Speed Cluster 2
Game-Pure has just released a sequel to its fantastic Flash-based single-player interpretation of the classic card game of Speed.
Speed Cluster 2 upgrades the audio-visual presentation while maintaining the same engaging game play that made the original so compelling and fun.
Unique to this version are changing background audio and visuals as you level-up your game, providing something new to distract you while playing. Whether this is a good thing depends entirely on your personal preference and ability to multitask. If you're one of those that simply needs lots concurrent stimuli, you're likely to prefer this version.
On the one hand I do like some of the audio choices. I enjoyed it so much that I even kept the game open and playing while writing up this review. That being said, the song that comes in with the second level is quite irritating to me, and yet it just made me want to play faster to get beyond it. The changing audio and visuals makes the experience somewhat reminiscent to playing the original Lumines game for Sony's PSP, though not as well done.
Still unchanged, however, is the use of the insidious Flash custom cursor which, although aesthetically pleasing, does more to degrade the experience than add to it (Update: I just received word from Game-Pure that after reading our review, a new version of the game was made to allow you to select a normal cursor on the title screen! Arigatoo gozaimasu, Game-Pure!). Also unchanged, as Uri Arad pointed out in the comments, is the fatiguing click-drag interface. Still, I can't stop playing this game in all its iterations, which indicates the annoyance as minor when all things considered.
Cheers to James for the alert about the new version. =)
Nice game, can get pretty addictive.
The main down side is the use of click&drag as the main game interface. This is always a bad choice of user interface, game or otherwise.
Actually I have a deeper problem with this game. I don't like it's method of difficulty increasing. I don't like that it makes difficulty relative of score. This means that the beginning of the game is an exercise in futility, as early-game combos don't *actually* help your total score in the late game. The better you do earlier just means you get to the later part of the game faster.
What I would like is for this game to get progressively harder as you play it, but NOT relative of the score you have, rather, relative of the time you've spent playing it.
Say, the game becomes near-impossible at the 4 minute mark, then I could play it several times and see what my best score is. THAT would be fun.
I'm going to get carpal tunnel playing this game.
This most definitely needs a different interface.
It also needs a "Music selection mode" like lumines'.
My hand hurts now... D:
While I agree about the interface, make sure you don't make the same mistake I did and assume you have to drag the cards over top the desired falling card/pile.
Cards only have to be dragged to the dividing line between where the cards appear and the area where the cards fall, directly underneath the desired card/pile.
That makes the interface tolerable enough for me to come back to this game again and again. =)
...and also, be sure you don't accidentally click at the bottom of a pile's column... that sends it straight to the check-out aisle to cash in your points. i've blown many a lengthy combo by clicking in the wrong spot.
overall, i'd say the music isn't too bad. even that level two song is decent (once you get past the first few measures of it). the one complaint i'd file though... while variety is good, this is just a bit too much variety. you go from techno to rap to something you'd hear while practicing yoga to jazz to (*head asplodes here). it'd really be nice if there were at least some sort of continuity to the music, or at least one common theme or genre, rather than the whole kit'n'kaboodle in one shot.
and something that still makes me want to punch this game... the fact that the game ends rather abruptly. your only clue that you're about to die is the fact that the cards shake. no countdown timer or anything.... i've played with the cards vibrating for twenty straight seconds, and i've played for three seconds before i die. we really need a countdown timer.
that, and if you have any combos started when time runs out, they count for nothing. i had a pretty large combo going that would have kept me alive for so much longer, but since time ran out, it was all for naught. and to add insult to injury, it registered the combo after time ran out, and the bar on the right clearly indicated that it would have been a level up... but toooooo late, game was already called.
i really don't want to sound cynical, but they really haven't improved this game much at all. yes, there's new music, but that has its mixed blessings (see above). the new visuals don't really do anything for me. i barely notice them when i'm playing. nothing has changed as far as gameplay goes, as far as i can tell. so... this one just didn't jive with me. c'est la vie, it happens.
Great feedback, art!
Here's a helpful tip: If the cards are starting to shake and you have combos ready, make them fall immediately because that will actually ADD MORE TIME and thus prolong your game. =)
i love this game .. was very addicted to the first .. now i will be to the second one
104160 first try (max combo 17)
took a while to work out what to do, but from there it just flowed... nice music
I don't know if this has been mentioned before, but you actually can change the pointer at the beginning of the game...
OMG. I swear that option (to change the mouse cursor) was not there when I play tested the game for the review. I even wrote the Game-Pure folks to request this function be added.
Perhaps they received my email? =)
my high score: 484260, lvl 100. max combo: 39
i loved the first one. i think the biggest improvement is the changing of the cursor. though its basically the same game, thats enough for me to choose this one over the original.
id love to see this on the ds. would work beautifully with the touch screen and is just such a fun timewaster. they could probably mix in a multiplayer mode like speed too.
The cursor option isn't without its downfall though.
This glitch has happened twice (out of 2 loads of the page) - using the neutral cursor (the non-custom one), if you play two games in a row (without changing in between) your cursor dies. That is, it is replaced with what seems to be an invisible custom cursor when you start the second game.
Very nice game - good lookin' and plays well, also addictive. It's good also how the game helps you to make combos at times.
Slanzinger, that has also happened to me using the custom cursor. It's very annoying.
Very addictive and I like the music too. It suits the game perfectly :-)
Imagine how fast you could play the game by selecting a card with q,w,e,r,t,z and sending it to a column with 1,2,3,4,5,6. Still a great game.
ChronoX5, that thought simultaneously terrifies me and piques my interest. I, for one, would like to see that option.
I really love this game. I think it's even better than the original card game.
But there are a few problems with consistancy as other people have mentioned and that really bugs me. I also found my cursor going invisible on me, which is really annoying, but discovered it could be fixed with right clicking.
I don't know if I'm an idiot for not finding it, but is there a pause or menu button?
At the menu screen, the game gives you a Level based on the CP you've accrued to that point (in the bottom left). Right above that level, it says "Your Speed."
I haven't played the game enough to see all of them, and I have no idea if this level affects gameplay at all. No reference to any game mechanic in the instructions includes mention of this "Level."
So far I've seen the following "Levels."
0-1500: Slow
1500-3000: Accel
3000-9000: Dash
I'll report more as I play.
Oh my. That's a rather large jump to the next one. The score is 3x the previous cutoff.
9000-27000: Turbo
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