Balloon in a Wasteland Game

About Balloon in a Wasteland

Balloon in a Wasteland is a flash game brought to you by Armor Games in conjunction with the programmer jmtb02. The game features an engrossing plot, simple graphics, and soothing background music, which is artfully punctuated by the ever-present rapid fire of the main character defending himself against a horde of what, can best be described as aliens.

The main premise of Balloon in a Wasteland game is that the player is stuck in a foreign place with no transport to escape except for the very balloon that brought them so far. Unfortunately, the balloon is in a state of ill repair, and you must mend the broken balloon in order to take flight and return to home. Of course, if it was that easy, it would not be a tremendously entertaining game, now would it?

At the start of the game, players meet up with their character and his balloon. Using the arrow keys to navigate their way around the screen, players must make their way to the balloon and press the "down" key to repair their balloon. As soon as the work begins, the game throws a spanner in the works as the screen warns, "Wave of creatures approaching!" Angry locals enter the scene, advancing on our hero as he frantically tries to repair his vessel. In order to get back to work; however, you need to kill the enemies. Each wave of enemies brings bigger, badder, and weirder opponents. To kill your opponents you have to shoot them which you do by pointing and clicking with the mouse. This may become a little tiresome for players that prefer to use either the mouse or the keyboard and not both simultaneously. The use of the mouse, however, accounts for greater accuracy in shooting the black blobs that come your way. Luckily for us, there are a few normal folks in the area who come by between waves of aliens and offer wares for purchase. Of course, these are not your typical wares. Think more along the lines of survival. Guns, traps, shelters, and the like are available to keep the player safe while he is trying to fix his balloon.

As daunting as a wave of enemies may sound, the Balloon in a Wasteland game is surprisingly low-key. There are two easy options to take into account when faced with a wave that seems too much to handle. Sleeping is always an option. By pressing the "Sleep" button, players can sleep through an entire wave and wake up just in time to continue repairs on the balloon. Which it may sound like cheating, perhaps players can reassure themselves that they just needed the extra rest. Once players pass a few rounds, fortresses can be bought. Unfortunately, there is an unfortunate side to fortresses, as they must be built, so they take time away from the balloon repairs. None the less, the best part about fortresses is once it is built they are a safe place to run and hide until the wave of creatures pass. Yet again, this may seem less-than brave, but it is a quite effective method of completing the game.

Balloon in a Wasteland features beautiful background art punctuated by the silhouette-style animation of the foreground characters and items. The soothing music seems comical when it is pierced with the sounds of semi-automatic firearms, but it provides just the right amount of ambience to keep the game from sounding like a bloodbath. This free flash game is set in a bizarre place with strange inhabitants and leaves players feeling a little bit peculiar, all be it entertained, as well. While the easiest way to beat the game (as aforementioned) may be a bit cowardly, it does not matter in the long run how you win, as long as you are able to take off in your glorious balloon and leave the strange land and its even stranger inhabitants far behind you.