Puz: Plummit [by Purplenose Games]

Game Review:  Plummit
Release: March 30, 2004
Genre: Puzzle
Developer: Purplenose Games
System Requirements:  Pentium II, 32MB RAM, 3D Graphics Card, DirectX7
Players: 1-2 (vs)
Price: $11.95
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Plummit. Don’t spill. Don’t drop things in the wrong places. And most of all, don’t pull all of your hair out trying to solve “just this one puzzle”. Pipe Mania meets Tetris meets The Incredible Machine. Read for yourself how Purplenose Games manages to blend three formidable ideas into a very, very addictive and unique puzzle game!

First, take note that Plummit is actually two games disguised as one. There are two game modes, the action mode – which also supports head to head duels – and the puzzle mode. In the action mode, you need to build a pipeline from the tap to the goal with random blocks that fall down from the sky and can be turned and moved about much like Tetris blocks. After a few seconds, water will start to spew forth from the tap, and you need to make sure that all water is contained in your pipe system at all times. However, instead of being yet another “stack-the-random-blocks” game, Plummit offers interesting challenges in the form of magical objects, mirrors, hover platforms, conveyor belts, and more that you’ll need to overcome with skill and a bit of luck. Quite often, you’ll find yourself facing two or even more taps that need to be plumbed into the pipe system so that no water is spilled, flowers are watered (for extra lives), and the goals are reached. Each level is part of a chain of islands in the “Island Hopping” game, as the action mode is called. There are a large number of these “Archipelagos”, each with a different theme, and there’s even a thorough and enjoyable tutorial. Extra level packs can be downloaded for free, including an easier pack designed for children. Island Hopping games seldom last more than a few minutes, which makes them perfect for occasional just-for-fun play.

On the other hand, there’s the puzzle mode. There, solving one of the 65 Levels (and more can be downloaded, as well) can easily take an hour of intense scheming, planning, trial, and experimentation. Instead of containing a relentless stream of water in your random pipe system, the puzzle game lets you choose when to start the water, and where to place which tiles. No time limits whatsoever. However, you will only have a limited number of tiles, magnets, crates, and magical objects to place, and you need to build a working pipeline with those parts, often in very complex environments. I remember a level where you had to use a magix tile to pull a piece of pipe out from underneath an anvil, and immediately have a mirror tile create a phantom copy of another tile in the empty space to prevent the weight from crushing the other crucial tiles below. There’s a comprehensive tutorial, and each puzzle level has a short description and sometimes a hint or two that are quite worthwhile to read.

Plummit has a wide variety of difficulty settings, islands and puzzle levels (you can start anywhere you want, so it’s impossible to get stuck playing the same level over and over again), ranging from very easy to insanely difficult. But because the game mechanics are somewhat complex, the game might not be suited for younger children, despite the bubble-gum cute graphics!

Last, but not least, the game offers a head to head mode of action play, where two players can compete against each other in a Tetris-style split screen match. Again, Purplenose manages to make the game stand out by allowing both players to drop their tiles (or bombs, or mirrors) wherever they please – even on the opponent’s side. Actually, there is no such thing as a wall between the two sides in some levels, so the competition is very likely to be running out of hand in no time, with both players trying to desperately mend the mad contraption of pipes they’ve fabricated while trying to disrupt each other’s efforts at the same time. This is almost guaranteed to be fun on small parties with friends!

Graphics: 8
Very cute, very functional, very colourful. The only nitpick I have is that you can only play the game at 800x600 or below, which means that on modern flat panel screens, the game might look a little blurry. I haven’t seen any graphics glitches, and since Plummit uses 2D graphics rendered as simple textures on 3D hardware, you’ll get very smooth game play even on slower machines. Purplenose Games lists a 300MHz Pentium II and DirectX 7 as the minimum requirement.

Sound: 7
Plummit has a mellow, smooth soundtrack, but it gets monotonous after a while. One of the tracks has a loud click in it when it loops, as well. The game’s sound effects are simple, but certainly superior to the sounds of other puzzle games, especially the countless Tetris clones out there.

Game Play: 10
This game is excellent. I couldn’t stop grinning starting with the first tutorial level because I enjoyed Plummit so much! I spent whole afternoons trying to solve puzzles, and spent many a coffee break playing the action game while my drink got cold. If you’re looking for a puzzle game to spend the next couple of months playing – go for it! If you’re not looking for a puzzle game, at least give the demo a try! You won’t regret it. Plummit manages to be new and different in every level. There are never any boring stages or puzzles that can’t be solved using pure logic.

Value: 10
Free level packs, a large collection of levels already included in the standard game, hardly any bugs or glitches, good performance on most computers, and a price tag just below $12. Definitely a bargain, don’t you think?

Concept: 10
Purplenose outdoes the competition by fusing three extremely successful game ideas together, creating an unique new puzzle game that clearly stands out from the crowd. Themed levels, cute and original hazards, and little details such as the tiny volcano whose eyes follow the mouse cursor show us that a lot of effort went into making Plummit special.

Fun: 10
The hilarious head to head action game for two players, the interesting and diverse single play in Island Hopping mode, and the puzzle mode all have one thing in common: When you fail, it’s never frustrating. Instead, you know what you did wrong, and will gladly opt to try again when the game asks you. The world of Plummit is friendly, bright, and colourful, and it’s fun to watch a complex contraption of pipes and magical tiles create a working irrigation system after half an hour of planning and relentless rearranging of building blocks. In my humble opinion, Plummit is definitely one of the best puzzle games in 2004.

Overall: 10
For a puzzle game, this is as good as it gets. The game manages, through a limited set of simple rules, to create a game world that is rich and infinitely flexible. The levels offer seemingly endless variation, and you always have a choice of levels to play in puzzle mode (or paths in Island Hopping mode) in case you find yourself stumped and would like to come back later to solve one particularly challenging case. The game’s difficulty is consistent, yet still slightly fluctuates from level to level. This way, skipping a puzzle level won’t mean that you’ll face an even more unsolvable challenge the next time, but instead, you can choose an entirely different puzzle and still have a decent chance to solve it.

Added: December 4th 2004
Reviewer: Moritz Voss
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