Action games are all the rage on the Games page these days. If I told you I was going to review a fast paced game–one which requires you to make decisions quickly and accurately–you would probably guess that I was going to review Phantom Forces or Apoc Rising. Instead I want to introduce you to a different game, a game that still makes you think quickly but requires you to rely more on wit and knowledge than on steady aim. That game is…

“Panic Attack!” is a game developed by Fractured Studios, a game design studio which is “dedicated to bringing people new and innovative games.” It was released in January of 2015 and I had the pleasure of being able to play it immediately after release. Revisiting the game for this review was a treat.

So what makes me interested in Panic Attack? As I’ve have been hinting, the game itself can get your adrenaline pumping. The game pits one player as the “Controller” against the other players. The controller is given a certain amount of lives based on the number of players who are against him. Each opposing player has one life, so they have to be extra careful not to lose them!

Then the game assigns a category which ranges from history, to science, to geography and math. The players take turns in a circle tackling challenging questions under a strict time limit. If they get the answer wrong or run out of time, they’re dropped out of the match (literally). If they get it right a new question is assigned to the next player. The controller gets a question at the end of the round, then the category changes and the time in which you have to answer is decreased.

That’s what makes this game so intense. It might start out simple enough, but once the time decreases and you only have seconds to answer correctly, you really begin to learn the meaning behind the game’s name. The only downside is that there are only so many questions, so if you play long enough you may find a few of them repeated.

Good gameplay isn’t the only thing that makes a game awesome, though. “Panic Attack!” looks great. From the lobby to the lighting, it makes you feel like you’re really part of an intense game show. I didn’t like the audio at first because it isn’t music I would normally like, but it really complemented the gameplay well when the time was winding down and I was frantically searching for the answer. If it’s still not your favorite, they included a button that turns the music off.

I really enjoyed my time with Panic Attack. It’s a short, quick game, so it won’t keep you playing it for hours and hours, but the time you do spend there should prove fun and interesting. So why not give it a try?

What do you think about Panic Attack? What game would you like to see me review next? Let me know through the comments or on the forums!

Until next time, Blox on!