Pandora's Box

(Distributed by Microsoft itself for PCs in  1999)

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A Techtite Review

Still think a new puzzle game concept is impossible? Well, how about a puzzle game from the same mastermind behind the original Tetris? How about 10 different puzzle types to choose from, with around 35 of each puzzle...leading to 350 different puzzles to solve? How about linking all puzzles with an intriguing story of 7 spirits you must trap back into Pandora's Box? If you're up to it, this game is made just for you.

The core of the game, obviously, are the puzzles, each made by the Russian puzzler who gave us Tetris, Alexey Pajitnov. Ten puzzle types are present, each with a unique spin on brain-teasing. My personal favorite (shown here) is the 3D puzzle; you're given pieces of a famous sculpture and you must put it back together on an angled playing board. A variation of this puzzle, "Outer Layer," gives you a rotatable gray object whose texture must be re-applied, piece-by piece, onto the 3D shape! People loyal to 2D puzzles will love "Overlap," where the pieces rarely fit neatly in place and often must overlap onto other jigsaw pieces! A variation of the classic sliding-tiles picture puzzle includes "Rotoscope," where the sliding tiles are circular and rotatable. Too intimidating? Don't worry! In an inspired move, each time you're introduced to a new puzzle type, the game asks if you need instuctions, and an interactive tutorial of that puzzle (given a seperate, half-solved sample image) is given. You'll be statying up late and scratching your head in no time.

The "story" of this game is a cute premise; someone opened Pandora's Box, and you must clean up the damage. These spirits have gone to 5 cities each, damaging 10 statues, landmarks, and paintings particular to that area. Each of the 10 damaged items is a puzzle. Solve each puzzle, and often get a hidden surprise. Sometimes, the revealed item helps you in the game itself, such as a "Solve a Puzzle Automatically" token or a "Free Hint" token, which can be used at any time. The goal, of course, is to find the puzzle in each city that hides a piece of Pandora's Box. Find it, and a story is gradually told, of the spirit you're helping to capture. There are 7 such stories in all (for each released spirit), leading to a puzzle game that is as non-repetitive as any puzzle game can possibly be!

This story/puzzle combo creates an even more fun atmosphere than expected. Via 10 vibrant, colorful landmarks/photos, in each of 35 cities around the globe, the game feels almost like one big cyber-vacation. Adding to the atmosphere are seperate music choices for each region, pertaining to classical music written by artists in or around that area. Go to Dublin, for example, and be treated to the music, landmarks, paintings, and pictures specific to Ireland. Each picture/statue, once put back together, provides a small window describing the artwork's title, artist, and source; a nice touch. So much so, parents might truly want to consider buying this title for their child for scholastic fun...presuming that the parents are not playing it themselves!

The game's rating goes down merely a notch, for its replay limitations; once solved, there are no new puzzles, and no ability to generate puzzles using your own family photos (how cool that would have been!). Once you finish the game's 350 puzzles, you might indeed re-play the game, although most of the surprise is gone, and that's half the fun. It still is a spectacular, thought-provoking game (a term that becomes more of an oxymoron every day), which any puzzle fan should get immediately. If you're ready to scratch your head galore in a game once again, yet not ready to blow the dust off of your old copy of Zork, this is definitely a must-buy title...

	Final Rating : Large Crater. The best puzzle game to come down the pike in ages. There's not enough replay value for a Deep Impact rating, though it's still great!
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