Uninspired puzzles dragged down what is supposed to be a fun game
The game is quite easy to describe. You are given a puzzle wherein you need to get a button activated by using the tools that are handed out to you. Everything is focused on gravity, and imagining what and how to go about each puzzle is quite interesting.
Given that I'm only around a quarter of the way in finishing the 100 puzzles available to the game, I still cannot help but compare this to a game called Incredible Machines. The reason behind that is because although Prof. Heinz's game has better looking graphics complete with backgrounds and all, the game is still in my opinion not as good as the other title.
First issue that I noticed with this game is that the puzzles are not all that imaginative. There are numerous puzzles here that looks complicated at first, only to find out that the only thing you need to do is create a bridge for the ball to pass through ... and that's it. I have done that countless of times already and even though they vary slightly, the concept is pretty much the same. I understand that this game is only focused on "gravity" and there might be some better puzzles later on, but having played a quarter of the game already and seeing nothing but creating bridges or letting a ball push a box, or let marbles roll so that they can hit one another to hit the button is boring at best. It's also funny how they tend to make the puzzle look more complicated by adding a lot of stuff in it. At first you'll think they're actually obstacles that you need to solve, only to find out later that its just there for show.
And it's not just the puzzles that ruined this game, the control system is also flawed. Imagine yourself trying to build a bridge made out of sticks. You tap on the touchscreen once to bring up the pop-up window for items and double tap on them to remove the objects on the screen. Sounds easy enough, but since gravity is already at work while you're building, a slight brush against another item can cause it to tumble down. And if you miss tapping on an object, the items pop-up window will show up and blocks your view. You also rotate an item by pressing the left and right on the d-pad, which means that if you wanna look around the puzzle you have to drag the item on the edge of the screen to move the camera around. And yes, it sometimes causes you to accidentally hit your previously made construction. The game however has undo and redo buttons that should help fix those issues. But I feel that its an unnecessary feature if they were able to create a better control scheme for the game because trying to undo things that you didn't intentionally want to perform ruins the experience in my opinion.
The game allows you to purchase hints up to a max of 3 per puzzle. And if you find yourself stuck on a particular puzzle, there's an option to skip it given that you have the credit to do so. This is the only feature of the game that I think is helpful so that you're not going to be forced to stop playing the game simply because you find a puzzle too challenging for you.
There's barely any sound effects that I can mention here. But its accompanied by repetitive soothing background music.
The game might interest those who are into this kind of stuff. But the puzzles aren't as interesting as they should have been. If you like puzzle games then I suggest that you guys grab Incredible Machines instead, which weirdly enough isn't listed here in Gamespot.
.:My reviews are only as good as everyone else's. Take every single one of them with a grain of salt:.