Supplier:Astraware
Product:Pixelus
Cost: $19.99 normally, pre-order price a cool $14.95.
This game is scheduled for release on 6th July
With over six years experience in the portable entertainment business, Astraware know a thing or two about games, as such they are proud to announce the release of their latest game for PPC devices - Pixelus. Tekguru are honoured to have received a preview edition for review. Read on to discover if we are as proud of this release.
Getting it.
The download and installation which are both very straightforward, is somewhat costly to the memory on your device, the game itself requires 3.5MB of storage space and almost the same again in Program memory when it's running. Don't let this put you off however, as when you see the game running it's more than worth it!
Starting and learning.
On startup, a brief introduction animation tells the story so far, and then presents you with the island view page, there are various active parts on the island, and more can be activated as you progress through the game. The tutorial levels are absolutely needed as I did have a little trouble trying to understand how to play the game. This thankfully only last a few levels and then I picked up the 'knack' of it. The basic premise is to move the stones to the light coloured sqares, but the stone you place must be able to rest on another stone and have a clear path to the edge of the board.
Arrrghhhh!
The difficulty arises when you need more stones than you have! Or when you can't remove one of the 'resting' stones because you've boxed it in! Or simply when you can't figure out how to get one particular stone onto a lighted square.
Playing.
WARNING! this game will cause high-blood pressure in those that are suseptible to such things! For me, I can only say I'm glad that my device is insured as I was becoming so frustrated that I was just flinging it around
But, like any game that frustrates you, you feel the need to try and try and try again to better yourself and not let it get the better of you, clearing a difficult level brings about a level of satisfaction in me that I rarely feel playing games
Apart from being measured on the success of getting the stones to the right squares you are also being measured through the number of moves it takes you and the time it takes you to complete the level. The reward comes after a good round in the shape of a gold medal. Of course, if you are like me, Silver or Bronze just don't count, so any level that I failed in, I felt the need to go back for the gold. This didn't help my frustration level!!
Help!
Each level appears to have numerous possible ways to complete it, but as mentioned above every second and move counts so thankfully there are hints built in. You can choose to show all moves in sequence or just one at a time as desired. Being honest I'd have to admit to using the hints more than I'd like to confess too, but I do try to complete it myself first. I doubt very much that I'd achieve a gold medal in any level without it.
For those of you that dislike spoilers like this, you can turn off the hints through the game options screen
Speed.
While not a demandingly fast paced game, the clock is ticking all the time and it does count towards your overall score. When playing I felt the need for speed increase the adrenaline in me.
Longevity
This game has lots of life in it, it's one of those games you can pick up in between meetings, or while sitting on a train/plane/bus etc. It does grab your attention and keeps you coming back. Exiting the game in the middle of a level brings you back to that point when you next start it, just so it can remind you of how bad you are, how good it is!
Variance
Once you've got the basics down, the levels are all similar. The difficulty increases but the look and feel of the game does not change. Maybe a changing colour board or other small variances could have been added.
Graphics
Very well done, nice introduction and between level details, and the story is well animated, but the actual playing field is a little yesterday in my opinion. Square tiles on a grid! why not 3D tiles, or different shapes even?
Sound.
Not important to me personally, but it's all there and dutiful in it's operation. Both background sounds and the introduction music are mildly entertaining, but I do tend to turn the sound off in most games.
Pure Enjoyment factor.
This is not an easy game to play, it requires strategy and logically thinking to solve, even then you will probably want to retry to bring the number of moves or the time down. This alone adds an element of self competition to the game, trying to beat yourself though has limited appeal to me, I like to pass the level and move on. This is an enjoyable way to pass the time, some may say the game is a time sponge as it's not one you can put down too easily. It has a home on my device and I'll keep it there.
Conclusion
Easy to understand, difficult to master. Frustrating at times.
Here's a animated gif of the screens taken for this review.
For
• Unique Gameplay.
• Measured on number of moves and time
• Motivitating Rewards
• Easy to understand
• VGA support.
• Built in Hints.
• A lot of levels!
Against
• Frustrating beyond belief! (occasionally)
• Lack of variance in gameplay.
• In game graphics.
4WM Rating 80%
Linear Mode
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