Having recently played and reviewed “Crazy Machines”, I was curious to see what this particular game would bring. To my surprise, it unlocked two separate entities on Steam, one being the “Inventors Training Camp” and the other being “New from the Lab.” They look and feel the same, so I’ll opt to cover both in one sitting. Before we get started with “Crazy Machines 1.5”, I’d like to thank Andrew Emond from Viva Media for sending me the “Crazy Machines Complete Pack” to review. To that end, I’ll be taking a look at each of the games in that pack, in turn. You can find the other reviews (assuming they are finished) by clicking on the “Video Games” tab above.
Crazy Machines 1.5 – Inventor’s Training Camp (PC)
Crazy Machines 1.5 – New from the Lab (PC)
Both games have a similar main menu in that they allow the user to select a level, continue where they left off, make creations in the sandbox mode, and adjust game options. Those who have played “Crazy Machines” will be able to jump right in and recognize what the various menus do. The options menu covers your basics and then some, but like the original game, there is no widescreen support. Steam says the game was released in 2005, though two other sources claim it was released in 2007. In either case, not supporting higher resolutions is understandable and the game is still playable regardless.
Options Menu
I highly recommend you begin with the “Inventors Training Camp” as it acts like an enhanced tutorial of sorts. It will take you through over a hundred levels, but they are much simpler than the ones found in the original “Crazy Machines” game. One of the criticisms I had with the original was that the game didn’t offer much in the way of instructing you on how particular elements functioned. The “Inventors Training Camp” actually covers how to use magnets, which was an example I gave in my previous article. For those of you who purchase the complete “Crazy Machines” package, I recommend starting with the “Inventors Training Camp” first, then moving on to “Crazy Machines”.
The training camp will help put you through your paces.
The “New from the Lab” subset of “Crazy Machines 1.5” is a different story and is a bit harder. This particular game will challenge you and keep your mind engaged in looking for different ways to go about solving the puzzles. On top of your standard elements, you’ll see new things like cannons and robots that will force you to think about the puzzles in a different light. For those of you who prefer to ease into things, not to worry, the “Inventors Training Camp” contains tutorial levels for these new elements too.
The “New from the Lab” levels are a bit harder, but still start out a bit on the easy side.
Either game will allow you access to a sandbox lab that lets you monkey around with the elements and create your own puzzles. What I like most about this is that I can create and save puzzles for the kids to solve, allowing us to spend time together. I’m glad that this mode carried over from the original game as I got a lot of use out of that particular mode during my play sessions.
The sandbox mode allows you to tinker with all sorts of elements.
Overall, “Crazy Machines 1.5” is more of the same when compared to “Crazy Machines”, but with some new elements to play with. I’d like to point out that “more of the same” isn’t necessarily a bad thing, especially if the original model was a success. “Crazy Machines 1.5” is definitely a must have for fans of the series, though I’d recommend it as a starting point to newcomers as well. This particular game is priced at $9.99, which isn’t a bad price for the amount of content and levels that the game comes with. Steam currently has the game on sale for 50% off (as of 12/28/12), so I recommend that you grab it at that price while you can.
Final Verdict: 6/10
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You can see a video play session, here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yoLOcS8Z5dU
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You can learn more about and purchase “Crazy Machines 1.5” by visiting the following website:
http://store.steampowered.com/app/18430/
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