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Paradoxian
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Graphics & Sound:
Paradoxian is a 2D board-based puzzle game, but don’t let that turn you away. While many of the current generation games are three-dimensional, a good 2D game is still worth its weight in gold. The board and pieces in Paradoxian look absolutely beautiful, as do the animations. There is a way to adjust the detail just in case you believe your computer can’t handle it, but as even my test system was able to play without hiccup, there should be no problems playing this game on computers several years old or more.
There are only really a few music tracks on Paradoxian, so if you are one for music variety, you may get tired of the repetition. If you consider that most puzzle games only have one track or even no music at all, it’s not bad really. The music is actually one of the things I like about this game, though. The style is relaxed and atmospheric. The sound effects are also smooth, and don’t go against the mood set by the background music; they add to it instead.
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Gameplay:
Paradoxian isn’t your typical puzzle game in any sense of the word. Each level is a board of specially placed stones, gems, and other objects. Your goal in Paradoxian is to eliminate all of the objects on the board using a set of reserve pieces. Some pieces will disappear when a row of three, four, or five of the same type of piece are created (such as blue, red, green, silver, and gold orbs). Some pieces only disappear when you make a square with them (such as the blue and purple gems). Depending on the type of piece, and where it is placed when you complete a pattern, they may push other pieces away allowing for chain reactions (kind of like knocking down dominoes).
The levels require a certain bit of creativity to think through and finish, and most of the time that involves setting off complex chain reactions by placing pieces strategically on the board. Not all levels rely on complex chain reactions, however, so you must figure out which pieces to place first so that you can get the board cleared.
As you progress in the game, different and more specialized pieces start to appear on the board, altering your strategy for solving a puzzle. The thing to remember is that each piece serves a specialized purpose, and using that knowledge, you can beat the puzzle.
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Difficulty:
Paradoxian starts off a little bit on the easy side, but as you progress in the game, the complexity of the puzzles goes through the roof. The first 20 puzzles took me anywhere between 30 seconds and five minutes to complete, but as I approached the higher level puzzles, that time expanded to about ten minutes or so per puzzle. That being said, this is not a game you can complete in a weekend, or even a week (unless it’s all you play). However, there is a lot of satisfaction in completing a particularly hard level in puzzle games, as with any game, so I definitely say it’s worth it.
Because all of the puzzles in Paradoxian are pre-defined, there really is no way to set the difficulty in this game. However, the game itself is split up into three different “sections:” Tutorion, Odion, and Triadeon. Each section contains 30 puzzle boards, and as expected, each section is harder than the last. If you are ever stuck and need some help, there is an online help system for solving the puzzles that is connected directly in the game. Just press a button and it will open the web browser for you and point you to your solution.
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Game Mechanics:
Playing Paradoxian is very simple, as you would expect with a board game. To place a piece, you simply double click on that piece in your reserve, and then move your mouse to the point on the board to place it. There is an undo button, just in case you mess up as well. The undo feature can take you all the way back to the beginning of the puzzle, so you don’t have to worry about there being a limited number of retries. I found the simplicity of playing Paradoxian very refreshing in these times of more complicated menus.
Overall, I would recommend Paradoxian to any fan of puzzle games. Its approach is fresh and provides many hours of play, without becoming a nuisance. Puzzle games are really at the root of what games are all about in the first place, and since the content is neutral, it’s good for people of any age. |
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-Z64freak, GameVortex Communications AKA Bret Hall |
Minimum System Requirements:
400MHz processor, 128MB RAM, Videocard with 8MB RAM, DirectX 8 |
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Test System:
600MHz Pentium 3 Processor, 128MB RAM, 3D Videocard with 64MB RAM, DirectX 8 |
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