Flash Cat

Flash Cat, also written as Flashcat, is a racing game released on January 21, 2009. The player controls a cat riding on a caterpillar vehicle through eighteen different courses. The game is currently the only Nitrome game to feature a kind of pseudo-3D.

Controls
left right Left/right - Steer

up Up - Jump

down Down - Brake

Space bar - Use special abilities

Levels
Flash Cat has 18 levels. In each level of Flash Cat, the player is racing down a track. The player has to try to stay on the track, as well as maintain an increasing speed. Hitting Hazards or Enemies will immediately cause a stop in there speed, and a loss of health. Speed is very important, as without an increasing or high speed, going over some jumps will cause the player to miss the track and fall off the stage. Power Ups can be obtained to aid the player in levels, and often have to be obtained to progress through the level.

Interactive objects
These are the interactive objects of Flashcat.
 * Turbo Pads - Gives the caterpillar an extra boost in speed.
 * Boost Pads - Shoots the Cat up

Pick Ups
Pickups come in the form of tokens on the track, which the player can obtain by having the cat run over them.
 * Point Tokens - Give the player extra points.
 * Mega Bounce - Allows the caterpillar to bounce three times while on the course.
 * Invincibility - The cat will not be affected by any enemies or hazards when this pickup is used.
 * Bug Bullets - Provides bullets that the cat can fire to defend himself from enemies.
 * Turbo - The Cat is given a large boost in speed
 * Shockwave - A bump is created to wipe out all enemies in current view of the player

Hazards

 * Spiked Walls - Short obstacles with spikes that the caterpillar can jump over.
 * Cracked Walls - Like walls, they block the cat's path, but will hurt him on contact.
 * Walls - Blocks the path of the Cat on the course
 * Lasers - A Beam of energy that the player has to jump over
 * Fans - Pipes which blow gusts of air that can blow the player off the track

Enemies
These are the enemies in Flash Cat.
 * Aliens - Enemies that block the track
 * Squids - Enemies who repeatedly fire bullets on sight
 * Robots - Cannon like enemies that fire bullets

Scoring
The player gains a score based on their time, and the score gained by Tokens. These two scores are added together for the total score.

Nitrome Touchy version
The Nitrome Touchy will be compatible with Flash Cat. The controller will behave like a steering wheel, displaying a control panel from the cat's perspective.

Controls
Buttons: None

Usage: The player's iPhone acts as a steering wheel. Tilting the iPhone left will move the player's caterpillar left, and moving the iPhone right will move it right. It has not been announced how the caterpillar will jump, whether the player presses a button or moves the iPhone in some way.

Possible ripoff
The game Snail Mail, released exclusively for the Wii on the Wii Shop Channel, contains several similarities with Flash Cat. The player plays as a Snail racing down track, similarly to Flash Cat. The track, as well as some graphics, are very similar to Flash Cat's. Apparently, the Green Aliens that appear as the first enemies in Flash Cat also appear in Snail Mail. This is probably a reference to the similarity in gameplay Snail Mail has with Flash Cat.

Trivia

 * If the player goes to far to the right while in the air, they will bend the graphics, making them look like buildings. This is best done on level 14.
 * Power Ups are given different names throughout the game. An example is Mega Bounce being called Spring and Bounce in the description before the level.
 * Flash Cat has several similarities to Fat Cat. Both of them star a Cat and an animal, and have similar sound effects. The groans of pain of the Flash Cat are the same as the ones of the Cat in Fat Cat, the sound of the Flash Cat obtaining a Token is the same as the Cat in Fat Cat eating food.
 * Mat revealed during a Flash Gaming Summit that Flash Cat is not really 3D, the game is really only 2D sprites on a 3D plane.