Heroes of Kalevala
4.3
5
12
12
Lots of interesting things going on
Top marks to the designers for trying to add originality to the standard match 3 format. The iced tiles drip water like melting ice cubes. The matching icons are sharp, brilliantly colored, and have fun animations, like the oyster flipping open its shell to reveal a pearl. The timer, (which really isn't a problem), is represented by a crow flying around the puzzle and leaving a trail of fire. The power-ups are interesting and based upon superpowers of heroes, such as a hammer thrown by the game that smashes multiple tiles, or a flood of water by an ocean god that washes away tiles. But you only get one superhero per level, so you've got to decide which one will help the most based upon the layout of the tiles and the blocks, like chains.
Creating the village didn't seem to be a big thing. It goes slowly, but the graphics and animations are nice. I'm not a city-builder type of player, so it's nice that you can come back to the game now and again without feeling you have to play through to the end. I'd give it a try. Oh wait, I already did!
January 5, 2013
One of my favorite games to play again
I thought I'd submit this review after playing this entire long game again -- actually, twice -- long after I first bought it.
I want to start out by saying I hate timed games, and this game is semi-timed, in the sense that there is a timer, but there are oppotunities to stop it that do not otherwise interfere with game play. To be precise, you can stop the forward movement of the crow by making matches or blowing up bombs near it. (This is a part of the tutorial.)
The thing that makes me love this game that I really should not like is the choice of "gods" to help with finishing each level. Some levels are very hard, but instead of trying the same thing over and over, you can change the helping "god" and the level will feel different on replay.
And here is one non-spoiler secret from a long-time player of this game: you get better as you keep replaying it, so the frustration factor relating to the difficult levels goes down the more you play.
Finally, building the four villages is so much fun on its own that it gives lots of additional value to the game It's not just the rote using up of credits because that's what's expected. Each time I've played the game I've enjoyed building better and prettier villages and watching happy villagers.
To me, at least, this game has endless replay value.
June 29, 2012