Insaniquariam Deluxe

Developer:  PopCap Games
Released:  Aug 2006
Usual Price:  £6.99
Hours Played:  2
Controller Compatible:  No
Rating:  N/A

GAMEPLAY

Adventure mode is where you'll initially spend most of your time. Time Trial and Challenge are slight variations you'll move onto afterwards. To start, you are presented with a fish tank containing a few fish called guppies along with three helpful pets. Pets are awarded at the end of each successfully completed level and come with their own little perks. Anyway, the idea is that you: (1) feed the fish before they die by clicking on the tank; (2) collect the coins, stars, pearls and gems that are dropped (and converted into dollars) by clicking on them and (3) buy more fish, upgrades and enhancements etc to help produce more dollars by clicking the icons in the orbs at the top. The fishes' fins turn purple when they require food and if they all die, you lose.

 
As you'd have gathered clicking, clicking and yet more clicking is the order of the day. Your ultimate aim is to gather enough dollars to buy three parts of an egg which appears in the final orb at the top after the other orbs have been unlocked. This egg then unhatches at the end to produce another pet which is added to that roster. A variety of aquatic, and not so aquatic, enemies appear and attack your fish at various intervals which you repel by... you've guessed it... repeatedly clicking on them. Although the game may appear to be aimed at 4 to 7 year-olds to help with mouse control or basic maths skills - it gradually becomes clear that a little bit more brain power is required later with regard to decisions about upgrades and enhancements.

PRESENTATION & PROGRESS

If you don't choose to turn it off, you'll have to put up with the permeation of supermarket muzak flowing through the entire game. The main title screen, featuring Myrtle the mermaid, shows the three modes you can play plus a "Virtual Tank" which is a glorified screensaver where you buy fish and items with shells that you pick up while playing a mini-game. Hovering over these displays a small description of each. The high-scores are well-ordered and neatly list the times in the 20 different levels of adventure mode. Best scores and times in each of the four tanks in Time Trial and Challenge mode are also shown. It's all very clear, stable and straightforward. 






CONCLUSION

Insaniquarium is marketed as a fun game for all ages. It is, first and foremost, a massive click-fest along the lines of the Pizza and Farm Frenzy games. However, more thought is definitely needed than Pizza Frenzy but not as much as the more taxing Farm Frenzy. Of course, if you want a decent score and time, more thought will be needed to be put into the Time Trial and Challenge modes that you'll move onto later. At about three quarters of the way through, I cannot really see myself delving much deeper. It's an interesting distraction but I personally prefer the deeper thinking behind Farm Frenzy and the mindless stupidity of Pizza Frenzy.