Office dares are rapidly becoming something of an underground sport with the world's underappreciated white-collar workforce.
These vital time wasting activities include running a lap around the office as quickly as possible, packaging a co-worker’s desk, chair, computer and everything else in a cubicle in bubble wrap, or photocopying any number of inappropriate objects and bodily parts - all without getting caught by the boss.
AMA has decided to take this new social activity, wrap a loose storyline around it and turn it into a mobile game. Presumably so you can practise your day's activities during your depressing commute.
The boss has given you two weeks to clear out your desk and leave. Being a conscientious contributor to the Office Space generation, you're not going to go down without a fight. A stealthy, underhanded fight, but a fight nonetheless.
Therefore you've got ten days to make sure you're not the only one who leaves the company. The seven best employees must be goaded and abused into quitting all thanks to your hilariously inappropriate office dares sportsmanship, to teach the boss a proper lesson.
Office Dares adopts an isometric graphical style to represent the neon-lit, cubicle-packed hell of a modern office block, which provides a clear and uncluttered view of the environment without sacrificing any detail.
Unfortunately, isometric games are notoriously difficult to control on the mobile platform (given that the controls are inherently offset to the direction of travel on-screen), and Office Dares doesn't really solve this problem.
The story manages to pack in a fair amount of witty banter as you work your way from getting rid of the janitor to encouraging the CEO to jump companies, while three mini-games (office paintball, hide and seek, and unscramble) crop up every now and then to help you leave your mark on the company in a more literal way.
A little too much of the gameplay revolves around trawling the office digging up hints from other employees, when it's the amusing prank work you really want to get into, but it does help give Office Dares a little more of a 'quest' feel, chatting with the large number of NPCs.
Although Office Dares harbours some frustrating controls, the premise alone is enough to raise a smile on the face of anyone who's ever had to sit in an office for eight hours a day, and is therefore very easy to enjoy.
Office Dares Review
Perhaps not quite as imaginative as its cinematic inspiration (Office Space) but Office Dares is still an entertaining way to live out your workplace-destroying fantasies on your mobile phone. Just don't get caught playing it by your boss
Spanner Spencer
Yes. Spanner's his real name, and he's already heard that joke you just thought of. Although Spanner's not very good, he's quite fast, and that seems to be enough to keep him in a regular supply of free games and away from the depressing world of real work.