Chuzzle Deluxe

Chuzzle Deluxe (PC)

I'll be the first to admit that this is an odd choice of review. Chuzzle Deluxe (Also known as just Chuzzle) is in the same styling as free Flash-based games on the Internet- it's bright, colourful and clearly appeals to the younger audiences. It was released in 2005 with an update in 2007, but because of the simplistic style you honestly wouldn't know.

The game's very similar to games like Bejeweled in that you're given a 6X6 grid of fuzzy creatures of different colours called 'Chuzzles', hence the name. The idea is to move rows and columns of the creatures to make groups of three or more, thus removing them from the board to be replaced with new ones. When you've removed a certain number of Chuzzles then you finish the level and you move on.

So, it's very simple, it's very colourful, and it's easy to play. But in my mind the pros don't measure up to the cons. There's just way too much wrong with this game for me, personally, to find it enjoyable.

The first problem is the pacing. I managed to get through the first five levels in ten or fifteen minutes, I'm not sure, I wasn't checking. Then as soon as I hit level six the game slowed right down. Level six took me nearly ten minutes to finish and level seven took over twenty. The game slowed down because of one simple feature- locking rows and columns.

At random points in the game a Chuzzle gets locked into place, meaning you can't move the row or column that it's on. That's not normally a problem, but there was a time when I had three of them at once, meaning that I was limited to half the number of moving components (as it were), meaning that, in effect, it would have taken me twice as long to finish the level. I know that's not the correct mechanics, but you can see what I'm trying to say. Bearing in mind that all previous games I've played like this make you have to get three of the same item in a row, I wasn't finding the adjustment that easy, which meant I had to use the 'hint' function.

The hint function works to a degree. When you eliminate Chuzzles a meter fills up depending on how many you eliminated in one attempt. But using the hint tool drains this meter. A lot. So if you can't see the next move, you have to increase the number of Chuzzles you need to eliminate. That's all well and good, but when you can't move half the rows/columns then you'll probably need this function a lot. Which means you'll be playing the same level for a long time, which just gets boring.

Another problem I found was the music. You have the same loop over and over, and after a while, it starts to grate on you. I actually turned my sound off after a while because I just found myself annoyed at the music. I enjoyed it at first, but there was such a small amount of variety that I just got fed up, and that's never a good sign.

This game got pretty good reviews from critics when it was released, and that was mainly due to the other modes of play besides the level-based game. I didn't dare try them, simply because I didn't want to waste any more time on them. I know that technically doesn't make this a complete review of the game, but I'm not other reviewers, and I would hope that my views on this section of the game are treated with the same seriousness as anyone else's.

So, to sum up this game, it's annoying, and the pacing is a joke, but there are some nice touches, such as the fur left behind by the Chuzzles when they're eliminated, and their eyes following your mouse cursor. It's good to know that there was some thought put into this game, albeit in the wrong areas.

The Official X-Factor- 4/10