60 Seconds – Review

Some people believe that the world will end in a tragic way. Some believe that Earth will have his wrath on humanity while others think a nuclear holocaust is near. What if any of the previously mentioned things was going to happen? Would you be prepared? The protagonist in 60 Seconds made the necessary preparations, but the question is if this will be enough to survive.

Story

Our narrative takes us back to the 1950s and revolves around Ted. This young, responsible and healthy man, who likes a snack now and then, lives in a nice and quiet suburban area, together with his wife Dolores and his children Mary Jane and Timmy. Everything is all right and life is good, until the nuclear bomb alarm starts to ring. This seems to be a precaution the government took in these harsh times. Hearing the sound means that Ted has 60 seconds to collect as much supplies as possible and head for safety in the process. This includes food, water, other handy items, and your family members too of course. When the last second ticks away, the nuclear bomb strikes and you need to be in your shelter.

Although you might have made it to the shelter, some questions will keep you busy. Will you ever see your house again? Eat a nice pie? Or go on a holiday with your remaining family members? This is something that can’t be predicted as you will need to survive first. Welcome to an era after a nuclear bombing.

Graphics      

The graphics can be divided into two sections, namely when you’re gathering supplies and when you’re hiding in the shelter.

First of all, the scavenging part is made in 3D and the details are really wonderful. It is a shame that you will have to leave this house behind as the interior is stunning and takes you back to the 1950s. It completely fits the setting of the game. There are vivid colors that are mixed with some more bland ones, to give that authentic feel. The same applies on the furniture and the electronics available at the house. Walking into certain items will make them fall over and this is emphasized with a quite comical-looking effect.

When you jump into your shelter, the graphics change and you will be sucked into a 2D image. We can see the family and their gathered supplies and this representation will alter due to the choices you made upstairs. This means that you will always encounter another set-up in your base. The shelter might not be that detailed, though this is the best thing the developers could have done. The image in combination with the diary is just superb. You will always wonder how your hideout will look the next day.

Sound

Although the graphics are quite diverse, the same cannot be said about the music. The game has some songs, but the same one will repeat over and over again when you’re stuck in the shelter. This won’t be a problem when you’re there for a short period of time but it might get on your nerves after a while. This might be an effect the developers where going for, since this is something the survivors will undergo as well. The style of the music has the same effect as well, since it has a dark undertone at times. There is a negative point though as the intro music will fade away and won’t restart. You will only hear a few crackling sounds and that’s it.

Next to that, the sound effects are mostly available in the scavenging part as bumping into your furniture will result in some nice ‘cling’ sounds or things breaking into small pieces. Down in the basement there are a few sound effects, like the squeaking of the hatch for example. Although this might not seem much, it gives the game that bit extra.

Gameplay

As you might have guessed, 60 seconds is a visual text-based scavenging and survival game that will test your humanity as you will need to make some heart-tearing decisions. There are a few mechanics you need to know before you start but the developers did think about this. You can get some lessons to learn the tricks of the trade and become the best survivalist.

First of all, you need to gather supplies so you can at least survive in the shelter. These rations are scattered across your home and although you might think that you could memorise certain things, the plan of your house change with every new game while the items and your family will always spawn randomly. Before your 60 seconds starts ticking, you get 15 seconds to run around and get an overview where the important items are. Supplies can be recognized quite easily because they have a white outline and you can see them through several walls or obstacles. After those 15 seconds, you can start to gather supplies but you have to be careful as you can only carry a maximum weight. Every item or family member will fill your ‘hands’ and it might be that you want to take an item when you don’t have any room. This will only slow you down and it is of great importance that you keep an eye on this. When you have your hands full, you need to drop your supplies (or family) in the shelter and start your quest for goodies again. Your furniture will turn against you because it will be in the way and will slow you down although you can run into it and push it aside or break it. When the 60 seconds are over and you’re not in the proximity of the shelter, you will die. Piece of cake, no? The 60 seconds will tick away quite fast, so you will need to make decisions. Will you take those extra cans of soup or will you take Timmy instead? What about the gun over there? Tick tock, time is ticking.

When you have gotten as much supplies and some family members, the next part starts. This survival portion will test your rationing skills. The family will keep a diary so you can see if something’s amiss or who wants food or something to drink. Some members might get sick and you will need to react… if you have the proper goods at least. Next to that, you can also set up expeditions, as this is very important to survive. The diary may also hold an ultimatum that you need to think about and respond to. For example, when you hear someone knock on the door, will you open it or not? You will need to use items at certain times as well. This means that every playthrough will be different. You won’t have the same supplies, family members or these events, implying that there are endless combinations. There isn’t anything else you can do in the shelter, although you can hover over everything and you will get a pop-up with the name of the item or the member of your family.

Now, the big question: can you survive? It seems that there are several endings, and as stated before, a lot depends on your supplies and the events you have to overcome.

Next to the normal game, there are two other modes you can try as well. The first one is that you do the scavenging part and try to gather as much supplies as you can, while the second one will give you a shelter, randomly filled with items, and you need to survive as long as you can. If this isn’t enough, the three modes have three difficulty levels. For example, the plain survival mode will have different amounts of supplies, depending on the difficulty level. This adds some extra dimension to the game as you can discover several modes and difficulties.

A nice bonus is that you can play the game with the keyboard + mouse or a gamepad. This is mostly important for the scavenging section, as you need to hurry and run around. The controls themselves are quite rigid and don’t feel so natural. It is a good thing that you can alter the rotation sensitivity since this is a crucial part as turning around is essential and needs to happen quite fast.

Conclusion

The title ’60 seconds’ only gives a tip of the iceberg as you will be in the shelter the most of the time. Although there isn’t a real deep storyline, it isn’t something you’ll miss as you’ll be busy trying to survive. The great graphics and minimalistic music give the game an authentic feeling and the gameplay is something that is a superb combination between text-based survival and the action filled scavenging part. The different modes and difficulty levels will give you loads of possibilities, so get ready for some rationing.

AnneMieke

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