Dad's Gaming Addiction

2007-2008 marks the beginning of the “Crazy Machines 2” era, and I say beginning because of the numerous DLC packs that followed in its wake.  Never fear, I’ll briefly touch on those too to give you an idea of what they are like so you can decide whether or not you’d like to purchase them.  Before we take a look at “Crazy Machines 2”, 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 2 (PC)

It’s worth mentioning right off the bat that I encountered errors when trying to get the game to work.  Upon starting up the game, I managed to get through a few screens, up to the cog wheels turning, and then it would crash to desktop.  After about an hour of research, I managed to find the problem, which involved installing PhysX drivers here:

http://www.nvidia.com/object/ageia_8.04.25_whql.html

After doing that, I was able to bypass the crash to desktop.  This seems to be a common issue, and others who have installed the PhysX drivers, among other things, still couldn’t get the game to work.  You can see the full text of the forum discussion here:

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=695153

The main menu allows a player to play the main game, view achievements, download online / player made content, and adjust game settings.  I’m pleased to report that the options menu has widescreen resolution support, something the past “Crazy Machines” games failed to include due to their age.  There are also assignable keybinds, as well as the option to create new profiles and edit existing ones.

Options Menu

Hitting play brings you to another menu that let’s you choose between career mode, player created labs (levels made by others online), and my labs (levels you’ve created yourself).  Selecting career mode will show you all of the levels you currently have access to, including any DLC that you may have purchased.  I found the online option to be neat, seeing as how you can download creations from all over the web.

While the general premise is the same, there are new features that sets the game apart from its predecessors.  For one, you’ll be able to use the mouse wheel to zoom in and out of the play area at will.  Further, you can use the alt key in addition to the mouse to view the elements from different angles.  I’m not a big fan of 3D effects in movies, but I found the 3D functionality in this game to be particularly useful (and fun).  When compared to “Crazy Machines” and “Crazy Machines 1.5”, the elements look much, much better in terms of detail and rendering.  It makes sense, considering the span of time involved, though it’s worth mentioning nonetheless.

Looking at elements from different angles may spark an idea or two.

Another feature that I really, really appreciate is the hint system.  The lack of a hint system was one of my biggest complaints about the previous games, but I’m glad to see that it is included here, even if utilizing them means a loss in points.  There’s also subsidiary goals that you’ll have the option to complete, challenging players that want to take their game to the next level.  I personally like this idea, as it gives casual players the ability to move on to future levels without becoming too frustrated.  In essence, the game allows the user to make the game as difficult as they want it to be.  Gears are awarded to those who complete these subsidiary goals, along with “bragging rights.”

In terms of content, the game contains over one hundred and fifty elements that span over two hundred levels.  Like the previous games, there is also a sandbox / lab that allows you to create your own wacky machines and save them for others to solve.  If you’ve read my previous reviews on “Crazy Machines” and “Crazy Machines 1.5”, then I may sound like a broken record when I say that I enjoy this feature.  It gives me the opportunity to try out the different elements all the while involving the kids.

The DLC packs are plentiful and come with a variety of new content.  Each DLC pack is themed in a particular fashion to bring you elements that are unique and fun to mess around with.  The “Invaders from Space” DLC pack, for example, features UFOs, asteroids, laser cannons, and etc.  These DLC packs will certainly keep owners of “Crazy Machines 2” busy for quite some time.  At the very end of this article is a quick list of the DLC packs, along with a hyperlink to their respective store pages on Steam.  I highly recommend them if you got a lot of mileage out of the base game.

The New Year DLC has a party theme, unsurprisingly.

“Crazy Machines 2” remains to be a great family friendly game, an attribute that its predecessors have always managed to maintain.  The DLC packs are icing on the cake.  If “Crazy Machines” and “Crazy Machines 1.5” are too antiquated for your tastes, then “Crazy Machines 2” would be an excellent alternative.  As I mentioned above, some users experienced trouble getting their game to run, so I’d double-check your specs and research the links I provided to see if you are comfortable in performing “surgery” on your PC should you need to.

Final Verdict: 7/10

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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 2” by visiting the following websites:

http://www.crazymachinesgame.com/

http://store.steampowered.com/app/18400/

You can find the DLC here:

Crazy Machines 2: Back to the Shop Add-On

Crazy Machines 2: Liquid Force Add-on

Crazy Machines 2: Time Travel Add-On

Crazy Machines 2: Halloween

Crazy Machines 2: Happy New Year DLC

Crazy Machines 2 – Invaders from Space

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