This game isn’t shooting for epic status, but rather concentrates on fresh ideas and fun. Even the name is refreshing; AaaaaAAaaaAAAaaAAAAaAAAAA!!! – A Reckless Disregard for Gravity! Kudos to Dejobaan Games for coming up with such a catchy (but hard to google) name.

So what’s the game concept all about?
You jump off buildings, earning points by getting as close as you can to buildings, while giving thumbs up to your fans. You can also flip off the people protesting your stunts. Doesn’t it sound like fun?

For 75 years, baby!

Indeed. And the fun begins as soon as you start the game. The narrator claims that Dejobaan Games has brought us “many quality video games for over 75 years.” We all know that the video game industry is barely 30 years old – and the  more you play the game, the more wacky ideas you’re going to see from the developers. You’ll learn why grandma’s cookies are so delicious. You’ll learn how to debristle a pig. One of the levels is simply devoted to helping you meditate and there’s an exact opposite level called “anti-meditation” as well. These are only some of the examples of this game’s humor; you’ll be laughing quite often.

We REALLY loved the level selection menu design.

The presentation of this game is clever and colorful. The level select menu is made out of cubes; the game shows its humorous side here very well. The humor doesn’t detract from the gameplay and can actually help the player to relax a little. After all, this game forces you to make split-second decisions, and it can be quite intense.

The difficulty of the game is very well balanced. Your skills are rated in each level from zero to five stars, and the more stars you get, the more ‘teeth’ you are awarded. Yes, teeth. Teeth is an in-game currency that enables the player to unlock stages and levels. The reason I’m saying that this game is balanced is because you can probably settle for three stars to unlock most levels toward the end. The gameplay is indeed intense, but the player doesn’t have to keep trying to grab more teeth just to play the other levels. This is absolutely a great difficulty balance. When the player feels like they have to go back and re-beat a level for progression, that’s when the game might lose the fun and excitement. The progression in Aaaa never feels like a chore. Casual gamers can zip through the fun parts, and the hardcore perfectionists can go for five stars on every level, collecting all of those extra teeth. The game of course asks for more teeth in the end though…

Decisions after Decisions.

The background music is great, sound effects are fantastic and well mixed and there are male and female voices so you won’t get sick of them too quickly. The audio in games is often ignored, but it is very important; even many games with a big budget only have so many voices to tell us what’s going on, thus making it boring.

The music fits well with the futuristic design, and though graphics are not exactly realistic, this game will work well with a bigger audience due to the relatively low system requirement. If I had something to complain about, it’d be the fact that the mountain textures could have been better…but every other design is well harmonized. Many times, you are going to be so busy flying through obstacles and making decisions so quickly that you won’t even feel your involuntary anus contractions. Yes, I said it.

Level designs can be intense but also creative.

This game proves that good games don’t always need an epic story with the latest graphics engine, and can be done with a simple but great idea. There are many good moments; some levels are so much fun that you’ll want to play them over and over again. It does feel like a bit of a short trip, but that only means that I want more as a gamer, which is usually a good sign. Though this game might not be for everyone (maybe not for every casual gamer), but with a $15 price tag, you won’t feel like you’re being ripped off.

Note from Spencer: I was really pleasantly surprised by Aaaaa… I booted it up thinking I wasn’t in for anything special, but after the 3rd level I found myself grinning at the insane sense of humor the developers employed, while actually having a great time playing the game.  The gameplay becomes quickly addicting, though I wish there was a way to share your high scores on the net.  I guarantee that if you’re not smiling 20 minutes in to this game, there is something wrong with you.  If you like to laugh, and you like old-school simplicity (i.e. the highest score wins) then you really can’t go wrong dropping $15 on this indie game.

Our Score: 9 /10

Good laugh, good idea, good game, good times.