Cradle Of Rome- A Fripplebubby Slander Now here's the fa-shizzle. Cradle of Rome is not something you're going to see on IGN, or at most Walmarts or anything fancy like that. Don't let that bother you! The thing about Cradle of Rome, is that no matter what you expect from this game, it pretty much delivers it. First of, i'll begin with a brief summary of the game. Cradle of Rome is a puzzle game. That itself will scare many people away, but hold on to your panties for just a few more minutes. Cradle of Rome is a puzzle game, but it prides itself in it. If there's one thing I love it's when a low-profile game doesn't pretend to be a AAA title. Yes, it is a poorly thought out puzzle game, but that is all it tries to be. The 'story' is that you are in Rome, working your way up the ladder by building these masterpieces for the Roman Empire. You start with a small village, and build from there. The masterpiece building itself has very little to do with the actual gameplay, however, so I wouldn't get too held up on that aspect. All it adds to the game is to give a point to the levels and levels of repetitive puzzle gaming. The gameplay itself is basic. There are a bunch of tiles that you tap to switch with the tile next to it. The goal is to get a match of three or more tiles in a row. This is certainly not a new concept, but that is what draws me to this game. It isn't trying anything too radical, just using a tried and true method of fun-producing. You only have so much time to finish a level, and they put some various obstacles and power-ups and such that I will refrain from mentioning (for the enjoyment of the gamer) but the game is still just a puzzle game. This may sound like I didn't enjoy the game, but I did, and very much so. If you want a basic, puzzle-gaming experience that is worth the 10 seconds it takes to download (or the $30, I don't really care) than this is the game for you. It is also worth mentioning that this game was originally made for PC and ported onto the Nintendo DS later. Presentation: Meh. Lousy story, but does a puzzle game ever have a good story? Still a little shaky on what this 'presentation' thing really means, but I hope i'm close. Basically, you are a power-crazed lunatic building little cities n' stuff, in an effort to somehow become the emperor of Rome. In my opinion, you should just start your own empire, but that isn't an option in the game, now is it? 5/10 Graphics: 2d, tiles with pictures on them. Nothing dangerous, but it doesn't look bad. I like it, you like it, we are happy. Besides, i'm not sure how you can put too many graphics in a puzzle game of like, either. Still, these graphics are the equivalent to, say, a hot dog. It's good, but if I eat 3 of them I get this weird grease headache. And we've already seen these puzzle graphics at least twice before, thus making Cradle of Rome's graphics a weird grease headache. 6/10 Sound: The music is so awesome. No sarcasm, the music is great! Not enough to make a great game, but a plus on all sides. I think it's just the one song, but the song is long and catchy. I haven't actually counted the number of songs, so I will assume it's just the one. Still, the one is actually a really good song. The sfx are... Sfx. Not great, but not terrible and annoying. The only annoying sound might be the sound of the water tank (the water tank is basically your time bar) draining away. 8/10 Gameplay: Fun, fun, fun. Repetitive, but great as it is. Worth it all the way! Unless, of course, you hate puzzle games, in which case I am not sure why you are still reading. You match blocks, and the dissipate. The goal is to get all of the blue squares used. Eh... Not a great idea, but still fun. 8/10 Lasting Appeal: It is a puzzle game, so if you want to play it over and over, nothing is stopping you. Addictive? Not really... So, I don't know. Its fun for 10 minutes at a time, I guess it can last a while. 7/10 Total: 34/50 That translates into a C+, which sounds accurate to me. Come for the puzzle, stay for the... No, actually, just come for the puzzle. (More Reviews Of Mine On www.blitzkreigmop.wordpress.com or email me at [email protected]) Oh and for the mods, I don't know if it's cool to put a webbie and email, but I hope it is. ;D
Not a bad review. You had lots of personality in it. I still don't have an image in my head of the game though, adding a game cover and some gameplay images would largely help your review. Personally, it was a great read.
Thanks for the support, I will throw some pics in. They're not really going to surprise you or anything, but just for the 'good of the colony'. Anyone get the reference? No... Ok.
Could you maybe format it a bit? Maybe put the ratings in bold, the heading, spread the screenshots around etc! Otherwise I am happy to accept
Lasting Appeal: It is a puzzle game, so if you want to play it over and over, nothing is stopping you. Addictive? Not really... So, I don't know. Its fun for 10 minutes at a time, I guess it can last a while. 7/10 7/10 for something that lasts 10 minutes at a time? Wow.
Insanecrazy07: Yeah, the thing with that is that you generally play, say, an action game, 4 times in blocks of 2 hours each. Then, after you have beat the story (multiplayer not an option), why play the game again? But assuming you play this game for it's fun-span (the amount of time the game stays fun) of 10 minutes only once or twice a day, it will last a long time. So... Yeah that's pretty much it. Also, I might mention that I post some reviews that I don't post here on my website, listed in my above review.
So... I guess this is not going to be accepted, no one has said anything for a number of days. Same with my other review (even though that one got some flak on my website...)
Its probably due to the guys in charge of this section not being around very much. =/ Don't get discouraged over it.
