KaromatiX2
Writer: Michael Jones.
TSSpiele's KaromatiX2 is a dream come true for any gamer old enough to yearn for the return of simple games that are simply good, as well as fun to play. With a premise as simple as shooting colored stones into an oncoming wall of stones in order to match up three or more like-colored stones and watch them disappear, KaromoatiX2 certainly has achieved simplicity.
And yet, when you finally sit down and play the game for a while, you find out that simplicity does not equal stupidity. As easy as the idea of the game may sound, when you combine it with the ever-decreasing time clock and the four different modes of game play, you arrive at a game that manages to frustrate nearly as much as it entertains. And that, really, is what I want out of a puzzle game. I want something that will make me think, as well as make me smile when I finally get through a level after trying for 43 times. KaromatiX2, so far, has certainly given me one of those two... now if you don't mind I'd like to get back and give that level another go, so that I might finally have both things come true.
Mars Miner
Writer: Michael Jones
Retro Style Games' Mars Miner is a very nice attempt to have a fresh update on classic Bomberman-style game. Whether following the story mode that allows you to spend a few moments dodging asteroids as you finally manage a crash landing on Mars, or simply choosing to ignore the "how" and "why" of your being on the red planet and instead get right into the action on "Survival" mode, you'll quickly become adept at the game.
Simply put, each level is a maze that requires you to blast your way out of by placing timed bombs in strategic locations, allowing you to both move freely to the end of each maze as well as to defeat any of the various monsters that aren't all that happy to see you wandering around in their Martian home-turf. Then again, as often as I found myself getting eaten by a few monsters, they might not be all that disappointed in seeing me... as long as it was understood that I was basically their lunch.
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