T.E.C. 3001

Developer: Phoenix Game Studio | Publisher: BulkyPix | Release Date: 2014 | Genre: Action / Indie / Racing | Website: Official Website | Purchase: Steam

Thanks to an energy deficiency in the future, humanity sends a cutting-edge robot into virtual space to collect batteries. As the T.E.C 3001 which, incidentally stands for Tesla Energy Collector, it is your mission to collect energy leftovers in order to fix things. In case this sounds somewhat confusing, fear not as it basically means you have to run really fast through some virtual-reality style levels while collecting a certain amount of batteries before you reach the exit.

T.E.C 3001 was originally an iOS and Xbox 360 Indie title, but it has finally made its way to PC. Developed by a small team from Serbia, the game takes a very basic concept and adds a few twists along with plenty of speed to create an adrenaline pumping experience. In case you have never played these types of “Endless Runner” games, your character is constantly moving forward, usually at breakneck speeds and it is your job to steer him through the obstacle course that lies between you and the exit. In order to survive you will need to jump, double-jump, and slide as well as perform a speed boost, usually with a split second to decide which one is appropriate for the upcoming obstacle. There is a certain amount of trial-and-error involved as some obstacles are almost impossible to dodge unless you already know that they are coming. Thankfully levels are not too long and there is usually a generous assortment of check-points to ease the frustration.

The game has 41 campaign levels to test your reflexes and the challenge gradually increases to the point where you will be scared to blink in case you miss an obstacle and come to a crashing end. There is also an endless mode, which simply challenges you to run as far and as fast as you can before succumbing to the speed and obstructions. The split screen multi-player mode provides some local fun, but unfortunately you cannot challenge your friends online. In case all of this doesn’t sound like enough value for money, the game has recently been updated with 12 new Free Run bonus levels which you can access after completing the campaign. Considering the low price of the game this is actually quite a bit of content and kudos to Phoenix Game Studio for not inflating the price just because they added some Steam achievements and trading cards for the PC release.

T.E.C 3001 is definitely not a game for players with poor reflexes. As I’ve mentioned earlier, the game runs at breakneck speeds and you constantly have to make split second decisions to stay on the course. Your robot, which looks like a Terminator interestingly enough, has to run across narrow pathways suspended in the air so one wrong move will send it plummeting to its doom. Frequent gaps and branching pathways will also keep you on your toes and some levels pack some very interesting elements like requiring you to turn around run in the opposite direction when you reach the end of the level. The game can also be quite sadistic at times with paths that literally require you to jump off and back on when encountering obstacles that block your way completely. It is obviously quite challenging, but very rewarding when you get it right.

The visuals are fairly basic, but considering the speed at which the game runs this isn’t really an issue. Everything has that TRON meets the Matrix style glow going on and running through certain gates changes the color scheme of the level which is a cool touch. The music is quite fitting with some suitably electronic sounding songs, but nothing that I would call particularly memorable. As the game has a few more moves to master than your typical Endless Runner the controls do take a while before they feel intuitive. The play style also switches around between levels at times so on one level you might be able to freely move around the track while on the next you only have to maneuver between three set lanes. There are even levels that play out like a rhythm-action title and require you to press the right button when over certain floor tiles in order to increase your speed and reach the exit in time. Eventually you will encounter floor tiles that fling you into the air or sections where you have to glide so there is always something new happening to keep you things from becoming stale.

T.E.C 3001 is a challenging and addictive game with a price low enough to make it an impulse buy. There is unfortunately no level editor or workshop support to extend the longevity of the game as the developers simply didn’t have the funds to include these features. This is really one of those games that can easily hook you and keep you busy for much longer than what you anticipated. If you enjoy games like Race The Sun and Avoid – Sensory Overload you really should check out T.E.C 3001.

*Review originally published April 2014.