There are certain genre mixes that work and those that don’t. RPG games mix with adventure, FPS mixes with action. Racing and action can mix as well, but some fall short; this is one of those games. Post Apocalyptic Mayhem (PAM) is set some time in the future where it seems that extreme devastation has torn the world apart and the only thing to do now is race vehicles that have seen better days.
This game can’t seem to decide if it is for PC or 360, as it is only available for PC, yet it has Xbox360 controls. Not only that, but it doesn’t have any instructions for players using the keyboard, so players would have to muddle around trying to find out what keys activated which abilities.
Sadly, there is no structure to the game. No story, no reason to race. No ultimate goal. There are only two game modes; a single race, where the player picks one car (out of six) and one map (out of three), and the “Apocalyptic Challenge” mode, in which the player picks one car to use on all three maps. The scoring for these modes is the same, which is still difficult to decipher. Your score is based on how many laps were completed within the time limit, and how many kills the player obtains. It seems as though kills are the much more valuable contributor to your final score, which begs the question, why not make this an arena game rather than racing?
The selection of cars is interesting however. There are six cars in PAM, and each have their own special abilities. This is a unique part of the game, as the abilities are dependent on the car you drive. Players choose the car, and pick up ability power-ups that give them their “Front” “Rear” and “Side” attacks, each varying only in style between the cars. Attacks are interchangeable between most cars; the oil slicks and the ice patches are identical in mechanics, but look different. There are a few however that are more ingenious. The car “The Logger” has mostly melee attacks, which makes for different gameplay options.
