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Aztec Quest (iPhone)


Review by Ben Briggs, December 22, 2009

iPhone integration (About)
  • Save state: No
  • iPod music: Yes
  • Status bar: No
  • Version: 1.0
  • Price as reviewed: 59p
  • by Mobirate

Aztec Quest is a game reminiscent of those old marble mazes, where you would have a construction kit, usually made out of wood or plastic and a shiny metal marble that you would try to get from one end of the course to the other. Setting up such kits in all their different permutations was usually a chore but the end result, seeing the ball glide smoothly down for a brief moment or two made the whole thing worthwhile. This game then, takes out all the tedium of carefully combining pieces together with effortless touch controls.

Unlike the marble mazes we knew as children, Aztec Quest takes place on a flatter plane. This means you won’t be able to create roller-coasters and the ilk, but instead different elements come into play. As well as the standard tubes that roll the ball about there’s conveyor belts that run in up to four different directions, catapults with adjustable power, hammers that knock the ball in a given direction, springs that launch the ball and teleporters that warp the ball to somewhere else on the field. The chain reaction that is created is a joy to watch, as the ball moves nearer to the diamond that you have to hit to complete the level.

If you’re having trouble seeing the board for all the stuff that you’ve put there, you can view it from four different angles, and if you’re stuck you can get a hint. The difficulty is fairly easy but it does start to ramp up once you move through the level set. A nice touch is that the diamond that you’re trying to collect is a different colour depending on the difficulty of the challenge, with pink being the hardest level.

The game gives you just enough space on the board to place the pieces so you aren’t guessing as to where they should go. You must use all that are provided to you however as the game won’t accept a solution that doesn’t use all these pieces. If anything we wish there was some more of these included with the game to increase the amount of puzzles possible.

Included with Aztec Quest is 50 levels and a level editor that also features an online component that allows you to share and download tracks created by the community. Theoretically this means infinite new content, but there’s only so much you can do with the provided building blocks. Your mileage may vary but we’re guessing that you’ll most likely complete the included level pack and perhaps download/build a couple of your own before you go looking for another game. But that still means the game is amazing value for 59p.

The presentation is somewhat marred by cringe inducing spelling and grammatical errors that stick out like a sore thumb. But when you’re playing, the animations are so well done that you’ll just find it a joy to play through. When this is coupled with the Aztec theme it gives the experience a lush tone to it—and the music is also conducive to the overall enjoyment of this game.

Aztec Quest is like a blisteringly icy wake up shower to the tired puzzle master. Even if it doesn’t attempt to recreate those labyrinthine marble mazes of old, the incredible diamond catching machines that you’ll build here are nonetheless fascinating. We say you should definitely take a look at this one if you like puzzle games.

Grade: B, Great

A joy to watch your creations flick marbles around effortlessly, this one is rather good fun.

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