A puzzle with a swarm of bees

As far as gimmicks in games go, Swarm Racer is really scraping the barrel seeing you take control of a swarm of bees in a maze.

The reason for this is that you’re supposed to split-up the swarm of bees in order to clear the maze of gems in the fastest possible time. The result is like trying to play several games, and control several bees at the same time which is certainly a mind bender. In all other respects, Swarm Racer is typical arcade “collect the gems” Pacman style game with slightly less challenging gameplay.

The lack of challenging gameplay is because your only enemy is time. There are no enemies to speak of other than walls that magically appear and disappear to block your path. You can spread out your swarm using the Z and X keys and control their direction using the cursor keys – that’s about all there is to it. If you complete it in a fast time, you win a trophy and the aim is to win all eight.

Swarm Racer relies on gimmicks rather than gameplay to try and sell itself. It’s appeal is limited to only a few levels and it soon becomes a bit waring.