Title : The Brainies
Publisher : Titus Software
Developer : Titus Software
Genre : Puzzle
Players : 1 Player
Release Date : 1996
Estimated Value (as of today's date) : $15-$20
I never thought there would be a video game about Mexican jumping beans. Then again, there have been games I thought would that should have never gotten past the concept design stage. Here we are, introduced with a puzzle game entitled THE BRAINIES. Now, I didn't realize that mexican jumping beans are supposed to be fuzzy little fur balls. But what do I know?
I vaguely remember this game from back in the day, mainly thanks to the box art. It's pretty damn creepy if you think about it. Sort of reminds me of those old garbage pail kids cards. You remember those? Well, I may remember the box art, but I definitely don't remember playing the game. If you've read any of my reviews so far, you'd realize that I despise puzzle games for the most part.
Even if they do include evil little furballs. In fact, the only ones I did enjoy were from the NES days when I think back on the Adventures of Lolo series.
Titus takes you on a journey through over 100 levels of gradually increasing frustration as you attempt to get your multi-colored fuzz balls home. Ah well, let's get this over with.
The game relies on you directing each of your brainies into their appropriately colored holes. Blue brainies go in a blue hole, green brainies go in a green hole, etc. Sounds simple. Basically, the only thing you can do though in this game is direct a brainie to go in one specific direction. So, you click on a Brainie, tell it where to go, and it does so until it runs into something.
The first few stages are of course a piece of cake, but as the levels go on, more and more obstacles are introduced like directional arrows that force your brainie to go in a diff direction. Later on, you'll need to use items that you collect to clear obstacles, or create pathways for your brainies to use. Simple in concept and design, but it does get a tad boring after awhile.
That is, until you get to around level 50+. Then it's just a God damn headache.
The puzzle designs are well done to an extent, and there really isn't much to it. The game lacks a bit of creativity as it really doesn't do anything to set itself apart from other puzzle games of this genre. Unfortunately a simple puzzle game is all this really is.
Visually, there isn't much to write home about. I know graphical prowess shouldn't be a big deal in puzzle games, but BRAINIES is absolutely dull. Everything is just a different color palette from one level to the next. Even the brainies look the same. Hell, even in Dr. Mario they at least gave the viruses different designs to go along with their color changes.
In terms of music and sound? There's not much there either. A pretty lackluster soundtrack accompanied by a real lack of sound effects makes this game primarily silent. Boo....
A quick review, for a quickly tossed aside puzzle game that doesn't really hold my interest. Ah well....
Final Score (out of 5) :
Until next time, keep on gaming!
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