Obulis

 
Developer: IonFX
Steam Release: March 2009
Hours Played: 10
Similar To: Cut the Rope
Rating: 5/5 Parsnips





GAMEPLAY
This well-designed puzzle game, that pre-dates Cut The Rope a good year, is based around principles involving the cutting of chains to release metal balls. Clicking an available square on the map screen zooms you in to start a puzzle. You see various balls hanging from chains in a themed environment made up of ledges, slopes and gaps of various kinds and, later on, cannons and catapults. Left clicking on a chain selects it causing it to flash and right clicking makes the snip that releases the ball. Real-world physics apply so if it is cut from a swinging chain the ball will be sent flying in the proper trajectory and with the right momentum. You need to make sure all coloured balls end their journey in the same coloured receptacle.


BALANCE & PACE
The skill comes in the form of: (1) making snips at the right time; (2) judging the correct trajectory balls will take; (3) figuring what journey the ball will make and its consequences and (4) making sure all balls end up in the right place, With so much to figure out, the game will certainly prove taxing for the most expert puzzler. The physics of the game works beautifully and the interaction within the game works a charm. If you mess up you can restart at any time just by clicking the restart symbol and it will restart instantly! Each puzzle also tells you its level of difficulty and you are awarded a number of stars in accordance with that difficulty level. Some levels show you the solution while some do not.



PRESENTATION & DESIGN
The graphics are tastefully done and environments are lusciously stylish. with effort ensuring the game has a classy shine and polish. The soundtrack is dominated by a Spanish-style acoustic guitar that remains minimal and subtle. Sound-effects, likewise, are soft, delicate and subtle overall. Objects bounce and collide with a suitable clarity of sound and there is a nice flourish when you successfully complete a level. The artwork is inspired by ancient Greece with urns, scrolls and vases making regular appearances. On hitting your profile name you're taken to your scroll which shows three chapters listed and how much of each you have completed. On clicking a chapter, you're taken to a map of around 50 squares that each represent a puzzle. It's all intuitive and smoothly done leaving no doubt where you stand or how it's all ordered. 


PROGRESS SYSTEM
There are three chapters in total and each chapter has its own map. A map has 50 or 51 puzzles and these are represented by squares. The squares are split up into areas and become available when you have completed previous ones. Squares are lit up when you complete its puzzle (which you can redo if you wish) and this leads to the even brighter ones that are next up on your slightly uneven path. Stars are awarded for each and you are also told how much of a chapter has been completed by way of a percentage. You can jump into any chapter from the player profile's start-screen, Chapter I is pleasant to do, Chapter II gets quite tricky and Chapter III is plain difficult. You get four user profiles in this game - three more than a lot of others - and a good thing too for household that likes puzzles. 

CONCLUSION
The first chapter is a treat. In fact, had the game consisted of these 50 levels alone I would have been content. Puzzles give the right level of challenge and there is a fine sense of achievement when you work out the solution. The length of time spent in the game would have been short but the experience would have made up for it. With just a dozen puzzles into Chapter II, however, the difficulty gets cranked up by more than the odd notch as solutions become so obscure the average player would be flummoxed and abandoning the game is more likely the result. We all know that the main point to a game should be that it's fun; make it too challenging and it just becomes hard work! Unfortunately Obulis is guilty on this front meaning two thirds of the game will remain unseen by as many players.