Windows Phone Thoughts: The Most Fun You Can Have in a Warehouse! - Resco's Sokoban reviewed

The night before I started this review, I started going through the options and making sure I was familiar with all of them, and found the best option ever inserted in a game that relies on the d-pad.


Figure 3: The options screen with the "single step movement" option checked.

The option of the bottom called "Single step movement" is a Godsend in this game. Basically, in order to make multiple movements, you have to make distinct multiple presses on the keypad. If the game detects that the "repeat" of the d-pad has taken over, it stops you in place.

While that sounds like a bit of a nag, it really isn't. In fact, the game would be utterly unplayable on just about every handheld I've ever owned without it. When I checked the option and went back to playing, the game became infinitely more playable and ejoyable. It struck me that Resco had actually play-tested this game quite a bit before releasing it to the public, something I often wonder about with many of the games I play on my handhelds.

Back to the gameplay.

I found it to be both intuitive and fun. I have played Sokoban in many forms before, so I can't vouch for how intuitive it is for someone who's never played the game before, but Resco does offer a free trial. I can't imagine anyone finding the concept too difficult to pick up and play, though. It's simple, straightforward, and overall it makes sense.

Since the game is played from an isometric viewpoint, Resco had the forethought to include an option to fade the boxes and make them semi-transparent. The nice part of this is that it makes the "walls" visible through the boxes so you can see whether or not you have a space to stand in around a box, or if you're up against a wall. Some levels don't require this option, but some of the later levels are utterly impossible without it on.


Figure 4: The boxes in the level with the translucency turned on.