Amazing Alex Review-Byte – Well Put Together

When I was a kid, I used to enjoy setting up dominos in different patterns and watching how they fell over. No matter what I was building, I’ve always enjoyed watching contraptions go about their way. Thanks to Rovio’s latest game, Amazing Alex, I can not only get a lot of this childlike enjoyment back through my iPod, but I can try to collect three stars in the process.

You play as Alex, an inquisitive and inventive little boy who wants to set up devices that create different results such as moving boxes, popping balloons or getting a ball into a basket. Each level presents Alex with a limited number of tools and resources that the player must to position, rotate and really set things up to get the ball rolling, so to speak.

Gameplay is controlled entirely through the touch screen, tapping on an item will pull up a circle around it allowing the object to be moved by holding and dragging the center, or rotated by adjusting the circle itself. This can occasionally get frustrating when multiple items are close to one another, or with smaller objects such as tennis balls. Once everything is set up, simply press play, and the contraption will set into motion, with gravity working on certain objects, physics such as what bounces and what doesn’t, and the activation of sling-shots or angled ropes.

One of the interesting aspects of Amazing Alex is that it seemed like in several cases there was no right answer to some of these puzzles, with several of them having multiple solutions that can still give players a three star rating. The stars are scattered about the level, and if any object in the stage comes into contact with them, they’ll be picked up.

Amazing Alex is a fun title with a lot to offer. New tools and additions come into play often. Completing levels will unlock the various tools used for players to create and publish their own levels online, as well as allowing players to download levels from the internet. It’s certainly a game with a lot of potential, and no doubt has a lot of future content up its sleeve. While I’m not sure if it will have the same long lasting appeal as Rovio’s Angry Birds, Amazing Alex is certainly capable of standing on its own two feet as a solid title.

The Good

+Well working physics

+Quirky and fun layouts

+Game allows creativity in making and solving puzzles

The Bad

-Uneven difficulty curve

-Occasionally based on luck

The Verdict

Amazing Alex is imaginative and engaging. It is not a game to be missed.

Amazing Alex was released on July 12th, 2012 for iOS and Android devices. Review is based on the iOS version.