Windows Phone Thoughts: Amazing World Review

Levels
Amazing World comes with 71 pre-fab levels. They are mostly organized by difficulty. I did find myself struggling with some levels along the way though. But those might be mental blocks on my part. Don't expect to rush through every level. Some may take a few minutes, others 10-15 minutes. The most frustrating levels for me are those that don't have logical solutions. My assumption is that you should use all of the objects you are given. You should also not have to set up your board like a pinball table. I found some levels where a single well-placed object would solve an otherwise very complex puzzle.


Figure 4: Level 41, I don't like you... wait... I have an idea...

These 71 levels should keep you busy for a while. It took me about a week to get through all of them on my lunch hours. The first night I had the game, I thought that the game was really draining my battery quickly. I then looked at the clock and realized I'd been playing for two hours straight. I haven't been this hooked on a game for a while.


Figure 5: The level editor. I feel like I'm in a Tom & Jerry cartoon.

If the 71 pre-fab levels aren't enough for you, you can create up to 10 of your own. The game comes with a level editor where you can place objects on the screen in any way you want. You then pick the objectives to solve the level. Very nice! The interface is almost identical to the game itself, which makes it very approachable. Plus, after playing through a few levels, you'll have a good feel for what makes a challenging level.

OS Integration
This game does not integrate well with Windows Mobile 2003. If I turn off my Pocket PC in the middle of a level, the game exits. Also, alarms do not go off during gameplay. You won't see them until you exit the game. I have seen some other games which handle power and alarms superbly. These issues do not affect the gameplay of Amazing World. For me, my Pocket PC is a business and pleasure tool. I'm much happier when games don't interfere with my work and vice versa.

Amazing World does have sound effects and music. There is only one song which gets very repetitive. The sound effects are decent, but not very exciting. There are no sound effects while you're placing things, only when you test your solution. I found myself startled by them more than once..

Conclusions
Amazing World is exactly what I was looking for. It is a good clone of The Incredible Machine. With over 70 levels, it offers enough to keep the puzzle gamer challenged. If the levels aren't hard enough for you, you can build your own. There are some control and OS interoperability issues, but nothing that should stop you from at least trying the demo. If you're like me, you'll be hooked.