Grass Cutter: Mutated Lawns

Back around the turn of the century, there was a game that posed a very important question: Momma Can I Mow the Lawn? With its silly title and an unconventional vehicle to drive, this early Gizmondo game was gearing up to turn lawn mowing into the next big video game past time. Sadly, the game was canceled, and all those busy video game developers have allowed the grass and weeds to grow to dangerous heights. But all that is going to change, because Grass Cutter: Mutated Lawns is the yardwork simulator we've all been waiting for.

Don't let the goofy theme fool you, because Grass Cutter is surprisingly great. The goal is to mow the entire lawn. Every single inch of it. That's a straight-forward premise, but there are all kinds of obstacles standing in the way of getting the job done. In spirit, this is a maze game similar to something like Pac-Man or Pix the Cat. You move up, down, left or right in order to hit every part of the lawn and avoid the traps in your way.

What I like about this game is that the developer has not only hammered out all of the basics, but also went that extra step to add a new wrinkle in each level. We'll need to avoid water pits, rough terrain, flying drones, sprinkler systems, dogs, guns and even mutants born out of untested pesticides.

The good news is that we have quite a few ways to fight back, including laser weapons, force fields and Bomberman-style explosives. Grass Cutter does a good job of unlocking new abilities and awards after every few stages, so there was a real sense of accomplishment, even in the early stages. What I wasn't expecting was for the game's difficulty to ramp up as quickly as it does. You'll definitely need to use those new attacks and abilities to keep your trusty old lawn mower going in the later levels and boss fights.

This is easily Sometimes You's best game yet, but it's not without a few minor problems. Although the gameplay is simple and usually precise, there were times when I would misjudge the timing based on the visual presentation and the use of shadows. Speaking of which, it would have been nice to see more variety to the stages. It sometimes feels like the developer had a choice to either add new obstacles to every level or create different backgrounds, and they chose to add a few more lawn mutants. I can't fault the decision, but a different color palette would have gone a long way.

Click For the Full Picture Archive

I'm also not a big fan of the uneven difficulty. Instead of gradually becoming more difficult, this game will jump from being too easy to frustratingly difficult and then back again in a blink of an eye. There are levels that you'll beat on your first try in less than a minute, while I'll spend the better part of an hour working on another. Part of the reason for this is because it's easy to mess up and have to restart the stage over from the very beginning, especially when you're pushing boxes around the lawn. You'll push one of those boxes right up against the side of the level or into the wrong lake and be completely out of options. What this game needs is a rewind button, as well as a way to skip some of the especially difficult stages and save them for later.

Despite these missteps, Grass Cutter gets a lot right. The gameplay is quick and there are a lot of obstacles to avoid. It's a simple concept that is fun in short bursts and offers plenty of content. This is without a doubt the best game published by Sometimes You.