Cranky Cat

Developer: March Entertainment
Steam Release:Jun 2013
Hours Played: 3.2
Similar To: Boros / Raycatcher
Rating: 2/5 Parsnips

GAMEPLAY
This is the game that the god awful Raycatcher wanted to be. In this case, you control a Victorian style machine operated by the use of your mouse. A small black ball sits at the centre of this machine and functions as a magnet or the centre of gravity. Bubbles of various colours and number are attached to it in a pattern. As you hold the left mouse button and move it, you spin the whole mechanism around like a roulette wheel according to the speed and direction you want. Single bubbles then enter or drop from the sides making their way straight to the centre. Your job is to turn the contraption in an attempt to make a match of 3 or more. A successful match makes them disappear in an explosion and any bubble not linked to the centre in the aftermath is then flung outward to be caught again. 

BALANCE & PACE
There are, of course, special bubbles with their own unique powers like invincible and exploding ones along with those that need two hits. Your ultimate aim is to clear the board and move onto the next one. The skill to this arcade puzzle game then lies in two areas: (1) anticipate where the bubble should go for optimum clearance and (2) move the mouse delicately enough to actually achieve the goal you're looking for. For number 1, questions like whether the incoming bubble should nestle next to that single unattached one, fit snuggly between two or be buried in a huge nest of them will be running through your head. Number 2, on the other hand, will often throw you into a curse-laden panic. 

 

PRESENTATION & DESIGN
With its abrupt endings, sudden transitions and slightly dubious collision detection, it may be cheaply produced but you can't really fault Cranky Cat for its rich character and antique-like art-style.To Victorian fairground music in the vaudeville style, Cranky Cat comes across like an inviting side-show attraction in the Dickensian era. The machine itself creaks and whirrs authentically as the cat himself pops up from time to time holding his silly little placards and clutching his vials. Things pop and fizz around him as he cultivates a kind of mad professor or eccentric circus ringleader image. The colour scheme of the bubbles are also tastefully done contrasting nicely with the wooden cogs and springs. The fonts in the menus also fit the whole aesthetic suitably.   
 

PROGRESS SYSTEM
Cranky Cat has three modes: Story, Puzzle and Infinite with the former two probably being those that'll take most of your time. For these, you'll get to choose six chapters which you can do in any order and with each one containing 24 levels. Levels are represented by vials of varying colours and are placed on a shelf as you do them. For the story mode, you'll get awarded up to three stars depending on time completed but for the puzzle mode, as completion is the only aim, no stars are included. Infinite, consisting of three further modes, is a type of survival or endless mode where bubbles come at you thick and fast and where you just have to last as long as you can while scoring the most points.

CONCLUSION

If you're intrigued by what the Victorian sideshows were all about or get a warm feeling when hearing the music associated with such events then you'll appreciate the aesthetic that March Entertainment wrapped their game in. The gameplay however might just echo what they were all about - a short-lived curiosity that might kill a bit of time but not something long-lasting that will occupy you for many hours to come. In other words it's a game that has a kind of mini-game quality to it (albeit finely polished and jazzed up) that makes it fine for short sessions but not one that belongs in the legendary hall of fame.