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Alien Pyramid Challenge! review

Alien Pyramid Challenge! is a platform based puzzle game in which you play the part of an Alien who is trapped inside a pyramid and must find its way out by completing a series of block stacking based levels. To guide you to your exit you have a sarcastic mummy companion who gives hints on how to proceed.

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The idea is simple, on each level you must reach the exit that can only be accessed by moving limestone blocks to make stairs to reach previously unreachable platforms which in turn should lead you to the exit. Along the way, you must navigate pits filled with spikes and stay on moving platforms, which if mistimed you will fall back to the floor or even to your death. You can only carry one block at a time and must plan ahead to make the steps to reach your destination, there are usually just enough blocks to do this so even one misplaced block can result in failure.

The graphics are quite basic and look like something from the 8bit era, as you are in a pyramid just about everything is a sandy colour. The music is a jolly 8bit style theme tune and sounds OK. There are one or two sound effects such as when you jump and place blocks.

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The game starts at an easy pace and the first level introduces you to the game with only a few blocks needed to be positioned to reach the exit. The proceeding levels increase in difficulty and the challenge gets quite enjoyable as you work out the best way to reach the exit. You will need to restart levels a few times as you make mistakes but to save some time there is a handy Save and Load State feature which you can use at any time if you mess up or want to try something different.

The controls work fairly well, the jumping motion is easy to get used to but you will occasionally miss a platform and have to retry. Climbing a ladder can be a minor annoyance as you can not move left or right while climbing, you have to stop climbing and then move left or right. There are no major issues to speak of which is good.

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After several levels I got worried as one of the levels mentioned the end was in sight, by level fourteen it was roll credits time. There are only fourteen levels in the game which I completed in under a hour. I thought it must have been a mistake and checked on the menu for a different difficulty or mode but there is nothing more, just fourteen levels!

It is hard to recommend a game that takes under an hour to complete and has very little replay value. Even when it costs 80 :MSPoints: it is hard to justify when there are several recently released games the cost the same and provide much better value for money. It is a pity because with more levels this could be a fairly good game, but its lifespan in its current state is very short.

You can find out more about Alien Pyramid Challenge! and download the trial or full version via the Marketplace here.

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