Professor Fizzwizzle

Developer: Big Fish Games
Steam Release: Aug 2005
Hours played: 10.0
Similar To: About Love, Hate... / Escape Goat / Prison Run & Gun / Snail Bob 2 / Toki Tori
Rating: 3/5 Parsnips

 





*This game is no longer available on Steam but its sequel (Molten Mystery) is available.

GAMEPLAY
Professor Fizzwizzle is one of your more sedate platform puzzlers that has you studying the screen in earnest before activating a plan of action. On starting a level, our eponymous hero springs up from his starting portal and it is your job to guide him to the exit portal. You do this by moving him left and right but he may also climb up and down ladders, fall down from any height, slide on ice or roll along on the top of a barrel. Initially, the game gradually introduces you to the basic mechanics in the form of about a dozen straightforward tutorial style levels. Then, as you become settled, more and more mechanics and gameplay changes get introduced. The difficulty, in turn, gets turned up a notch or two. By the half-way stage, you're really grappling with the puzzles that really challenge your logical thinking skills.

BALANCE & PACE
Reasons for this include: (1) the introduction of a variety of surfaces that certain objects react differently to; (2) the introduction of barriers that can only be activated by walking over the corresponding button; (3) inflatable magnets and crates that can be conjured up and (4) robots that chase after you! The result is an extremely engaging, thinking-man's platform puzzler that will challenge your powers of thinking a problem through to its logical conclusion. As such, much like a Toki Tori or a Blocks That Matter, it is a game that has you staring at the screen for ages while figuring out a combination of routes and possibilities rather than the type of game where you're constantly on the move battling, jumping and swinging. It will definitely appeal more to those who are proud of their IQ score and want an interesting challenge.

PRESENTATION & DESIGN
The menus in Professor Fizzwizzle are easily accessed, very quick and efficiently designed. The start-screen brings you nine paths from the usual Options screen to Instructions and Photo Gallery. There are also opportunities to design your own levels if you're that way inclined. The game features a simple, cartoon-like art style that is sharp and clear. Also, at just 21MB to download, the game thankfully demands very little from your system and could be run on that old laptop you threw away all those years ago. There is also a suitably understated mad-cap atmosphere to the game that is brought to life by the subtle yet springy soundtrack.  

 

PROGRESS SYSTEM
Your progress is measured by visiting your map screen. Here, you get to choose four different paths but most of your time will no doubt be spent journeying along the red regular route which contains about 85 levels; each level being represented by a dot. You may also do the blue or purple route (if you're very young) or the yellow route (if you're extremely clever). You also have a small square in the top right hand corner which shows how much of each you have completed as a percentage.  
 

CONCLUSION

Professor Fizzwizzle is a solid title and a very well designed "fox/chicken/grain" type puzzle game. It is, however, a game that you do have to work hard at if you want to tick off the dots along your journey. Some sessions can involve just staring at the screen for half an hour or more at a time in an effort to figure out just how on earth Fizzy Babes can get onto that damn platform. For some, endowed with patience and determination, the reward comes in finally figuring it out and cracking it; others will just get impatient and look at the solution (you may see the solution for all levels) but where's the fun in that? Still, for those who want a challenge and who just enjoy getting their teeth into a jolly good puzzle, Professor Fizzwizzle delivers the goods.