451st played so far
Genre: Puzzle
Platform: Xbox 360
Year of Release: 2010
Developer: Zoe Mode
Publisher: OneBigGame
Shout out to Peter P., you know why!
We got this game recommended from a few sources, the above being one, while seeing the sequel at EGX earlier this year was another.
Chime is a puzzle game originally created for charity, the proceeds going to Save the Children. It’s heavily music based, already inviting the first comparison to Lumines.
Our Thoughts
This game is addictive, as a good puzzler should be. There’s a nice tie-in to the music, which partially dictates the flow of the game, is more formed by how well you do in the game than that it really influences the puzzle.
The main idea is to fill the board with tiles and cover as much as possible (100% is the ultimate goal). To do so you need to form rectangles and wait until the music bar reaches them after they’ve properly filled up.
It’s a fairly simple concept, Tetrissy in initial execution but with longer term consequences. The blocks soon sprawl, in part because the wrong pieces show up and in part because that’s just how big the earlier rectangles get.
The delay that triggers the rectangles can get frustrating. They’re nice early on to expand the rectangles, but it effectively means the game ends play about twenty seconds before the timer runs out – you just don’t have a chance to expand much further before then.
Although the game can seem disorganised, it’s addictive enough to keep you playing. Beating the percentage goal becomes the big goal and, so far, we’re still trying to get to that 100% on one level…
Final Thoughts
This is the right sort of puzzler – simple concept, complex play, addictive and fun.
[…] the music that makes this interesting. Like, say, Chime or Lumines, your actions on the playing field changes the music that plays, in this case modifying […]