The original Snake was a test of reflexes which proved to be immensely popular among users, and it is now trying to make a comeback. The new version, Snake Rewind, will be released on May 14, writes Mariella Moon for Engadget.
Snake reincarnated
Game developer Rumilus Design and Taneli Armanto are responsible for updating Snake for touchscreen devices. Armanto is the Nokia engineer who had the great idea of preloading the game on the 6110 way back in 1997, and as such should be held responsible for all of those hours wasted.
If you are too young to remember the original Snake, players control a hungry serpent and have to guide it around the screen in order to pick up pieces of food. The body gets continuously longer the more food you pick up, making the necessary contortions increasingly difficult. Although it may not sound like much compared to Angry Birds, it was hugely popular in its day.
Those who have played the original may be wondering how it is possible to recreate its feel without the presence of a physical keyboard, and previous, bootlegged versions for touch screen devices have been strange to control. Instead of attempting to recreate the original, the developers have taken a new direction, with a variety of power-ups available.
Rewind the game if you lose
The new version takes its name from the added ability to “rewind” the game if you lose, which promises to at least temporarily assuage any Snake rage. There will apparently also be different themes and special effects available, presumably aimed at attracting a new generation of players.
At the time of writing it was not yet clear whether Snake Rewind will be a paid or a freemium app, but it will be made available to users of iOS, Android and Windows devices. It remains to be seen whether the second incarnation will be able to capture the collective imagination in the same way as its older brother, but it will be an interesting story to follow.
