IS IT ANY GOOD?

This fun, wacky, and accessible arcade smasher is strangely addictive, even with its cartoonish focus on destruction, and an underwhelming start that becomes better over time. After the opening cinematic, you’ll find yourself underwater and learning the simple mechanics to destroy approaching enemies. The fun is in angling Octogeddon to aim tentacles at baddies, avoid them hitting you first (or else you’ll lose a heart), collecting goodies (like coins, clams, and hearts), and tackling a boss at the end of each major level. While simple in its control and premise, the game does get quite challenging over time.

The real fun is in expanding your limbs and then experimenting with different tentacles before applying your strategy on a stage. For example, while destroying the Statue of Liberty, you’ll need to simultaneously take down rockets, aircraft and nuclear-armed tanks. At the end of a stage, what should you spend your hard-earned clams on? Extra lives? More tentacles? Bigger upgrades? You get the idea. As fun as the game is, there are some minor issues, such as having to repeat multiple levels over again when you die, and instances when enemies hurt you even if your arms are lined up perfectly to destroy them. From the ridiculous storyline and cute graphics to the addicting upgrades and smart tactics needed to succeed, “Octogeddon” is a blast — especially for action-loving PC gamers on a budget.