Review: Enigma
Score:
80%
Version Reviewed: 1.00F
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The reason we don't usually review many of ZingMagic's games is that they're mostly unspectacular, compared to 3D racers, sports simulations, shoot 'em ups, and so on. But, being based on classics of the past, you can't fault the game play and, as I've consistently said, you can't fault the polish of the implementation.
John Holloway, the man behind ZingMagic, was also the guy who wrote large chunks of the original Psion software back in the early 90s and went on to create the first versions of these games under the guise of Purple Software. The modern Nokia Series 60 and Series 80 versions (Enigma is available for both) are in full colour, of course, and firmly now under his own brand and control.
You'll recognise the game immediately - this is the classic 'Mastermind', complete with little domed coloured pegs and black/white scoring pins. The look of the 14-point board is authentic, with an extra (rather ghastly though) modernised board also available via the menu. Classic Mastermind is represented by the 'Beginner' level, with four peg positions and six colours to choose from, with duplicates not allowed to be chosen by the computer. 'Novice' adds duplicates, and then the game goes from challenging to mind-numbingly hard as the levels progress through 'Junior', 'Senior', 'Expert' and finally 'Master', in which there are eight peg colours to be fitted into six peg positions, with duplicates allowed. I've just finished reading a factual account of the breaking of the WWII German Enigma codes and I can't imagine winning on 'Master' level is much easier...
There's no 'Hint' function, alas, so you really are on your own in terms of deducing the hidden peg solution. But then that's the point of the game. Here's what the board looks like at its hardest:
And here's the alternative board and playing pieces. I think you'll agree that the original is far preferable!
Piece selection is with the navigator or arrow keys, as you'd expect, and there are no unpleasant surprises. One nice touch is that you can have multiple games going at the same time, as long as there's only one at each skill level. So, for example, you could be playing regular games at 'Junior' level while carrying on tinkering with an extra hard 'Master' game when feeling up to the challenge.
A superb implementation for both Series 80 and Series 60 smartphones, recommended.
Reviewed by Steve Litchfield at