Microsoft Minesweeper Review by: zanderlex - 9/10
Why Must Sweeping Be So Difficult?I HATE Minesweeper. Well I don't, its just so darn hard. I remember watching this kid back in high school play it and I was like, wow, what the heck is that? It looks cool. But then I tried it out for myself and I realized that I had finally been beat by a video gam. Its not just this specific game, minesweeper itself is extremely difficult for some but its still a lot of fun and it really make you think. Its an addictive puzzle game that's a lot like Sudoku except you can't erase mistakes when you make one, the game just ends when you do, and isn't Sudoku a fun game even though its hard? Sure I've had my share of anger but I'm glad I discovered this game because its a lot of fun.
GRAPHICS 8/10
Most of the minesweeper games that I have ever played were done on simple maps and boards and had nothing special in the way they look but Microsoft takes this version to the next level and makes the game stand out with all of its color and design. For starters, you have a sleek panel full of blue tiles on a black background. This alone is pretty good looking but you also have the ability to change the theme to that of a garden. Doing this changes the panel so now it looks like grass, dirt, and ladybugs. In other words, the designs are simple but the game is full of color and it looks really nice so my grade for graphics will be an 8 out of 10.
SOUND 2/10
There's really little to nothing at all when it comes to the sounds of the game. When you're talking about music, there's a song that plays for about 1 to 2 seconds when you get the game over screen but that's all the music there is. When it comes to sounds, there's almost nothing. You hear slight clicks when you click on stuff in the menu, and you hear sounds when the game starts, when you click on a tile, when you click on a mine, and when the mines explode. It really says something about the game when you can name every single sound that plays throughout the entire game in one sentence. It would have been really nice if you at least get a small song playing when you're in the menu but you don't even get that and the only game that can be worse than this is one that has absolutely no sound at all. My grade for sound for this game is actually the lowest grade I have ever given at 2 out of 10.
ADDICTIVENESS 10/10
Something about this game is very addicting, even through all the screaming it's still a lot of fun. I never really take the time to think all of my choices through so maybe I might only win one out of every 20 games on the easy level, but that doesn't mean that I'm not having fun. Its a puzzle game, and games of this genre are always fun to play. I'll admit, I wont play this game for an hour or more at a time, but that's only because the games are quick. In 10 minutes I could probably play through 4 or 5 good games and have a good time and that's all that I really need. This I the kind of game though where you can play a little at a time over an extended amount of time and that's what makes it so addicting. My grade for addictiveness is going to be a 10 out of 10.
STORY N/A
Like most mobile games, there's no story at all. For this one, all you are doing is trying to uncover all kd the spaces that don't have a mine on them. If you can do that, then you win the game, but if you end up touching one of the mines, then it's game over and you have to start all over. That's pretty decent but there's no plot, so I can't give this aspect a grade.
DEPTH 9/10
Oh yes, this game has a lot to offer. First off, you have the ability to choose between the normal the.e and the garden one. Sure, you only have one option, but it still gives some customization. Next you have the difficulty levels, you have a 9 by 9 level, there's a 16 by 16 level, and you also have a 32 by 16 level. Just having that alone is pretty good but on top of all that, you have the ability to create your own custom board and you can change the size from 9 by 9 all the way up to 30 by 24 and you can place almost as many mines as you want onto the field. Lastly you also have a variety of achievements and badges for you to unlock. The game has a lot of depth and as for a grade it gets a 9 out of 10.
DIFFICULTY 9
This is definitely one of the hardest games that I have ever played, but its not this specific game that's hard, it's Minesweeper in general that makes me want to tear my hair out. You need to be very careful because no matter how far into a round you made it, if you touch a mine, that's it, the game is over and you lose. You get no sort of warning aside for a number on each tile that tells you how many mines that tile is touching but that's it so you need to pay attention and you need to think, plan, and come up with some educated guesses. If you just randomly pick tiles, there's almost a 0 percent chance that you're going to win because this game is based all on thinking and that's what makes it such a challenging game. Thus is one of the toughest games ever and as for a grade, it deserves a 9.
OVERALL 9/10
Even though this game is incredibly tough, it offers a good amount of entertainment to anyone who plays it and satisfies the urge for a good puzzle, even if you die in the process. If you don't like puzzles or games like this then I would suggest staying far away from this game, but if you do, then give it a shot. I liked the game after I got past all of the pain that it had caused me and my overall grade for this game is going to be a 9 out of 10.
Graphics
8 Sound
2 Addictive
10 Depth
9 Difficulty
9
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