h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

In all my (mumble) years of gaming I've loved a good puzzler. Devil Dice on Playstaion was very basic and highly addictive, many an eveing was spent playing the game on inifinite time and trying to beat my hubby's score. I'd go to bed with muticoloured dice falling before my eyes. A slightly different version of it was brought out for PS2 called Bombastic, but it wasn't the same and didn't have the charm of the original.

The beauty and simplicity of a good puzzler is that generally speaking there is only one (or maybe two) ways of completeng the level and trail and error are sometimes the best way to deal with them. XBox Live Arcade is littered with Puzzle Games and some are pure brilliance. Axel and Pixel is a point and click, beautifully handrawn game based in the Dream World, you have to overcome obstacles and beat surreal beasts to complete a picture - very good indeed. Then there's Ilomilo, two cute little thumb-like creatures that you have to reunite in each level, overcoming traps, travelling on platforms and teleporting. All this to the music of a Primary school orchestra. I loved this game and even bought the add on for it to extend it's life. I also have to small espresso cups one called Ilo and one called Milo (yes, I know).

Which brings me to The Bridge (sorry 2legs, the princess game *was* rather but a new puzzler is always welcome) The demo levels were rather easy, the game itself is a different thing entirely. It's pencil drawn and quite charming, but gods it makes you think. Changing the gravity, manipulating huge balls, changing colour from grey to white I may be at it some time. When I've completed the game there's an additional mode where all the areas are 'mirrored' (that's going to be fun).

As an aside, I forgot to post this yesterday so there will be a double dose...

[Amy P]