The Official Cocaine Bear Game Is More Retro Than You'd Expect
"Cocaine Bear," the ridiculous movie about a bear going on a drug-fueled rampage, is also getting a video game tie-in to promote it. On February 14, a tweet from the movie's account announced the launch of a simple browser game that lets fans play as the rampaging, drug-fueled bear.
The Twitter account, written from the perspective of the titular bear, directs gamers to a website where they can launch the game and if they manage to get far enough, see some clips from the upcoming film. The game isn't overly complex, clearly intended to be a fun, temporary diversion and a method to promote the movie. True gamers, however, will likely note its retro feel and even see the influence of a much older, classic arcade game.
Players will see the Cocaine Bear in the center of a 2D maze when they fire it up. Using the directional buttons, they must navigate the bear around the map, eating cocaine and chasing people and ambulances moving around. If guiding a simple maze with just the cardinal directions and gobbling up other characters sounds familiar, then you're probably a veteran of "Pac-Man."
A much more violent Pac-Man
The game website and tweet may not explicitly say it, but "Cocaine Bear" has the basic look and gameplay of the original, retro "Pac-Man" games. The only significant differences are the heavy metal sound of the music and the fact that, unlike Pac-Man, Cocaine Bear runs from nothing and is constantly hunting down the other characters. This is the game for those who always wondered what it would be like to play "Pac-Man" with the power-up that allows him to eat ghosts always active. Just be aware that, true to the movie it's based on, there's plenty of blood and violence presented for laughs.
The game likely won't offer more than a few minutes of entertainment, given the limited gameplay and lack of any real challenge. Still, those looking forward to the movie will probably want to check it out simply for the novelty and to see some film clips. Further, retro gaming fans may experience a wave of nostalgia from the experience as they reflect on the days of simple controls and 2D gameplay.
Fans could already pay a visit to the real bear that inspired the movie. Now, thanks to this game, they can play as him too.