Game Reviews

Traffic Panic 3D

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| Traffic Panic 3D
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Traffic Panic 3D
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| Traffic Panic 3D

Ever wondered what it would be like to be in control of the traffic lights at a busy intersection? Us neither. But thanks to Traffic Panic 3D we at least know what a danger to public health we'd be.

In our efforts to climb the OpenFeint leaderboards in this simple one button title we caused more vehicular mayhem than an enraged bull loose on the M25.

Yet, while sending a fuel tanker careening into a fireworks factory is always explosive fun, that's disappointingly not the best way to progress in this rather limited game.

Green light

Viewing the action almost isometrically, you’re presented with wide view of a busy road junction and given a single traffic icon to control. Tapping anywhere on the screen either turns the lights red to stop cars or green to get them moving.

Realistic-looking cars, lorries, and other four-wheeled motors drive steadily from west to east across the junction, while another fleet of motorists cues patiently at the south for your green light to continue their northbound travels.

You have to be poised to exploit minuscule gaps in the traffic, deftly tap to change the lights, and then let through just enough vehicles to avoid any smashes. Even the slightest fender bender ends your go, so it pays to be cautious.

Or not, in fact. Taking its cue from the Crash Junctions of early Burnouts, Traffic Panic 3D lets you can earn a fair whack of points for causing horrendous crashes - ideally ones where explosive tankers careen into ambulances.

It’s mindless entertainment, and moderately addictive until you realise that skill is only a minor commodity in the game.

Gridlocked

To explain, every vehicle you cross safely and every one you wreck earns you points that are converted into credits.

Using these, you can unlock a raft of different vehicles that all feature unique perks. Emergency vehicles (police cars, ambulances, fire engines), for example, all freeze traffic for you until they’re across the junction - a great opportunity to sneak across some other cheeky motors.

Others, like the oil tanker, make bigger explosions, so they can be used to earn bigger scores in crashes. Although you can simply buy them all via relatively cheap in-app purchases, it’s possible to unlock the majority with an hour or so of play.

With police cars and fire engines on your side, the game rapidly becomes a doddle, and - while racking up high scores and achievements is mildly diverting - you’ll soon be wishing Traffic Panic 3D did more to up the ante.

Bigger junctions, with more lights to control, and extra hazards from the opposing traffic (like emergency vehicles you have to make way for) would have made for a compelling, varied experience.

Instead, you're left with a game that quickly gets moving but sadly never really gets out of first gear.

Traffic Panic 3D

Explosively entertaining when you start, but - once you’ve unlocked everything - the chaos quickly becomes as mundane as Bank Holiday traffic jam
Score
Paul Devlin
Paul Devlin
A newspaper reporter turned games journo, Paul's first ever console was an original white Game Boy (still in working order, albeit with a yellowing tinge and 30 second battery life). Now he writes about Android with a style positively dripping in Honeycomb, stuffed with Gingerbread and coated with Froyo