Well, it’s the holidays, so that means that it’s time to look over something holiday related. And what better way to celebrate this festive time of year than by having a gnome bungee from a chimney while hurling exploding bricks at pesky elves and Santas that are trying to invade his home? That’s exactly what you’ll get when you Garden Gnome Carnage.
Game Background Information
Garden Gnome Carnage was originally created by Daniel Remar, the same man who created the action/platformer game Iji. When he got a job with Ludosity, a game developing company, they worked to bring this game to Xbox Live Arcade. This version, however, no longer has the holiday themes that its previous incarnation had.
There are two versions of the Christmas themed game: the downloadable Windows version and the online flash version. The music for the Windows version was made by Souleye, while the flash version was made by Jacob Wallen.
Game Description
As far as game storylines go, this game has next to none. Casus has more of a story than Garden Gnome Carnage does. It is simply the story of a gnome who hates Christmas and wishes to keep all holiday cheer away from his house. This involves hanging from a bungee cord and knocking away as many elves and Santas as possible.
Game Play Information
The controls are as simple as the game (or the majority of the game, anyway). You move your house, which is on wheels, back and forth using the arrow keys. This allows your bungee-ing gnome to gain momentum and swing around. When the gnome swings in front of the house, pressing the space bar will cause the gnome to grab a brick from the house. Pressing space again will throw it. The speed and momentum of the gnome affects the brick’s trajectory.
There are other elements to the game as well. These hints can be accessed through the pause screen, which has the hints run through a horizontal scroll. In the Windows version, these have to be unlocked. The hints are as follows:
- Low on bricks? Let the Cat reach chimney
- Achieve high combos to get Whoopees (this is when a photorealistic head pops up at the bottom; when it happens five time, pressing the shift will make something happen)
- Rock the house rapidly to shake them elves off
- Hold ‘Down’ to charge Brickapolypse (this forcefully ejects all bricks from the house in all directions)
- No airstrikes? Bounce Cat on screen edges
- Reinforcements arrive after 100,000 points (another character on a bungee will appear)
- Use A/D or 1 / 2 to control the wind
- Press ‘Up’ to increase the level up to 20
- Hit enemies harder for more points
- Get a gold refill with a house full of gold
- Catch the Cat on house twice to make it sparkle
- Sparkly Cat means golden bricks
Also, pressing shift will call in an air strike. Air strikes should be used when the screen is overwhelmed by enemies, and they need to be destroyed fast. Air strikes can be called three times.
When the Whoopee meter is filled (which means there have been five whoopees), pressing the shift will activate a minigame, which is introduced with the Monty Python phrase, “And now for something completely different.”
You play inside the house as Princess Pitch, who goes up three floors to the exit while collecting golden bricks. Each floor causes the obstacles to increase in speed. If she reaches the exit, the normal game will continue and the princess will come out of the chimney to continuously hurl golden bricks at enemies. Golden bricks are much more explosive than red bricks, and take out more enemies.
If an elf, Santa, or present makes it to the chimney, it’s game over and the game restarts at level one. The game levels up like Tetris or other infinite puzzle games do.
Game Replay Value
This game has the same replay value that Tetris or any other time wasting game does. It’s a fun little game to keep yourself busy when there’s nothing to do, and can get you hooked while you’re playing, but once you finish, it might be a while before you start playing again.
Game Overview
Garden Gnome Carnage is a fun game where you play as a gnome trying to prevent Christmas cheer from reaching your house with the use of bricks and air strikes. It’s a great game for wasting time, especially if you have nothing to do.
Important Note About This Game
Recently, according to both Remar and reallyjoel (an associate and friend of Remar’s), there has been a fake Garden Gnome Carnage available for iPhone. While Ludosity does plan on making an iPhone app, this game is not made by them.
According to reallyjoel, the one who posted the app has nearly ripped off the entire game, including music and graphics, with much worse quality. This game is in no way associated with Remar or Ludosity, and is a clear case of copyright infringement.
