"Absolute Power Corrupts Absolutely"

Few games have ever been released that have kept the player thinking about the hardships of life. Some of those games are Pong, Kool-Aid Man, and a few other titles. None of those games leave such an impact on a person though, than Snake Byte for the Apple II computer. To the weak minded, this game may seem like a simple game of a snake speeding around on a screen looking for food, but in truth, there is much more to it than that. We shall get to that in a moment. Please, ...read on...

Gameplay 10/10: Using your mighty Apple II keyboard, you move the snake across the screen. You can only move in four directions: up, down, left, and right, but not necessarily in that order. Your ultimate goal is to collect as many apples as you can before your inevitable doom. Each time you devour one of these genetically altered fruit, you grow larger instantly. If you hit your head on a wall, you die. If you hit your head on . . .yourself, you die. This is a very dark game.

Challenge 10/10: At first glance, this game may seem way too easy for you. Well, you're wrong. As you play the game, the snake will move faster and the challenge will increase dramatically, and with the snake getting longer with each apple consumption, that is not a good thing. Like life, Snake Byte for the Apple II computer can be extremely stressful and frustrating.

Story 10/10: Most people usually think that Snake Byte is far too simple too have a story, that if there could be a story, it would go as follows: One day Jimbo, the magical, apple eating serpent, went around and ate and ate until he died. People of higher intellect though, can see the true tale that is masked behind the veil of simplicity. The dark story is about how humanity's insatiable hunger for power will eventually result in our destroying ourselves. The snake represents humanity, and the steroidal apples symbolize power. In the game, the snake eats so many apples that it will eventually run out of room and crash into a wall or itself, and die. The same is true in reality. People will eventually gain so much power that we won't know what to do with it, and society will eventually topple. Then again, that's just MY view on the story of Snake Byte.

Graphics 6/10: The graphics add to the deceivingly simplistic aura of the game. Technically speaking, these graphics are horrible today, sub par even to Nokia cell phone games! One must remember that this game predates nearly every game the average modern adolescent plays by several years. At the time the game came out, they were state-of-the-art. Everything in the game is a block. The apples are blocks. The snake is basically a large collection of blocks, and so on and so forth.

Sound 2/10: The sound is nauseating as well. The constant beeps and boops get annoying rather quickly. There is no music, which is kind of a drawback, as an epic game like this deserves at least some sort of tumult(music).

Playtime/Replayability 10/10: Despite the poor graphics, low-grade sound and dark story, Snake Byte is very addicting. The game is able to keep even veteran gamers busy until they collapse on the floor from exhaustion.

Rent or Buy? You can't rent this game, so don't even bother going down to your local Blockbuster to look for a copy of this apocalyptic title. If you're looking for the Apple II version of Snake Byte, good luck. It's very difficult to find any Apple II games at any store anywhere. Should you just so happen to stumble across this title at some game trader, and you've come equipped with a dime, buy this. Of course before you try that, you may want to make sure you have an Apple II computer.

There you have it, my review on Snake Byte. Until now few knew of this game, and it's message to the world. There is little more I can say on that subject. Even if you're not in to that psychological stuff, I still recommend getting this game, it's quite addictive. That's all I have to say...

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 04/24/03, Updated 04/24/03