Pipe Mania: More Pipes, More Mania
Company: Empire Interactive
Pipe Mania is one of the most ported and oldest computer puzzle games on the market, and once again, it will be getting a fresh coat of paint and a new generation of players. This game first came out in 1989, and its simple design, but constantly increasing difficulty, makes it something that stands the test of time. For those readers that haven't played one of the versions of Pipe Mania to come out before, the premise is simple. The player is presented with a grid. From some edge of that grid, a fluid is coming out and filling up some pipes. Your job is to use the pipe segments that become available to you (in a particular order), to try and complete the pipe and get the fluid safely to the exit point on the grid. The more levels you get through, the more convoluted your pipe-paths will have to be and the faster the fluid will move through the pipes.
Well, this new version of the game isn't all that different in its core gameplay. What will be different are the themed worlds, new gameplay modes, different types of fluid and an inclusion of new characters to join the gamer in the various worlds. Pipe Mania's story is called World Mode, and it will take you across seven different environments. In one world, you will have the classic styled plumbing scenario. Here is where you will learn the basic gameplay features. But it won't be long before you progress to the Sewers which will add extra types of pipes and more complex layouts, a railroad world which will introduce bridges and the ability to change the direction of the trains (this world's "fluid") and a toy factory, where you will try to get rubber ducks through the obstacle course. The other worlds include one based on electricity, the Internet and a world called Super Pipes, which will combine everything you've learned throughout the game.
Another game mode Pipe Mania will offer is Arcade Mode. Similar to the game's original mode, this one provides a never-ending series of puzzles that constantly get harder. Another mode, Bonus Games, acts as a puzzle mode since you will have to re-arrange pre-set pipes in order to solve the level. This release of Pipe Mania will also include multiplayer modes for head-to-head gaming, well all versions except for the DS will at least. The PC and PS2 will have players sharing the same screen, while the PSP version will be over ad-hoc wireless.
Since Pipe Mania was coming out for many different systems (PC, PSP, PS2 and DS [all to be released by mid-September]), we were wondering what the differences between the systems were. The game's developers at Empire said that they are trying to keep everything as similar as possible. Instead of trying to provide different experiences on the different platforms, they were more interested in getting the game's feel and gameplay right across the board. However, they did confess that the game has a different feel when using a controller as opposed to a mouse or stylus, so people looking to buy the game when it comes out might want to keep that in mind. Encore also hinted that they are in the works of making a new puzzle game for the PlayStation Network, but were unable to say anything too concrete at the time. Be on the lookout for more information about that soon.
-J.R. Nip, GameVortex Communications AKA Chris Meyer
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