Review: Marble Maze
Score:
76%
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I love it when new technology replicates old technology - but does it better and does it digitally. Marble Maze is a case in point, bringing the old fashioned wooden tilt puzzle into the modern day, meaning that there are dozens of different layouts, three different ball types, automatic timers, and so on.
Hang on, you think. Tilt puzzles? Yep, Marble Maze uses the accelerometers in the likes of the Nokia N95 and N82, in order to detect movement from the horizontal, so, to all intents and purposes, you can treat the surface of your QVGA-screened smartphone as a proper wooden playing surface.
The modelled sensitivity to movement seems about right, with the rubber and ping-pong ball options adding extra layers of difficulty with their bouncy nature making it even harder to keep control - in the ping-pong ball's case, with seemingly random gusts of wind, to boot! And, as my father (who played the wooden originals back in his childhood 60 years ago) remarked, some of the hole placements are downright evil, especially as you progress from level to level.
Although the vibrator in the phone is used to good effect, there are no sound effects, a minor shame. And some of the levels do seem a little same-y, but then that's the nature of the game - and the wooden original would have had only the one, fixed layout, remember.
Marble Maze is recommended if you looking for a game of this type or if you're looking to make jaws drop down the pub. Hand friends this game, watch their puzzlement as they try and use the d-pad and then watch their amazement when you say 'Try tilting the phone'...
There's no trial version, but at only £3/$6 it's not going to break the bank. Go for it.
Steve Litchfield, All About Symbian
Reviewed by Steve Litchfield at