Arctic Quest 2.0

Originally posted - October 3rd, 2007

Premier Software Reviews is an active blog, being recreated from my
Swan Reviews (Almost!) Everything web site. Once recreated
(just a couple of days now,) ~ Swan will be providing fresh
reviews three or four times per week as usual.
Please adjust your bookmarks.

---

Hello again gamers!

Yes it's your day again today, and there's a surprise waiting for you if you read today's review!

The genre is inlay, but with a slight twist from the normal kind of game play to be expected.
Personally I tend to fall asleep when playing this kind of game, but I also know gamers who absolutely love it , finding it relaxing rather than a visual lullaby - so it's all going to come down to personal preference.

The very first inlay game I ever played, was called Shape Shifter and though I enjoyed it for a while, the repetitive game play, soon had me reaching for other games instead.

Publisher: Alawar Entertainment

Supported Languages: English

System Requirements: Windows95/98/ME/2000/XP

Additional Requirements: DirectX 9.0; 64M RAM; PII-600; 16M Video 3D

Tested on: Windows XP Pro.

Arctic Quest 2.0 is the sequel game to Arctic Quest 1.0 where the player had to defeat the Snow King. Why? Because he was slowly turning the entire Earth into ice, thereby imprisoning all living creatures.

His son (Prince Aurorious) continues on with his father's quest in this version, to execute additional evil plans!

Graphics:

You're immediately surrounded by a beautiful wintery scene, with animated falling snow, moving puffy clouds and birds flying in the distance. The animation is flawless and there is also a lovely fantasy castle in the background (still not sure if the castle is significant or not.) Flowers, trees, grass and a waterfall to the side are also added to this landscape, to complete your new playing environment.

Unfortunately (or not for some!) all the graphics are exactly the same as Arctic Quest 1.0. Nothing seems to have changed, giving 2.0 the feeling of an expansion pack for 1.0 rather than a sequel.

Music:

I really enjoyed the music in this game, which is rare for me in any game except (for example,) the high level first person shooter games, where the music is only effective when you have it blasting around you in surround sound and your heart is close to giving out. :)

I couldn't decide if the music was created with the use of a chromatic bell set; marimba or xylophone. Regardless, the melody reminded me (just) a little of Tchaikovsky's Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy in the Nutcracker Suite.

Help File:

I always think it's great when help files are presented graphically, with relevant matching notes - rather than trying to plow through pages of a manual. Alawar Games is no newcomer to this concept and I think, has realized a long time ago, the benefits of graphics to better teach its gamers.

Options:

As you can see in the image; there are sliders for both music and sound FX volumes. The four toggles are for;

• Full screen/window mode;
• Custom cursor;
• Hardware acceleration;
• Show hints;

If you find that the game runs slowly on your machine, or notice it stuttering while playing, I strongly suggest that you turn off hardware acceleration, which should enable the game to play more smoothly for you.

Game Play:

Each level presents an outline of an exotic creature, which you have to bring back to life by taking each descending geometric shard of ice (inlay piece,) and filling the in side of the creature shape. Below the creature, is water, which you cannot allow to fill up with the descending ice pieces (displayed in horizontal formation.) If you lose your concentration and allow the ice to dominate the water – you'll lose the game.

The game has not significantly improved from its predecessor. Rather it simply adds 100 new levels to solve, which become harder and more complex as you move through them. However, there are new bonuses and anti-bonuses, a cute story line and a few twists that you certainly don't expect towards the end of the game.

The water elements are your bonuses, and work by filling in the empty pieces of your puzzle. Beware though (and keep in mind,) that there are anti-bonuses in the form of fire elements that will wipe out all that you've done, in a heartbeat!
Examples of the games early bonuses are:

• snail - slows the descent of the ice crystals;
• puffer fish – fills the empty gaps inside the creature.

Extra points can be added by clicking on various animations, such as the birds that fly past while you're playing or dark clouds. So keep your peripheral vision sharp in this game! Pearls will randomly appear in the empty spaces on your creature. In order to collect ithem, you must place a new ice crystal on top of it. These pearls are to buy the bonuses you've already earned. Even if you have already earned bonuses, if you haven't collected the money to pay for them, they'll be useless to you.

Features:

Trophy Room; these are a collection of all the possible trophies and medals that players can win as they progress through the game. As you can see in this image, I've already managed to collect quite a few:

• 6 medals: Freeing all the creatures from the ice;
• 12 medals: Completing levels, without using any bonus creatures;
• 4 medals: Completing levels before the snow storm arrives;
• 1 trophy: Completing a level with a combo;
• 1 trophy: Making a combo with 10 or more ice crystals.

While the trophies and medals add nothing to the game play, it is nice to see the milestones you manage to pass as you play the game.

High Scores; you can see your local high scores, or see if you appear in the top 100 daily players on the internet. You can also check to see if you appear in the top 100 global players.

Saved Games; all games can be saved in between sessions. So when you come back to play next time, you get the option of continuing to play your last game, or beginning a new one.

Negatives:

The only problem I could see with Arctic Quest, was that the transitions from one screen to another, were a little slow - not excruciatingly slow, but I'd still like to have seen it happen faster.

Points:

• Originality: 6/10
• Functionality: 9/10
• Intuitiveness: 8/10
• Fun Factor: 8/10

Price: USD$19.95

I felt that this was too expensive for what the game offered and think it would sit better in the gaming marketplace at around USD$14.95. That said, I do know gamers who consider the game very addictive and can play inlay games for hours, in which case perhaps the price is exactly at the right end of the scales for them.

Summary:

Taking everything into account, the game will be thoroughly enjoyable to inlay afficianados; intriguing and fun to those new to inlay games and a good time waster to those who are not new to the game concept.

Arctic Quest can be enjoyed by all ages from 10 upwards. The game needs good hand/eye coordination and I can see younger children becoming frustrated very fast as they scramble to find the right shaped ice crystal to place on the board.

Recommendation:

Though the genre is not one of my own favorites, I do recommend it to those who enjoy them. The game plays flawlessly, without the presence of any bugs and the graphics and music certainly do make one's gaming experience pleasurable.

My great surprise for you today, is to pick up a free copy of the game; fully licensed and registered over at the Game Giveawayoftheday.com web site.

Why not spend a little time shopping at ~ Software by Swan ~

If you enjoy my reviews, please vote for this blog - votes are always appreciated and give more visibility to my clients and their products, which therefore obtains more work for me - thank you! :) Not to mention that it improves your own karma!
Another review completed! Thank you for reading!
~ Swan





All Content is Copyright © premreviews.blogspot.com
All Rights Reserved.
Developers, Software Houses and Web Designers:

Please contact Swan if you'd like to purchase a candid, constructive review, under privately agreed terms, of your software; games; or web site design.

Advertisers:

Please contact Swan, if you'd like to arrange for advertising your product on this web site.

Ahhh Agloco!

“The day will come when machines and software will tell us whom to know; what to eat; what to wear; when to go to work and what profession to pursue; when to sleep; what entertainments to enjoy and with whom to have any kind of relationship. It can’t be avoided and you will succumb.”
~ Swan (2005)