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'Happy Wheels' Merges 'Little Big Planet' With Vehicular Violence

by Ben Deitz on November 29, 2010 at 06:00 PM

Happy Wheels
What makes a game a game? Must it follow the goal-oriented tropes of interactive entertainment? What if there were no goals? How far can we stretch the limits of what a game is before it simply becomes an aesthetic experience? This week, we take a look at some games that -- by lacking key "game" elements like winning, killing or completing -- question not only how we play, but also what we derive from doing so. So, play on, but don't forget why you started in the first place...

While some of our choices this week lean toward the artsy, 'Happy Wheels' falls on the opposite end of the spectrum. This crowdsourced racing game mixes 'Little Big Planet' and 'Jackass,' and involves a whole lot of insane stunts and plenty of cartoonish violence. The "game" portion of 'Happy Wheels' involves racing a variety of characters (including an old man in a wheelchair and a businessman atop a Segway) through user-created courses that almost inevitably end in dismemberment. The game's "ragdoll" physics engine considers your character independently of his vehicle, and any missed jumps or run-ins with obstacles will result in flailing limbs and copious loss of blood. The up arrow will move your character forward, while the down arrow will make him go in reverse. Left and right will angle your vehicle on its back and front wheels, respectively, and the space bar, shift, CTRL and Z keys activate contextual actions based on each level. Like 'Little Big Planet,' 'Happy Wheels' sports a fully featured level editor, allowing you to build any kind of high-flyin' course you can dream up. As both an exercise in creation and a bloodily entertaining diversion, 'Happy Wheels' is a success.

Tags: flash games, FlashGames, gamesonthego, happy wheels, HappyWheels, Jackass, LittleBigPlanet, top, videogames

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