RealMaze 3D makes claustrophobia fun!
by Eric March on July 3, 2009 at 12:29 pm
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(4 votes, average: 4.25 out of 5)
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App Name: | RealMaze 3D |
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| Developer: | Starscene Software |
Version: | 1.2 | |
| Publisher: | Starscene Software |
Size: | 17.7 MB |
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| Category: | Logic & Puzzle Games |
Price: | $1.99 |
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I’ve probably mentioned somewhere along the line that I dig maze games.
They’re simple and fun. I’m sure we’ve all played the old 2D maze games with pencil and paper. When I got my first Atari 2600 I used to play Maze Craze, which was the digital version — and there have been many hundreds like it. (Let’s not bring up Pac Man; that’s not a proper maze game) Now, when you shove the person into a 3D maze environment in the first-person, things get a lot more interesting. You can no longer see the whole maze, only your immediate surroundings. When I got CBS Software’s Tunnel Runner for the Aari 2600, it spoiled me for traditional 2D maze games. Oh, the maze itself still existed on 2D plane, but the first-person perspective — especially being so well done on the 2600, hooked me hard and fast. Plus, 3D mazes appealed to the explorer in me, which is part of the reason such games were a gateway to first-person RPGs.
So now, more than 25 years after I played my first computerized maze game, I’m still playing them, and after seeing Starscene’s contribution to the genre on the iPhone, I knew I’d found the perfect portable maze game, so I bought it. And it is purely a maze game. There are no minotaurs or monsters following you around — though I think this would be a pretty cool option — and no time limits. Just you stuck in maze full of twisting corridors and claustrophobic dead ends. Oh, and ladders.
See, the the 3D part of its name isn’t just about the fact that it’s a first-person, OpenGL-ES-based maze game, but also the fact that the maze itself spans three dimensions, which increases the challenge exponentially — literally. Suddenly, that tiny old-school 10×10 maze ain’t so tiny anymore, not when there are 10 of ‘em stacked one atop another, all interconnected with only one way out. That’s just an example, though — in fact, RealMaze 3D offers 5 different maze sizes: Tiny (5×5x5, 125 cells), small (6×6x7, 252 cells), normal (7×7x9, 441 cells), large (9×9x12, 972 cells), and insane (10×10x17, 1700 cells). The mazes are randomly generated each time, so you needn’t worry about running out of mazes to solve. At the end of each maze you’re presented with a layered representation of the maze showing where you’ve visited (in green) and what you passed over, and you can scroll up and down through the layers. It’s a little confusing for some and it’s there mainly for curiosity’s sake. Personally, I think it would have been cooler if it were presented using a translucent cube that you could rotate and zoom in on, showing your route in real 3D.
The game controls primarily by on-screen buttons; forward and backward movement is on your left, while turning left and right, and looking up and down are on the right. Ladders are ascended and descended by looking up or down respectively and moving forward. You generally move one square at a time, but you can hold down the movement button to move continuously. There are also a pair of helpers available if you need them by tapping on the gear on the top right. This will bring up the pause menu and allow you to toggle breadcrumbs and a compass. The compass is self-explanatory; breadcrumbs leave a trail wherever you go, so you can always tell where you’ve been. Be warned though, enabling either of these makes your timer go more quickly, so you likely won’t make any high scores using them. You can also enable tilt to look, but I found this to be quite cumbersome to use.
In addition to the standard 5 maze sizes, this version also features a new daily challenge maze, which creates a randomly generated maze of arbitrary size (one that doesn’t necessarily conform to the standard maze sizes available) that everyone can compete in for a high score. The maze is the same for everyone and is updated each day at midnight (pacific). The catch here though is that while you can attempt the daily maze as many times as you like, only the time of your first attempt qualifies for the high score table.
What really sets RealMaze 3D head, shoulders, torso and naughty bits above any competition it might have though is its immersiveness. The graphic design here is just beautiful, and it’s deftly applied across three distinct themes: The dank, mossy dungeon; the brick-and-mortar basement; and the mansion, with its rich moulded wood panelling. Each have their own little bits of filligree that isn’t necessary but really puts the finishing touches on: Shackles and other such artifacts in the dungeon; pipes and grates in the basement; and medieval artifacts on the walls in the mansion. You’ll even come across areas where there are no lights, or where the lights have a cooler or warmer temperature, casting reddish, yellowed, or bluish tints as if different bulbs were used. Each theme has its own set of matching sounds, too, from the sound of your footfalls on the ground and climbing ladders to the ambient background noises that accompany you. All of it brings together a sense of immersion that few iPhone games are capable of doing. Themes are chosen randomly, but you can tell what theme will be chosen for your next level by looking at the maze overview in the backrgound of the main menu, as it’s wrapped in the theme you’ll be seeing when you start your next maze.
And if you’re a fan of maze games, you will be starting you next maze, and your next one — because, aside from the fact that any maze fan and iDevice owner worth even a pinch of salt should go and get this immediately, it also has quite an addictive quality that will have you continually trying to get through the mazes and best your scores. There is unfortunately no lite version available, which is a shame because while it’s completely possible to appreciate the beauty of this maze game through screenshots and video, it’s even better to experience it for yourself. Then again, it’s only $2, and if maze games are right in your wheelhouse, it’ll be two of the best dollars you’ll have spent.
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Posted in Games: Logic & Puzzle, Paid Apps
