Game Reviews

No Red T-Shirts

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iOS
| No Red T-Shirts
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No Red T-Shirts
|
iOS
| No Red T-Shirts

No Red T-Shirts is quite a sinister game, if you think about it. You play as a malfunctioning police robot who hands out strict fines for such 'violations' as wearing a hat, reading the newspaper, or simply sitting down.

Your frazzled circuit boards are constantly shuffling so the target of your penalty cycles every few seconds. You might be knocking people off skateboards one moment and then roughing up guitarists the next.

What seems to be the problem, officer?

It plays like a 3D Where's Wally? as you spin the camera to find bobble-headed citizens who are breaking the current law. You earn money for every correct tap, and you work up a combo by nicking troublemakers in quick succession.

Those ill-gotten fines can also be used to buy helpful buildings. Plop down a bike stand, for example, and more people start riding bikes. Then, when it comes time to apprehend cyclists, you'll have loads more lawbreakers to fine.

You can even cause it to rain, and then arrest anyone with the temerity to open an umbrella.

You're booked

Tapping on criminals can get quite old, quite fast. There are a few power-ups - one turns a single citizen into a most-wanted criminal, which will net a big fine. And there are special events - like fining skydivers as they parachute into view. But for the most part, it's a very repetitive game.

Which is especially annoying as you'll need to endlessly play the same level over and over again to earn enough money to proceed. Unless you cough up even more money for in-app purchases, that is.

No Red T-Shirts is a game of relentless oppression, but it's not set in a bleak dystopia. Instead, it occurs on idyllic island resorts and sleepy residential areas, with chirpy music and childlike characters. The clash between the cute visuals and your authoritarian rule can be unsettling.

But it's unlikely that this goofy app is trying to be social commentary - and even if it is it's unlikely that you'll find it particularly hard-hitting. Whatever the case, it's just not that much fun to play.

That's the real crime.

No Red T-Shirts

No Red T-Shirts's repetitive gameplay and overbearing in-app purchases (not to mention its unsettling subject matter) mean this app deserves a hefty fine
Score
Mark Brown
Mark Brown
Mark Brown is editor at large of Pocket Gamer