Pipe Mania returns with all new digs
by Eric March on July 10, 2009 at 12:36 pm
Rate it:
(11 votes, average: 4.27 out of 5)
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App Name: | Pipe Mania |
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| Developer: | Robosoft |
Version: | 1.0 | |
| Publisher: | Virtual Programming |
Size: | 64.7 MB |
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| Category: | Logic & Puzzle Games |
Price: | $4.99 |
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The first and last time I played the official version of this game, it was called Pipe Dream and was published by Lucasfilm Games on the Atari ST. And oh, how I played.
Like a few innovative handfuls of games throughout history, Pipe Mania (which was really its original name, even if it will always be Pipe Dream to me), originally developed for the Commodore Amiga by The Assembly Line in 1989, was one of those genre-defining games that spawned hundreds of imitators over the years whose homages would never be able to escape the comparison no matter how much they tried to separate themselves from their roots. And, like so many of the games that became such timeless classics, it was all based on a simple premise with simple gameplay. In this case, it was to build a pipeline to guide the water from predefined Point A to predefined Point B using shaped pipes selected from a randomly chosen stack, and do it before the water catches up and spills all over the place.
Yes, I played. A lot. It had tremendous addictive qualities. Trying to build the longest pipeline you can, building in as many loops as you can for big points, and completing the line before the water caught up — it was loads of fun. But the last time I played, it was what it was intended to be: Unapologetically simple; the same thing level after level, increasing only the speed of the water to put the pressure on the further you got. Now that Pipe Mania has hit the iPhone, it has really grown up — and how. It’s 20 years old this year, in fact, and to see what Pipe Mania has become is a bit like visiting your old home town after a long absence and discovering that little Becky next door has lost the braces and blossomed into a beautiful young woman you suddenly feel like a perv for ogling.
That’s because Razorworks and Empire, who released this updated version for the PSP, took the original game and packed so much more into it that if it were that all-grown-up girl-next-door, it would be sporting a set of quadruple-Ds. (And having said that, I may have just become one of the only geeks ever to metaphorically link a puzzle game’s evolution to a ginormous rack. Hey, hey … pay attention here.) Now Robosoft have come along and ported it to the iPhone, published through Virtual Programming, and they’ve done a mighty find job of it, too. Oh, the basic premise and play mechanic is still fully intact, of course, but now there’s more. Much more — I was actually kind of shocked how much more. I figured this would be a pretty simple review — Pipe Mania, enhanced graphics, same gameplay, yadda yadda yadda, snap a few screenies and it’s done. I couldn’t have been more wrong if I grabbed the mic at the Staples Center earlier this week and started telling Michael Jackson jokes.
To start with, the game features a ton of unlockables in the form of treasure chests you get either for earning medals within the game or finding hidden treasure chests — 35 in all. In an unusual (but not unprecedented) move, the classic gameplay mode is actually reserved as one of those unlockables, so you’ll start playing in World mode which, as you can probably guess, features a story-based world-level system much like Super Mario World, complete with end-of-world bosses you need to defeat, each of whom are trying to destroy your beautiful plumbing job. The game mechanics in world mode are pretty much the same: Tap to place a piece, tap over an existing piece that doesn’t have fluid in it to blow it up and replace it with the next piece in the stack, and connect the pipeline to its drainage outlet before the “flooze” (as it is referred to here) leaks out. Scoring is based on how much time is left when the level is completed, plus bonuses for loops, and minus points for how many pipes you had to blow up during the course of the game, and how many unused pipes are left over on the level. You’ll earn bronze, silver or gold medals depending on how well you do.
The level layouts start off quite familiar (though with updated graphics), progressive levels featuring bonus fixed-place pieces that gain you bonus points if you can steer the flooze through them. But eventually things start diving into unfamiliar territory. Obstacles such as rubber ducks, sponges, toilet bowls, soap cakes and more turn up on various levels and force you to take detours to get the flooze to the drain. And then … and then the attacks come, wherein a giant fist comes down and smashes your pipes, causing them to leak and forcing you to jab the repair button and start tapping the damaged, leaky pipes to repair them. And then, as you move through the 7 different worlds, you change professions, laying tracks on a railroad, fiber-optics on the internet, wiring for electricity, and more, each with their own unique obstacles and bosses to navigate. Truly, our simple plumber has expanded his skillset in the last couple of decades.
As mentioned, you’ll find treasure chests, as well as earn them through medals that will go into your treasure room. You’ll find that some unlock game modes — classic, arcade, and bonus puzzle modes (”match” and “spin”) are all there for the unlocking. Others unlock things such as new music, characters, and so on — I won’t spoil the fun of finding them out for yourself.
As you can see, this ain’t the fresh young Pipe Mania you remember from so long ago. This is much, much more than it ever was, having been stuffed to capacity with new graphics, new themes, new gameplay modes, new bonuses, new hazards, new characters — new everything, all on top of its original classic gameplay. Did I mention the lengthy animated intro sequence? Because it has a lengthy and well-done animated intro sequence. All in all, Pipe Mania for iPhone and iPod Touch proved to be far more than I expected, and a great deal more than I thought it could be. I had initially raised a bit of an eyebrow at the price tag — I mean, even Pipe Mania with updated graphics is still Pipe Mania — but once I found out just how much new content they’ve packed in here, I realized that’s actually more than reasonable. There’s a ton of replay value and plenty of goals to work toward to keep things fresh and interesting.
Fans of the original should find plenty to love in this new and updated version no matter how many times you played it back in the day, and should have no trouble considering it $5 well-spent. There is presently no free lite version to try out, but I’m sure one will be on its way at some point.
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Posted in Games: Logic & Puzzle, Paid Apps
Hope you enjoy playing it for a long time.
Hey Eric,
Thanks a lot for the detailed review. Glad you liked the game. Pipe Mania can be really addictive for those who like the puzzle genre. And this port has lot of additional content that should make sure you get your money’s worth. Its a ‘Must have’ for every iPhone or iPod touch owner.
Hope you enjoy playing it for a long time.
Let us know if you have any suggestions and we’ll try our best to implement it.
Cheers!!!