed with some of the insane characters. The dialogue is reminiscent of something out of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang with Val Kilmer and Robert Downey Jr. and possesses such banter that you miss a lot of what is said due to the sound of your own laughter.
When you get to control the revolving limousine, or death trap as the local civilians may call it for good reason, you’re set in a world full of blended colors and obstacles that both frustrate and awe you at the same time. Missions are marked with a gold star on the map and flashing gold stars indicate which ones have yet to be undertaken. Once you start a mission, golden arrows show you which way to drive…..errr….spin….in order for you to reach your objective. During this, you’ll be presented with obstacles like civilians in the streets, other vehicles both stationary and mobile, buildings, fences, traffic circles, etc and you’ll have to navigate around them all the while spinning like you’re on the teacups at your local church carnival. Of course, various upgrades and customizations exist to improve your chances.
The driving is picked up quickly as within a matter of minutes you should be cruising along. Each mission adds its own caveat to the game with increased time difficulty and bonuses for no civilian casualties. Casualties may be putting it lightly as every injury dumps what appears to be an ungodly amount of blood in the streets in a cartoon like splash. The trick is attempting to find the blend in completing the missions in a timely fashion while not wasting too much time letting the civilians get out of the way. You can stop your limousine from moving, but it’s constantly spinning. You also earn points for picking up gold coins along your route, not exploding (which is definitely easier said than done as you can see in our playthrough) and time bonuses.
Once you complete all of your missions and Georgio is a superstar, you’re only half way done. Completing all the missions left us with about a 50% completion rate. There are plenty of challenges as well as collectibles to find
Roundabout is an incredibly entertaining game that NoGoblin blends all aspects of gameplay into. From the intriguing limo driver who never talks, to all your crazy, funny and quirky passengers to the challenges and collectibles that never end because of your own persistence to torture yourself in fun and frustration, Roundabout is pure fun in every aspect of the game and definitely recommended. You’ll be entertained, intrigued and pulled along to try and get every last achievement just to “see what else there is’ in the game.
You can pick up Roundabout now from the Xbox store for only $9.99
