Professor Fizzwizzle and the Molten Mystery Review

This ingenious game should be nominated to the Puzzle Game Hall of Fame. Ok, there’s no such thing - but after a few rounds with this gem, you can’t help but feel it deserves accolades.

Your job is to get Grubby Games’ hero, Professor Fizzwizzle, through the treacherous platform puzzles using whatever gizmos and gadgets he can find. Choose one of three paths to the mountain: Regular, Advanced or Kids. You’ll find the gameplay to be challenging, but not frustrating, since there are no time limits, and you can undo your last actions, or redo the whole level, without penalty. Tutorials are strategically interwoven, and, if you find yourself truly stumped, there is always the option to see the solution. Solving a level requires more than the ability to use your tools. Obviously, brain-loads of creative thought went into making the puzzles, and creative solutions are crucial.


The Kids’ puzzles start out very easy, as would be expected. Before long, though, the challenge increases, and the head scratching begins. Even if you’re only young at heart, you’ll enjoy a run through, and will appreciate building familiarity with the various items. The Normal puzzles include simple but effective tutorials. The beginning levels are not very complicated, but that doesn’t mean they are easy! Much of the time, you’ll be baffled until the key - that little trick on which the puzzle hinges - pops into your head. Of course, the Advanced levels, are the apex of difficulty. You could start on these right away, if you are of sufficient brilliance, or go onto them after you’ve completed the Normal path.

The game includes over 210 levels, but if that’s not enough for you, there’s always the level editor - and all the downloadable shared levels. These are rated for difficulty as well as quality, and since a real community has socked into this, new levels will likely keep coming. If you thrive on competition, you may want to post your scores online to see how you rank amongst the fans.


Somebody will be annoyed with something in every game, and this one is probably no exception. But most people will find the graphics, music and sound effects to be appealing. The use of mouse or arrow keys makes for easy manipulation of the character and tools. The menu is complete and easy to follow.

All in all, Grubby Games has got a winner in Professor Fizzwizzle and the Molten Mystery. Play, and you can be a winner too!

Zuma Review

One of PopCap’s masterpieces is the fast-paced puzzle game, Zuma. This game has been cloned time and again, a compliment to it’s enduring appeal. But it’s hard to beat the real thing, and so the original continues to increase in popularity. It’s available on several platforms, including cell phone and iPod. There’s no question though – playing with a mouse on a nice monitor is by far the best.


This is one of those games that is easy to learn, but hard to master. That’s part of what makes it so fun! A line of coloured balls rolls along a curled track, and you must eliminate them before they are swallowed up by the Skull at the end of the path. You use your mouse to rotate a stone frog containing a choice of two balls, then click to shoot one into the chain. Whenever you get three or more balls of the same colour, they explode. Playing well involves creating chains, taking advantage of power-ups, scoring through gaps, and collecting coins. As the game progresses, extra ball colours are added, and the speed and complexity of each course increases.

Two modes of play are available. Adventure Mode takes you through a series of levels, or Aztec temples, each consisting of a number of stages. You can save at any stage, but if you use up all your lives and die, you must restart at the beginning of the temple. The Gauntlet Mode allows you to replay levels you have beaten in Adventure Mode – only this time, the stream of balls is “endless”, gradually increasing in speed and number of colours. It’s a great way to hone your skills.


PopCap’s demo is the complete game, and although it is time-limited, it actually does let you continue playing an ad-supported version. Considering the addictiveness of this game, you’re going to want it all – and maybe on your cell phone too.

Mario Kart Wii Review

Nobody can say that racing games are too hard now that Mario Kart Wii has arrived. With the Wii Wheel, staying in the race is so easy that even a first time racer can stay on track. Rotating your controller, as many have been prone to do, will finally turn the cart!

Although you can use other controllers (like a Gamecube joystick), the obvious choice – especially for a new player – is the Wii Wheel which comes with the game. It’s really just a shell into which a standard Wii controller is placed. Extras can be purchased separately for a reasonable price. But as we said, they are not required.

You can choose from a variety of Mario-related characters – or your Mii. Hop into the cart that catches your eye, and hit one of thirty-two fanciful tracks. You may even want to try popping wheelies on one of the new motorbikes.


There is no doubt that this game is ideal for socializing. You can play up to four players on the same TV, and up to twelve on the internet. Age and lack of skill will not deny you the pleasure of enjoying some laps with anyone, from a well-practiced teen, to a toddler who can barely hold the wheel.

If you are an experienced Mario Kart player, you may find this game a bit on the easy side. But there’s no denying – with the new tracks, and new tricks, you’ll have a ton of fun.

And for anyone who loved Wii Sports and is looking for something more, Mario Kart Wii is the game you won’t want to miss.

Prism: Light the Way Review

The music is repetitive, and the graphics verge on dismal. But is Prism FUN? Absolutely!

The premise of Prism: Light the Way for Nintendo DS is simple. The Glowbos desperately need light, and they’re picky – they can only use their own colour. The Bulboids have arrived bearing light, but they’re not quite smart enough to get the job done. You and your stylus must save the day. All you need to do is arrange the supplied mirrors and prisms so all the light is delivered properly!


Don’t be fooled by the ease of the first levels of the main puzzle mode. They quickly become more and more challenging; you’ll be glad they’re not timed. Solving the more difficult ones can burn a good deal of brain power. You may even be reduced to rounds of trial and error. Thankfully, hints are provided for the first 40 levels – for the last 80, you’re on your own.

There is a timed mode, as well as several others, including competitive or co-operative multiplayer.

You may not play this game for hours on end, but you will find yourself coming back to it again and again whenever you need a fix!

Professor Layton and the Curious Village Review

Travel to the quaint village of St. Mystere with Professor Layton and his young assistant Luke.
Your primary objective is to solve the mystery of the Golden Apple, but along the way you will investigate a string of strange crimes and odd events. But playing detective is only a part of the story. Everything hinges on finding and solving a wonderfully varied collection of brainteasers. You will need to apply logic and reasoning, as well as out-of-the-box creative thinking.

The game is a simple role-playing adventure with a mystifying story and even more mystifying puzzles. It’s relaxing in that time is never an issue; take as long as you’d like to solve any problem! Hint coins discovered along the way can help you through the more troublesome spots, or you can choose to return to a puzzle later. You can’t make any wrong turns during your explorations, and you won’t need to fight any dragons.

This is a game which can be played in short spurts if necessary. Save your progress so you can quickly pick up from your stopping point. If it has been awhile since you’ve played, you will be particularly thankful for the brief review. You’ll want to return until you have solved the last mystery – and then you’ll be glad for the weekly puzzles available by wireless download.

Stylus use and an excellent in-game tutorial make this game a good choice for the inexperienced. A very smart ten or twelve year old may enjoy it, especially since it is not essential to do every puzzle. But the most brilliant puzzler of any age is bound to do some prolonged head-scratching over the hardest ones. Most players will be thrilled to know that two ‘sequels’ are in the works. It is possible that an extreme adrenaline hound may find this type of game too slow-paced.

You can go to the official website for a more complete overview – including a playable demo.

Buy Professor Layton and the Curious Village

Peggle Review

Peggle is one of PopCap's bestsellers ever, and the instant you start to play you’ll know why. You are welcomed with a cheery screen and enchanting audio. The game depends on just the right combination of skill and luck to keep you hooked. To play, all you do is shoot a ball into an array of colored pegs. The ball bounces between the pegs in a motion resembling pinball, collecting points for each hit as it drops. The pegs you have hit will disappear. Most rounds consist of trying to knock off all the orange ones before you run out of balls.


The Adventure Mode leads you through ten multi-leveled stages of unique play, introducing different colored pegs with varied rewards. Any level you beat can be replayed in Quickplay Mode, and since the peg array is randomly generated, the action is always fresh. In Duel Mode, you play against an opponent - either the computer or a friend - by taking turns on the same screen. Challenge Mode, which remains locked until you have conquered Adventure Mode, provides a nearly endless run of expert play.

What's the best thing about Peggle? It's the slow-motioned suspense when you are about to eliminate the last orange peg - or will you? It's the explosion of "Ode to Joy", when you actually are victorious. It's the last little wait, hoping your ball will land in the best bin, and that glorious revealing of your final score.

Peggle is the kind of game you can play in the midst of life’s commotion. You can pick it up quickly, and put it down just as fast - provided you ever really want to!

Peggle, PopCap, review

Picross DS Review

You don’t want to miss Picross DS (for Nintendo DS) if you’re looking for a puzzle game to give hours of relaxed enjoyment. It relies on a logic process similar to the hugely popular Sudoku - and is likewise a numbers game with math skills not required. Well, you do need to count - at least as high as twenty, and very basic addition helps. But for those who can do that, you will find yourself challenged by the step-by-step deductive process.

Using sequences of numbers bordering a grid, you fill-in or blank-out squares. The successful completion of a puzzle results in your reward - a simple picture, which animates if you beat it in the alloted time. The game's easy to learn, but the difficulty increases as the grid size grows.

Several modes are available, including Daily Picross, which is a self-challenge you can play only once a day, and My Picross, which lets you make your own puzzles. And, as long as you have a wireless internet connection, you need never run out of puzzles, since there is a virtually endless supply of downloads.




To learn more, you can go to the official website of the game. You will find a good tutorial and explanation of all the features - everything you want to know before you buy.

We should mention that some of the advance level screens can be a bit hard to see, but there are magnifying options.

Picross DS is not a good choice for most children, but if you like crossword or logic puzzles, or can’t get enough of Brain Age, there will be no regrets for trying Picross DS. You will be sure to find it worthy of adding to your game collection.

Buy Picross DS