Minis Review – Snake Warriors: Training

Unless you’ve been living under a rock and without even a basic cellphone, then you are no doubt familiar with a game called Snake. Crystal Games recently released Snake Warriors: Training, which takes the basic premise of Snake and adds RPG elements as well as different types of events for your snake to participate in. Is there enough variety in this game to make it worth your money? Find out in this review.

The concept is simple: you pick one of a handful of characters, or “Snake Masters,” each with their own backstory and look. In actuality, however, it does not really matter which character you pick because they all seem to play the same. From there, you can start on your career or go into the training mode to get yourself familiar with gameplay.

The controls are pretty straightforward – in each of the five game modes you use L and R to move the head of your snake left and right respectively. If you are in a “race” mode then holding X speeds up your snake while O slows it down. Triangle gives you the option to quit the game, forfeiting any points you earned thus far. The controls are responsive and really any failure you run across can usually only be blamed on your reaction skills, or lack thereof.

With five different game types spread out over 75 different levels, there is a lot of content here. If you perform well enough in a given event, you are awarded a gold, silver or bronze medal and accompanying levels of experience points. When you level up, you are rewarded with a new set of five levels to complete and occasionally some new armor for your snake. It should be noted that the first level of progression can be tedious to get through, since it requires that you are nearly perfect on each of the levels. Things do open up a bit after a few levels of progression, though, so there is nothing here that is too challenging.

The graphics are fine for a Mini. Occasionally muddy when in a race, but overall they are serviceable. When you finally unlock new armor for your snake to wear things are a bit more lively. The audio, however, leaves a lot to be desired. While the sound effects are decent, the music will occasionally have weird issues that sound like the audio engine is stuttering a bit. Also, in the “classic” training mode, where you simply gather coins while trying to stay clear of your ever-growing body and the walls of the level, the framerate starts to suffer at around 90 coins. It isn’t so bad that the game becomes unplayable, but at the same time it is easily noticeable.

Overall, fans of this genre of games will find a lot to like here. There are 75 levels which get progressively harder, and rewards for performing well. The audio can occasionally have issues, and initial progression in career mode is tough, but the hardcore Snake fans will surely have a ball. You do get a lot of content for your cash, but anyone who doesn’t like this genre should probably stay away. Snake Warriors: Training is currently available in the following PS Stores: Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa and UAE.