You can’t keep a classic game like Snakes down. It seems almost every year a new incarnation of it pops up somewhere on the web. Hell, even I’ve made my own spin of the game. (PLAY IT NOW DAMNIT!!!!)

While Snake Classic is only one out of hundreds of snake games, it’s definitely one of the better ones. The biggest twist on this version comes from the mouse based control, and makes you wonder how long before somebody does a snake game on the DS or the Wii.

The graphics on this one are a lot better then most snake games. Much like my Radioactive Snakes From Mars (SHAMELESS SELF PROMOTION #2 ), you can customize the appearance of your snake. Creator, Arseniy Shklyaev (Who also brought us Warp Forest), has built this game with 90 different textures to use for your snake and has some really nice looking level tiles. The only gripe I had was the lack of change in the level style as you progressed. After a few levels there’s not much new to see aside from the actual layout of the levels.

The sound effects had a really nice arcade feel about them, and the music was very suiting, although it did start to get annoying after 5 levels or so.

If you’ve played any snakes game, you will catch on to the gameplay fast. You simply steer your snake, collect orbs, get longer, and try to avoid running into things. The default controls have the snake moving directly toward your mouse cursor, giving you a very tight mode of control. When the snake actually catches up to the mouse, it starts to spiral on itself which can be a bit frustrating. I do want to give props to the fact there is some space around the arena so if you get over excited and move your mouse too far you don’t necessarily click out of the game, a problem people have always had with windowed flash games. If you still aren’t sold on playing a snake game with your mouse, don’t fret, you can switch to keyboard controls from the main menu.

About the only gripe I have with this game is the collision. It seems like you only hit an object if it comes into contact with the center of your snake’s head, rather then the actual volume of the body. This makes areas that appear tight a little less constricting then I believe they are intended to be, and makes the game almost too easy. The other collision-related gripe is that you don’t die from hitting things, you only die of your neck compresses into your head. If you start a game and haven’t picked up an orb yet, try hitting a wall and you’ll see what I mean. It’s just another thing that makes the game easier then what traditional snakes games have been.

Like ANY snake game that’s done with some skill and finesse, Snake Classic is a very fun time waster, and will have you asking yourself what happened to your lunch break.

[ Play Snake Classic ]