Game Review Summary

If you’ve always wanted to own your own zoo, you’ll love this game. A letter arrives from your grandfather telling you he has provided you with a zoo to maintain. He wants it be the number one zoo. Your job is to care for the animals and upgrade the zoo.

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Three Reasons to buy Simplz Zoo

- You are looking for a family game that provides hours of fun.
- You enjoy entrepreneurial games in this case managing a zoo.
- You enjoy matching puzzle games.

Three Reasons to avoid buying Simplz Zoo

- You prefer games with a short time span rather than lengthy games.
- You are a serious gamer who wants a challenging game.
- You prefer target shooting games rather than empire building games.

Full Game Review

Game Play

The game begins with a letter from your Grandfather who wants you to carry on with his dream of making Seagull Park Zoo, a number one zoo. All you have is a lion to start with who would like to be surrounded by more animals. Your job is to attract visitors by purchasing more animals for the zoo.

The game works on two levels. The first level is buying animals and putting your attractions where you want them. The second level is making sure the animals and the zoo has enough food and resources. This involves playing a matching puzzle where you have a grid and you have to match the same 3 objects together such as coins and food but there is a catch; you must make sure you have the amount it asks you. This leads you onto different rounds until you can afford to go upgrade your position until you are the best ranked zoo. It is highly addictive.

Graphics

The 2D animations are simplistic but striking on screen and easy to see. The colorful animation style graphics will appeal to children.

Sound

The background music is gentle and there are options to alter the level of noise. There are entertaining sound effects when you win each round.

Creativity and Innovation

Simplz zoo is very creative because it takes a simple idea of owning a zoo and gives it an extra edge with the extra puzzles within the game. The fact you have to earn food and resources on the quick fire matching puzzle games make the game innovative and more interesting. The variety stops the player becoming easily bored. The fact you can take the timer off the matching games means it is accessible for the whole family.

The game is good value for money because it is a game which will provide hours of fun for the whole family. This is a game I would consider buying because I love business games and this one also has matching puzzles making it even more entertaining.

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You can download the game from their web site here.

This puzzle game, brought to you by Braintonik, combines the theory of Sudoku with more challenging rules. In addition to the basic columns-and-rows play of Sudoku, Strimko adds a third element: streams. The goal is to place each number once in each row, column and stream, a connected sequence. Puzzles vary from 4×4 to 7×7 blocks and shapes.

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Why you should buy:

*Logic puzzles like Sudoku help maintain brain function.
*The puzzles are mesmerizing and addictive.
*Increasingly difficult puzzles keep your attention, but are not so difficult that you will become easily frustrated.

Why you should pass:
*There are cheaper options than this game, like a Sudoku puzzle book.
*We’ve heard this story before and it is just a placeholder to advance from puzzle to puzzle.
*Solving the puzzles is fun, but in the end it is anticlimactic.

Gameplay:

In story mode the player helps Luana, an otherworldly being, collect Amulets to save her dying planet. Solving a puzzle provides a key to unlock a chest containing an Amulet needed to sustain life on the planet, such as running water.

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Classic mode allows the player to choose the type of puzzle he or she wants to play. Each type of puzzle builds on one basic puzzle called Zen. A Zen puzzle is a basic square with rows, columns and streams. Pave puzzles are similar to a jigsaw puzzle and require the proper placement of stream connections into the Zen square. Fit puzzles combine elements of Zen and Pave puzzles but the streams are already connected and must be rotated to fit the Zen square. In story mode, all of these puzzle types are used and matching puzzles are interspersed to break up the intense concentration.

Graphics:

Strimko uses very little animation and is simply a point-and-click game. The colors are vibrant neon blues, greens, pinks and purples that evoke an image of fantasy and surrealism.

Sound:

The sound is of good quality but is not the focal point of the game. Strimko music is a looped, mystical and ethereal soundtrack reminiscent of spa ambiance. The music does not distract the player from the task at hand and actually helps in keeping the player focused.

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Creativity and Innovation:

Though the story is unoriginal and adds little to the point of completing the puzzles, Strimko does offer a new take on classic Sudoku for those looking for more of a challenge.

Strimko is available for PC, iPhone and as a web-based version. The full PC download costs $14.95 but is not worth the price. Too much emphasis is placed on a gimmicky story that does not enhance the game. It seems that at least half of all puzzle game stories, and lately a lot of movies, involve saving a dying planet. While the graphics are visually appealing, the price is too high for a simple point-and-click game.

Many moons ago, fans of puzzle games were treated to a game called, “Lemmings.” Now, players can enjoy a similar experience with a new title, “Bloobles.” It is not the same exact game, but the similarities are unmistakable.

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THREE REASONS TO BUY

-Less than five dollars for a game cannot be beat.
-The puzzles are generally fun and challenging.
-This game comes with hours of game play.

THREE REASONS NOT TO BUY

-The game can be frustrating at times.
-There is little to nothing new to offer.
-The production quality is a bit low.

GAME PLAY

In the main form of play, gamers take on stage after stage, guiding little blue creatures known only as, “Bloobles,” over obstacles, away from certain death, and towards various goals. These little guys walk until something stops them or kills them. In the case of the former, they will turn around and start walking the other way. It is up to the player to give them further commands, such as, “jump,” “turn around,” and “stop,” so that they will not fall to their death, overcome obstacles, and reach any destination they need to reach.

The basic idea has been done before, and in games beyond the grand-daddy of the genre, “Lemmings.” However, it is still a fun and challenging game, with plenty of content to keep players occupied for hours on end. Some of the stages can be frustrating, as players need to play it perfectly in order to be successful.

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GRAPHICS

All the pieces of the game are small, and therefore lack detail. All in all, when the pieces are put together, “Bloobles” looks decent.

AUDIO

The music of the game is boring and cliche, but, when different game speeds are applied, the music speeds up and slows down accordingly, which is a neat effect. The few sound effects involved are annoying at best, though the, “woohoo” the Bloobles give when they reach the goal can be rather cute.

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CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION

The makers of Bloobles ultimately did nothing new. This is nothing more than a name change, and a few tweaks to an already successful formula.

OVERALL

Despite all its downsides, Bloobles is actually a fun game to play. For $4.95 players certainly get their money’s worth. A solid effort.

Game Review Summary

Do you enjoy logical puzzle games? Is so, you will love L!ght Deluxe. The object of the game is to use as few moves as you can to direct the source of light to the receiver to win a particular round. There is a tutorial and several levels as you battle through each game.

Three reasons to buy L!ght Deluxe

- You enjoy logical puzzles that allow you to play for long or short periods of time
- You are looking for a family game with different skill levels.
- You want an empire building game which involves buying and selling assets.

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Three Reasons to avoid buying L!ght Deluxe

- You are looking for a target shooting game.
- You enjoy adventure games with lots of characters.
- You lose patience with repetitive game play.

Game Play

The tutorial provides the player with information about how to move the controls and play the game. The gamer then chooses a level and after each game has been completed successfully there is a tick on screen. At first, there is only one sender and receiver but as the game progresses, more senders and receivers with different colors are introduced as well as mirrors and prisms to change the direction of the light.

There is a timer to show you how fast you have completed each round. A menu on screen during play shows you how many tries you have had and how many moves it has taken to complete each game. The colors and sizes of the grids change with each game to add a bit of variety to the round. After a while the game became frustrating because of its repetitive format.

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Graphics

The graphics are 2D and symbols are used for filters, light receivers and senders. The grids on the screen are colorful. Although the graphics are basic this doesn’t spoil the enjoyment of the game

Sound

The player has the option to increase or decrease the volume of the background music and the special effects. The background music can be described as relaxing, low-level noise that doesn’t hinder your concentration when you are trying to solve each puzzle.

Creativity and Innovation

While the graphics may not be innovative the concept behind the game is. It takes a simple idea of directing sources of light to receivers to provide a surprisingly addictive game, as you battle to complete each task in each level. It is deceptive because although the puzzle appears to be easy, the mirrors and the different numbers of light sources and locked objects make it harder to solve.

It is a good value for the money for logic puzzle lovers because you can have hours of fun at a fraction of a price. This is not a game I would buy because of the nature of the puzzles. I prefer entrepreneurial games rather than logical games.

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VVVVVV is an interesting name for a downloadable game. Likely, it was chosen to represent the spike strips that litter each stage of this classic style puzzle adventure. The creators of this game took many chances in design, relying more on game play than spiffy graphics. It might have been a worthwhile gamble.

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GAME PLAY

Players take on the role of a little alien guy as he runs through futuristic space settings. His capabilities are limited, but cover everything he needs to navigate the maze. He can run left and right, interact with terminals and change the direction of gravity. There is no need to jump, when one can run on the ceiling. This ability is behind most of the puzzle aspects of the game. Players have to time the switch just right, sometimes taking moving platforms into account, sometimes running while doing it. The V-shaped spike strips are not the only things that need to be avoided. There are plenty of bad guys floating around the screen in classic repeated patterns.

After the first few minutes of game play, the challenges get incredibly difficult. Fortunately, there are many automatic save spots, and there is only a one second delay between death and restart from the save spot. This alleviates much of the frustration associated with great challenges.

Graphics

VVVVVV is a clear attempt to look like a classic, old-school, 8-bit game. There is no doubt the graphic designers achieved this look and did so with smooth flowing graphics.The look clearly fits the style of game, but it likely would have been the same game, even if the quality of the graphics were improved.

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Audio

In the same vein, the game was designed to sound like it was twenty years old. Some may enjoy this, others may find it to be a cop out.

Creativity and innovation

Chances were taken in design and game play. For the most part, it works. This is not the first game with gravity shift but VVVVVV probably uses it the best.

Overall

VVVVVV is strangely addictive, utilizing just enough storyline to draw the player in and offering screen after screen of unique challenges. It may not be the most enjoyable game ever made but it will satisfy most who enjoy action in their puzzle games. 4/5

THREE REASONS TO BUY

-This is a game unlike any other.
-Unlimited lives and quick restart lead to reduced frustration.
-There are eight large stages to explore.

THREE REASONS NOT TO BUY

-$15.00 is a bit steep for a game that looks like this.
-There are only three real actions players can take.
-All the puzzles revolve around gravity shift, making them somewhat redundant.

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In recent times, the Internet has become awash with puzzle games designed to captivate their audience for short periods of intoxicating fun. Mole Control, designed by Remode Studios, is a perfect example of a generic, yet very fun, addition to the PC puzzle game family.

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The game play is basically a rebooted and refined form of the classic Minesweeper puzzle game. The player is tasked with piloting a craft through gardens, lawns and fields to find exploding moles hidden beneath the soil. Like Minesweeper, the lawns are divided into grids (the actual grid lines can be toggled on and off creating a more seamless in game experience) and the player can use left clicks to move one spot at a time to reveal the number of exploding moles adjacent to the current position. A right click of the mouse will dig up a grid spot removing a mole if one is there. Damage is inflicted upon the player when they either: move to a spot occupied by a mole, or dig up a spot that does not contain a hidden mole.

Overall, the game play is fun but not very difficult. I don’t play many puzzle games but I had no problem breezing through the first few levels without a scratch. The developers made the puzzles fun and exciting for the casual gamer but the tricks and traps of Mole Control will fail miserably against the seasoned gamer. The decision to incorporate a story mode to the game is also a welcome change to the puzzle game norm and further solidifies the titles excellence in the eyes of a casual gamer. With a story, the player no longer needs to be enticed only by the challenge of the puzzle allowing the game to attract an audience of less hardcore gamers. Also incorporated through the story are fun nuggets, like golden moles, which further distance Mole Control from the usual monotony of puzzles and levels seen in traditional puzzle games.

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The graphics in “Mole Control” are of very high quality for the genre. They feature a campy cartoon style but it fits the overall style of the game (it is about moles after all). The game also runs smoothly, does not lag and is never choppy. The single track accompaniment music is the only disappointment in an otherwise very solid gaming experience. The music is incredibly annoying to the point where I would have been happier hearing nails on a chalkboard by the end of the game.

Overall Mole Control is a great puzzle game for the casual gamer, who rarely plays video games. It is sharp, fresh and a great time to play. However, for those who are used to playing more difficult games, Mole Control will surely disappoint.

Buy: Fun game play, innovative story, and seamless quality graphics

Skip: Annoying soundtrack, easy difficulty, very similar to Minesweeper

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I was disappointed. I was disappointed that the 60 minute trial period ran out so fast! “Mortimer Beckett and the Lost King” is not your everyday hidden objects game. First, unlike the first two Mortimer Beckett games, this one was based in a world of pure fantasy, peaking new interests.

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Second, the producers were very creative and were able to take a boring concept and make it very interesting and fun, by mixing up all kinds of other gaming elements. For example; many favors must be performed for different characters in order to collect information or objects needed to progress in the game. I found that there is also quite a variety of puzzles and miniature games you must take part in, making it not only a game, but also a form of memory and logic training.

You’re guided through many different areas in the game and there are never too many items in one place, so you don’t sit there peering at the screen for half an hour because you cannot find one item. Instead, there is constant change offered by the many different rooms and areas to visit.

Each chapter offers not only a jewel to collect but also a totally new and different area to explore, which is divided up into several scenes which you must investigate in order to figure out how to leave and progress.

The graphics were just brilliant. The colors used were bright, bold and inviting, and in no way, tiring to look at. Game-play was simple, with easy navigation, and everything can be done with just a few buttons. The tutorial offered is short and to the point so the player is quickly able to dive right into the game with a full understanding of how it all works.

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After all your hard work in one area, you’re given a short break in which you may remove your thinking hats and enjoy what is in my opinion, the best feature in the game, the cut scenes. They’re fully animated, accompanied by pleasant voice-acting and delightful cinematic music and provide you with a sense of progression.

So those are all the reasons why you should buy the game, but I must admit, it does have one or two downfalls. After doing my research, I found out that it is a rather short game. Although the premium edition is rather expensive, this doesn’t really pose as a problem since you can wait for the regular edition. Players now have unlimited hints which allows them to storm their way through the game without taking the time to appreciate the intrinsic graphics and plot.

Overall, I would rate this game a 4/5 because although it appeals to a child audience, it was very enjoyable for me too, as it kept me intrigued with its cozy graphics and unpredictable journey. My only problem is the price tag it comes with but I am definitely considering buying the full version.

Awesome Soccer is an austere soccer game available for Windows, Linux and Mac. Play is fast and easy. This is a fun game with some remarkable options for a game in its price range.

Reasons to buy the game
• Simple game controls
• Basic graphics
• Customizations

Reasons not to by the game
• Poor view of the pitch
• Limited player control
• Limited options

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Review

Control of game play in Awesome Soccer is very simple, involving only the four directions and an “action button.” During play, the focus automatically shifts among players depending on the location of the ball. A quick game option lets you get started without needing to select any options. Game length can be set, a major feature for someone wanting a brief diversion from a busy work day.

Graphics are simple in Awesome Soccer, giving the game a retro feel of the days when computer games were easy to understand and fun. No extraordinary graphics adapters are required, meaning that this game will run on almost any computer.

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Customizations available in Awesome Soccer offer additional entertainment to those who desire more than a fleeting pastime. Built in editors allow you to create custom players, teams, kits, formations, leagues and tournaments. You can substitute players and change player skills as well.

View of the pitch is restricted and inhibits game play. The user is not able to zoom in or out or utilize side and angled views of the match. The game displays an overhead view of just one section of the field at a time, causing the screen to be constantly shifting. The orientation of the pitch is vertical, leaving much of the screen’s horizontal area underutilized. Although a radar screen shows the location of players and an indicator points in the direction of the goal, these features are not enough to compensate for difficulty viewing the game.

Control of the players is very limited making advanced play almost impossible. As the match progresses, the software automatically selects what player is under control. There’s no way to change focus to other players and move them as you see fit.

Options for the game are limited. For example, difficulty levels are relevant only in tournament mode. Other options such as music, crowd, stadium, time of day and weather are nonexistent.

For $9.95, Awesome Soccer is a great game for those whose passions lie outside the computer gaming world.

You can check the game out now at Paprikari’s site.

Here’s a screenshot from the game.