For only $4.95 you can buy 3 games and donate to charity at the same time. Of course, you can pay more (or less) to this Humble Bundle if you would like to. The bundle consists of 3 different games in which you can pay how ever much you would like (minimum $4.95). Considering that you can pay what you want, it's a good deal given that separately they would cost $25. That's not the only great thing about this deal though: each game works on Mac, Windows, and Linux. This "Humble Bundle" is the 6th one iteration of the series, and is meant to help support gamer/tech related charities: Child's Play Charity, and the Electronic Frontier Foundation. You have the option to either pay to the charities or to the gaming companies.The first game I tested was Blocks That Matter - it got me hooked immediately! I was so focused on the game that I almost forgot that I had to review it! To my surprise, this indie game earned my undying love. In this game you're a robot that has been created by a couple of indie game makers. The game makers are captured by a villain in the beginning of the game; as the robot, you must take on the mission of going after your creators to save them. As you go through each puzzle you learn more about the story; the constant help from your creators as you go helps to propel the storyline.
Piece Your Way Through Each Puzzle
A challenging game that makes you think as you go through each puzzle to help save your creators. You're limited by what you can do and how you can do it: moving around, jumping, and drilling (not used as a weapon) are the only things you can do. This game will keep you thinking and gets your mind jogging. I enjoyed the variations of each puzzle and being able to unlock achievements as I go along. Unfortunately, I did not enjoy the story that was given to me as a player; Even though it hardly played a role on what I was doing inside the game, it never the less was annoying to have to read through. I also was pretty disappointed that the game didn't have any difficulty settings (some levels I wish were harder than others). They obviously tried to keep the game for all ages and did a great job with that. I enjoyed the gameplay and sometimes caught myself getting hooked and not wanting to pull away from the game to jot down some notes for this review!Blocks Do Matter!
Obviously Blocks is not meant to have graphics like Triple-A titles such like the "Call of Duty series"-- it's an indie game meant for all ages. You have to give them credit for what they were aiming for: a simple 'cutesy' kind of look. The animations are nothing to rave about -- I enjoyed what I was given -- but I know they could have done much more than they had. I was hoping that maybe the idle animation would change after a set period of time after the player was idle, but again, that's nothing too crazy to complain about.I Hear Techno
This was the most annoying thing I dealt with while reviewing this game. There is no music or ambient sounds based on your location. It's simply this repeated techno beat playing in your ear constantly. Every now and then you'll get a background piano sound or something of the sort, but it gets very repetitive when you're trying to concentrate on a puzzle. At least they have a selection of music for each puzzle, but it still feels like the same song since you're playing each level for about 10 minutes and the songs last around a minute (mind you: the beat is repeated, but the song is 1 minute then repeat). The sound effects are nice and I have nothing to complain about with those, it was just the annoying techno in each level...Features
This game offers a community section in which you can play other people's maps and you can create your own as well! This section is much like using any other level creator; it was made to be simple so that anyone could go about editing/creating their own levels. Unfortunately, you cannot play online against or with anyone, but you can at least play other's puzzles alone. You can play Bonus Levels if you unlock 'Stars' throughout the story mode (by doing an exceptional job on a certain puzzle).Although the sounds were an issue, I was able to go into settings and mute the sounds; which was unfortunate, as I would have loved to be able to listen to the sound effects rather than the 'soundtrack' while playing. Setting aside my normal 'requirements' and 'taste' for graphics, I learned to love the 'cutesy' look that they had given me. It's overall a great game and a MUST HAVE. Go out and get it while it's still cheap!
This is part of the Humble Bundle. For more information on the Humble Bundle read The Binding of Isaac or Voxatron.
