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Reader Reviews
12 reviews. Average Rating: 9.25
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Publisher:  Genre: Arcade
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Mac OS X: Any Version Mac OS Classic: Mac OS 9.2
CPU: G3 @ 400 MHz RAM: 128 MB |
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It occurred to me, while screaming at the screen playing Engimo, that the only way Pangea could have devised such devious contraptions is to have nothing short of Satan on payroll. The game clocks out at 70 stages, but it really starts to get hard around level 25. I can’t count on two hands the number of times I’d get down to one object remaining in my tool bar only to discover its not what I need, thus forcing me to rethink my entire strategy. This is further complemented by the ability to rotate objects, which can alter the liquid drops’ angles and desired impact. Mastering rotating your objects is something that must be accomplished, as it is the only way to beat some stages.
Yet another important gameplay feature is the different ways in which each liquid interacts with its environment. For example, oil will slide faster and incur more airtime, whilst lava is heavier and cannot intersect with water, lest the water evaporate. As you no doubt have guessed, this too will become very important later on.
Graphics: How Many Polygons Can Water Have?
As stated earlier, Enigmo is quite abnormal when it comes to graphics. Featuring options that are reminiscent of a retail FPS, Enigmo can and will stress low-mid range machines if the effects are not toned down. This is thanks to one of the game's graphical highlights, the real-time liquid effects. Water and oil act as they should, but I can’t vouch for the lava for obvious reasons. You begin to see the simple beauty of the water after you have an elaborate contraption going, filled with water bouncing all over the place, oil zipping down a slider and lava being boosted by a laser gun. The “real-time” part comes in when you rotate an object, say a bumper, and the water will react accordingly. Therefore, if you were to madly rotate a bumper left and right, water would be sprayed all over. Very cool indeed. You can further admire the game's eye-candy with the ability to zoom in and out, or from left to right. Be warned, however, as zooming in can stress the CPU and cause the game to chug.
Sound: More than Just Drip-Drop
Most Shareware games’ music makes me want to plug my ears in disgust, but again, Enigmo is thankfully an exception. Happy and upbeat, the varied music greatly complements the game, but does not impede your thinking either. The in-game music switches between dark and brooding to Oriental to techno rock and roll, but never pauses or starts up again; it's all one continuous song. If the music does annoy you, a simple command will relieve your abashed ears and the only sound being churned out will be the drip-drop as the particular liquid splashes.
A Good Puzzler Never Ends
Enigmo features 70 levels from the get-go, which will take you either a short time or a very long time to get through, depending on your skill. However, once you do finish or pathetically give up, there is still plenty left to do. Enigmo features an editor that allows you to easily construct your own contraptions, which you can then post on the Internet or have a friend try to solve. Due to the inclusion of this editor, there will no doubt be hundreds of puzzles for you to download and try to beat, offering up even more hours of replay.
After finishing Enigmo and basking in my accomplishment, I realized that Enigmo is one of the Mac’s best puzzle games to date. Unique and visually appealing, Enigmo brings something to the table that everyone can enjoy. If you take one thing away from this review, let it be that Enigmo is fun, no matter how you play it. And that’s the greatest praise I can give to any game.
12 Reader Reviews submitted. Average Rating: 9.25
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