surreal imagination: Pepsiman (PSOne)

Yes, you heard right.

Pepsiman.

No, this is not an advertisement. At least not for the brand.

Its a game. A PSOne game (the first PlayStation console for the uninitiated). And it is weird, wacky, zany...and fun!

Seriously.

Somewhere in the '90s, there was an ad campaign using the concept of a superhero with a power to bring the refreshing drink of pepsi to those extremely thirsty victims. :) From this somewhat catchy ad campaign spawned the game of non-stop running, and saving parched victims. The ad campaign is seen below.

The spawned game is pretty much like one of the typical games where each level in a game contains obstacles the main character has to overcome.

The obstacles here are not only windows as seen in the first ad but also cars, trucks, oil tankers and, in some levels, a huge (and here I mean a really, really HUGE) Pepsi can.

What Pepsiman can do? Basically, run. And jump. And slide. And run faster.

The running thing is already preprogrammed so you need only use the directional buttons to move left & right, along with just two buttons to perform jump and slide. And whenever there is a small section of the road free of obstacles, you can run faster. Very, very simple game. Right?

Wrong.

The placement of obstacles, and how you reach your destination without getting hurt the 3rd time (or is it the 4th time? Well, it was in the '90s, I can't remember that long!) will make you do the levels as many times till you get it right. The core difficulty of the game, however, lies in the timing of button press - an important factor frequently used in many games.

But that's not all.

Imagine you run at fast speed, and accidentally you fall into an empty garbage can and you can't stop running.

Can you imagine that?

I don't think so.

Which is why it is imperative that I show you a gameplay video of the first level. Watch the video below and you will realize how truly quirky the game is!