I’m not a big fan of “Bejeweled”, mainly because I just don’t find it deep enough hold my interest for long. “Puzzle Quest”, on the other hand, was extremely well received and I play it on my Nintendo DS every chance I get. That particular game allows you to level up, collect gear, and feel a sense of progression. “10,000,000” draws some parallels in that regard, but plays a bit differently. Before we begin taking a look at this game in further detail, I’d like to thank Luca Redwood from EightyEightGames for providing me with a free review copy.
10,000,000 (PC, Mac, iOS)
Upon starting the game up, you’ll learn that the keyboard won’t be used and will immediately be thrust into a prison of sorts. There is no main menu like most of the games I’ve played, but there is an in-game options menu that covers your basics. Hitting the gear icon in the upper right hand corner of the screen will allow you to adjust your music & sound volumes, toggle fullscreen & vsync, quit the game, and clear game data. As you may have deduced by that last option, you’re limited to the one profile, but I’m glad to see that there is an option to reset your progress.
The premise of “10,000,000” is simple: earn 10,000,000 points in a dungeon run in order to earn your freedom. To do that, you’ll pick a dungeon run of a particular rank and attempt to score as many points as possible. The more difficult the dungeon rank, the higher your score multiplier. You’ll also be assigned random goals before a run begins and while they are difficult, they’ll reward you handsomely for your efforts if you manage to complete them. During a run, your character will progress from left to right along the top of the screen and come across obstacles that he must overcome. Each obstacle can be defeated by matching three or more of the appropriate symbols on the main grid. Matching three or more keys, for example, will unlock a chest or door and allow the hero to keep going. Sliding tiles around is fairly simple in that all you’ll have to do is click and drag a row or column along in a particular direction. The hero will quickly lose time as he lingers on a particular obstacle, so quick reflexes are a must. The run ends when the hero is out of time.
Have a skeleton key? Bypass chests and doors without having to match up keys.
In addition to using swords & wands to fight enemies and keys to unlock locked objects, players will be able to collect various resources to fund their effort in between runs. Players will also be able to equip themselves with shields (to prevent the loss of time when an enemy attacks) and use various items that they’ve picked up along the way. These items can be difficult to identify and I would have liked some sort of help menu to lay out what each one does.
After completing a run, the player will find themselves back in their dungeon with the points and resources that they’ve collected. Points don’t accumulate, rather, your high score will constantly be updated as you progress in the game. Players will be able to use these resources to repair rooms, each of which is unique and helps the hero out in various ways. One room might allow a player to spend gold to upgrade their weapon strength while another might unlock the ability to purchase passive upgrades that assist the hero in dungeon runs. It’s a grindy process, but it kept me going as I wanted to see what else I could unlock or purchase after each run.
Upgrade your hero in between dungeon runs with the resources you collected.
Gameplay is swift and runs normally don’t take that long, at least in my experience. My average run lasted about a minute or less, mainly because I often freeze trying to find matches. While there is no difficulty slider, I found the game to be moderate to difficult. I sometimes felt like I didn’t have enough time to make my runs worthwhile. Those who enjoy a casual experience may be frustrated by the lack of time you’re given in a run. I admit, I became a smidge frustrated when I played three rounds and couldn’t complete one single goal. If I may play devil’s advocate however, one could say that this is by design to encourage the player to grind for more resources and to develop their character.
Overall, I found the game to be a unique and fun experience. While the game was difficult at times, the compelling urge to purchase and unlock everything kept me going through those doors and into the depth of the dungeon. The retro music was a nice touch, though I wish there was a bit more variety. All things considered, I believe $4.99 is a fair price for the amount of content it offers. Those of you who enjoy wallowing the hours away with “Puzzle Quest” or more in-depth “Bejeweled” clones may want to consider investing in this one.
Final Verdict: 5/10
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You can learn more about and purchase “10,000,000” by visiting the following websites:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/227580/
You can view video play sessions here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0EK9JIid70
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