David Bowie once asked if there was life on Mars, in Tharsis, you get to find out.
It’s almost impossible to classify the genre of Choice Provisions’ PS4 game Tharsis, but after a few playthroughs, it won’t matter. You’ll be hooked. Regardless of its mediocre looks, the dice-based adventure is a hit, thanks to a ton of decisions, insane difficulty and a story that allows you to connect with the characters.
The first time you play Tharsis, you’ll most likely scoff. It’s not a pretty game by any means. The cut-scenes are mere still drawings and the sound is average at best, but the gameplay, ah, the gameplay. Great in 15-minute bursts and even better for longer sessions, Tharsis is the type of game that would have worked just as well on the Nintendo Entertainment System as it does the PlayStation 4. You can even make the case that it should be on the Vita instead of its big brother. Regardless, it’s the type of game you’ll want to share with your friends, just because there aren’t any other games like it on the system.
Traveling with a team of four astronauts on an expedition to Mars, you’re faced with challenges in the form of objects hitting your ship, a lack of food and stress and emotional issues amongst the crew. While keeping the ship in tip-top condition is your main priority, things like cannibalism and even suicide play a role in every decision you make. And this is where the game gets cool. Every choice is determined by a role of the dice. Sure, luck has a lot more to do with your success than you’d like, but where you position your team on the ship plays an important role as well. Will you protect your commander and let your psychologist die? Will you eat your mechanic if there’s no food left? After the first few levels, Tharis forces you to make decisions like this. Although it’s not a lengthy game by any stretch of the imagination, most won’t make it past the first handful of scenarios. But it won’t be for a lack of trying.
Continue Reading This Article From Review Fix Editor-In-Chief Patrick Hickey Jr. at Examiner.com
Patrick Hickey Jr. is a full-time Assistant Professor of Communication & Performing Arts and Director of the Journalism program at Kingsborough Community College and is the chairman of the City University of New York Journalism Council. He is the Founder and Editor-In-Chief of ReviewFix.com. He's also a former News Editor at NBC Local Integrated Media and National Video Games Writer at Examiner.com where his work was mentioned in National Ad campaigns by Disney, Nintendo and EA Sports.
Hickey was also the Editor-In-Chief of two College Newspapers before he received his BA in Journalism from Brooklyn College. Hickey's work has been published in The New York Daily News, The New York Times, Complex, The Hockey Writers, Yahoo!, Broadway World, Examiner, NYSportScene Magazine, ProHockeyNews.com, GothamBaseball.com, The Syracuse Post-Standard, Scout.com and the official sites of the Brooklyn Aces and New York Islanders.
His first book, The Minds Behind the Games: Interviews With Cult And Classic Video Game Developers was released in April 2018 and is chock full of interviews with legendary developers. His second book in the series, The Minds Behind Adventures Games, was released in December 2019. His third book, The Minds Behind Sports Games, was released in September 2020. His fourth book, The Minds Behind Shooter Games, was released in March 2021. The Minds Behind Sega Genesis Games and The Minds Behind PlayStation Games were released in 2022 and The Minds Behind PlayStation 2 was published in January 2023.
Hickey is also a contracted comic book writer, currently penning his original series, "Condrey," as well as "The Job," "Brooklyn Bleeds" "Dem Gulls" and "KROOM" for Legacy Comix, where he serves as founder, owner and Editor-in-Chief.
Hickey Jr. is also a voice actor, having starred in the 2018 indie hit and 2019 Switch, PS4 and Xbox One release, The Padre (also serving as English language Story Editor), from Shotgun With Glitters. The sequel, The Padre: One Shell Straight to Hell was released in February 2021- Hickey also served as a Story Editor and Lead Voiceover performer. He has also done narration and trailers for several other titles including The Kaiju Offensive, Relentless Rex and Roniu’s Tale.
Hickey is also the lead voiceover performer on Mega Cat Studios’ upcoming title WrestleQuest, responsible for nearly 90 characters in the game, as well as Skybound's Renfield: Bring Your Own Blood, where he voices both Dracula and Renfield, as well as several other characters. He also stars in Ziggurat Interactive’s World Championship Boxing Manager 2, where he performs the VO of nearly every male character in the game. He also worked on the Atari VCS’s BPM Boy.
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