In Fourth Dimension’s recent indie game, Acupwnture, players once again are allowed to experience a puzzle game with a nice twist. This game, inspired by Wu Xing, otherwise known as the 5 Movements, creates a serene puzzle environment using the 5 elements: Metal, Wood, Fire, Stone, and Water. These elements are vital to the game’s four modes: Standard Mode, Continuous Mode, Challenge Mode, and Practice Mode.
The way to play seems quite easy at first: Match blocks to make bombs to remove them. However, not only do blocks need to be destroyed, but also certain amounts of each element need to be destroyed. But wait Abigail May, as there’s more that need to be considered while playing. There is a timer that is ticking away while this madness is happening.
[nggtags gallery=Acupwnture]
The level reacts depending on the selected mode. In Standard Mode, players first pick a starting element. Once an element is selected then the game begins. Now the question arises, ‘How do I get rid of all these blocks?’ First 4 blocks of the same element must be touching in the shape of a square to form a bomb. From this point, the player has 5 turns to: add to the block bomb created, thus resetting the 5 turn counter; create a chain of like blocks from the bomb that will also detonate if they are of the same element; or wait for the bomb to detonate after 5 turns. These destroyed blocks go toward filling the meter assigned to each element for the level.
In addition to Standard Mode, players can choose Practice Mode in which they can practice techniques to help with combos and general block removal or to experiment with controls. Challenge Mode challenges players of completing a level with a specific task at hand such as clearing out 100 of a particular element block within the time limit. Also, there is Continuous Mode that allows players to play until they lose by having the blocks reach the top of the level.
Visually the game is on par with most other indie games. While the colors are vibrant, there is not thing to really take note of while playing. In regards to the background music, it becomes almost transparent while playing because of the nice fit it has to the game. While none of the melodies that are playing will be stuck in your head, it would be noticeable if there were no music at all. It’s the combination of these elements that make the game.
So with all these points made and a quick ‘how-to-play’ established, is it fun? An answer in short is yes. Upon initially playing Acupwnture, players will become frustrated much like I did, by the lack of instruction the game provides. Only after I played it for about 15 minutes I figured out how the bombs work and how the timer reacted to the level. Unfortunately, this may be a turn off to some players. But if you can get past the initial frustration, hidden underneath is a fun little puzzle game that is worth playing especially with the price tag of only 80 :MSPoints:.
More information on Acupwnture as well as to download the trial or purchase the full version can be found on the Marketplace.
0
