Talk about your misnomers! With a name like The Mind Bender, you'd think you were in for an epically long and devious puzzler. Instead, you get a simple, breezy platformer that should make for a nice break from the some of the more intense offerings we've reviewed lately.
Let the soothing oriental soundtrack whisk your worries away as you navigate your way through each level using the arrow keys. Using mouse-over-matter techniques, you may drag the wooden boxes to places that help you get over obstacles or keep you from landing on the dangerous spikes. Just click the box to form a telekinetic tether and drag it where you need it to be. While it is being transported, the box will blow an electric blue, and you'll be able to pass right through it if you wish, but it turns solid again once it comes to rest (unless you're in the way).
Besides spikes and boxes, the only other special block type is a glowing green barrier. You can pass through it, but blocks may not. There are no moving blocks or platforms, no keys to collect, no coins to seek out, just you and some boxes. This necessarily limits the variety of levels, but The Mind Bender does a good job of exploring the possibilities nonetheless. It also makes the mouse/keyboard duality of controls bearable, since at no time are you under any pressure to use both in rapid succession.
It's OK to zone out while playing The Mind Bender — it's really not that taxing on your brain or your fingers, nor is it trivially easy. Instead, it hits the sweet spot in between, in the realm where it's possible to put yourself halfway onto autopilot while you decompress. Think somewhere in between Solitaire and Ball Revamped.
Or just play it for fun. That always works, too.
Link is borked.
http://www.armorgames.com/games/themindbender.html
Hmm, looks like a good game. Just so long as there are no more Spoonerisms and not-hard-to-figure-out passwords. Still, "Mind Bender" does sound like a more mysterious title than "Box Chucker".
Interesting, but I gave up after
That level with the cone placed in the middle of the spikes, up on that platform to the right. I got all the way to the cone and thought I had landed right on it, but apparently I missed and was killed. It just wasn't worth going through all the box chucking again.
So I guess my verdict is: "Interesting, but doesn't grab me enough to keep me playing."
Found a bug: After you finish the game, hit continue on the main menu. You'll be dropped into an empty level, where you always die (by falling out of it).
Do'h! was going to report link not working, but already happened!
Neither of the links in the review work. I found it anyways, but :/
I got upto the level Suho was talking about and decided to quit too. I really dont like how easy it is to jump too far and the keys feel too sensitive, I mean, barely tapped the a & d keys and the guy moves so fast.. I dont know, it's an ok game, but I wasnt too happy with the "fluidity" (key sensitivity) of the movement.
Links are fixed now, sorry about that. :(
GREAT GAME! I love very much this kind of games, hope for a "Mind Bender II"!!!!
Fairly neat, slightly clumsy, overall good for a lark.
After you beat the game: (NOTE: there is no plot to spoil, but still...)
The credits are actually another level, with promise of an extra challenge or some such. When I reached that cone, however, I was returned to the title screen. Clicking continue afterwards will throw you into a room with no level loaded, creating an endless, dying loop.
Whoops! Actually, he jumps in the direction of the mouse cursor, which I hadn't noticed for a while. Pardon me.
lol nice game but I gave up at the first blue wall level.
It's an ok game, but it could use a ton of improvement. I agree with the "too sensitive controls" complaint - it's hard to land accurately on a specific box, and you need to often. Also, corner collision detection seems off; many times I 'crashed' even though the character was clearly completely above the ledge. The most annoying thing, however, is the 'spring physics' attached to the block movement. Sure, it's nifty as an effect, but as a gameplay mechanic it's worthless, besides making it slow and difficult to place the boxes accurately. Directly being able to click and move the boxes, while a lot more mundane, would be better from a gameplay perspective. I suppose making the spring a lot tighter and shorter would cure it well enough, while retaining the "bling" factor...
Links in the review aren't working for me.
aye - that 'nearly impossible' level? Where was that exactly? Is that the infinite dying white screen of death die?
How do you get past the one level with the one box and all those spikes? I can't get it.
need help on level where there is just a long row of spikes and one box i have no idea of what to do please help
how do you beat level 6?
There's another box at the far right side of the level. You can't actually see it, but you can grab it with your telekinesis.
The one part where
the music changes to loud techno type music and 'error' flashes all over the page
was really annoying. the levels were all so easy, but the sound was intolerable (I turned the speakers off.) Also, I don't like the loud static sound played when you move a box does not very well represent telekeneisis (moving somethng using your brain power alone) which it is, i think.
Re: To get past the level with 1 box and the long row of spikes...
put your cursor on the screen (far right) click left mouse button and hold, and pull the *secret* second box (from right side of screen to left) towards telekinetic Ted - - - at least, that's what I've named him ;)
Links still don't work.... the bottom one is missing the L on the end, the top one also doesn't work, though I can't see an error with that...
Direct link to the game is http://www.armorgames.com/games/themindbender_game.html
Link to the game page is
http://www.armorgames.com/games/themindbender.html
Sorry folks. I've been away for a few days, but I'm back now and I'm catching up on fixing the finer details of the last few days.
The links should all be fixed now. Thanks for bearing with us! :D
Well I'm with the "too sensitive controls" consensus. This could be a fun game but trying to control the character is like trying to control a hyperactive poodle by yelling louder. And the goofy rubber-band control of objects gets old quick too.
With a little tweaking this would be an entertaining waste of time.
Re: "Impossible Level"
When you're finished, you see this message: "You have finished the last level. Congratulations. Was it hard? I hope so." but, have 'telekinetic Ted' keep running right to play 'the impossible level'. (Which to me, anyway, wasn't so 'impossible' at all.) And it won't be to you either if you follow the next tip!
Re: 'Touchy' Control's
There's a lot more control of the character when you involve the mouse for EACH MOVE. Place the mouse on or above the block you're jumping on to (kinda like in 'real life'; y'know, the whole 'keep your eye on the prize'?) - - - it seem's to aid in accuracy & precision, and makes the 'impossible jumps' possible! :)
This is as far as i've gotten, and I'm stumped.
The level with the steps down to the spikes, a tall wall with a box barrier at the top, and a small area above the barrier. It only gives you two boxes, which I can't seem to place anywhere that'll make the jump feasable, and I can't seem to get anywhere to grab more boxes.
Jess, I'm stuck at the same place. However, I may have figured out how to solve it
If drag one of the boxes to the right-most spot (next to the wall), land on it, then move the other box across the path, you can see a box in the locked-in area.
However, i have no idea how to use it to my advantage.
Pre-edit: Nevermind, figured out how to solve it.
if you drag it to the top-right section of the locked-off area, then down to the floor of boxes, right, up and left (through the path), you can get it to where you are. This gives you a third box to work with
whoops, disregard that last post. Here's why it won't work:
It turns out that was the box i threw over there in the first place. Still though, the knowledge of you being able to go through that path to get to the goal seems relevant somehow.
Sorry for the triple post.
I have an interesting tip on how to view the whole level when you're stuck on a portion:
If you drag the window to the left (where it's half off the screen or more), making sure there are no boxes on the right, you can click and drag to the right and see it all. Same goes for all directions. This helps on those levels where you think you need another box, but can't find it.
Interesting concept, and fun...however, the controls are a little too sensitive. I don't like games where I try to correct an action a little and wind up over-correcting this much.
OK I FIGURED OUT THAT LEVEL!!!
ok so when you spawn on the level with spikes and two boxes,you lift both boxes one on top of other onto edge of platform you spawn on, it still is on platform, and you jump on it, get as far back on the boxes as possible and run as far to the right of the boxes as possible then jump, try to land on the ledge with the force field, fall into it onto the brick below force field and the take both boxes all the way right of your computer screen, then take them down and to the left, it should come into area with you, then put them on spikes in a row in front of you and jump on then go onto next box and put one to left in front of you walk on it ext...
There you go!
How do you beat the level where you cant move the creates??
I can't get past the level after the techno portion- the others I found remarkably easy, once I figured them out... and on this one, I can get all the way to the single box that floats on the mid-left part of the screen. After that, though, no matter what I do, I can't make it to the platform of the pink triagle... help anyone??
Great game and all...but I tried to digg it while in the middle of playing my game and it cut me off! argh!!
I'm stuck at the level with the long, blue Mind Shield thing with the 2 boxes above it, 7 boxes below it, and the level-ending red triangle at the top center, surrounded by spikes. I got as far as to the far right side of it with the 2 boxes but I can't figure out where to go from there.
I'm totally stuck on level 7! Any tips? Please!!!:)
in the level with the 2 boxes and a mind barrier and an empty shaft-like area bring the 2 boxes to the end of the spawning platform(as I call it) run to the end and jump do not fall dow near the spikes bring the o to the rightmost area and click and a box will come bring the box where you can jump to it(near the middle) and jump onto the triangle.THIS BETTER WORK I SPENT SO MUCH TIME TYPING.
I agree with all the people who said
the controls are sensitive
Help me please...level not sure of but at the start there is a box below me and the cone is across from me on a ledge surrounded by spikes and a row of 6 or 7 boxes below down on bottom of screen
Ahrgdofh... Can't ... lift.. boxes... why? Game glitch? I can move around (walk, jump), but i click and the boxes don't move anymore! I got to the level with the fist blue "wall" thing (which i still don't know what it's supposed to do, because the boxes are stuck!). Sigh.
I can run and move around but boxes do not move. Nothing happens with I use the mouse on them no blue line or anything. Is it broke?
I got stuck on the level where you have 2 boxes, there is a box-proof wall, and there is a box on each side.Any help?
i'm on the level where there's only 1 brown box and the gray bricks / boxes / whatever are floating; the red triangle is on the top left side and the brown box is on the bottom middle...
HELP, please???
I got stuck on the level where there is a blue line that won't let the boxes through, and there is an unuseable top row. Really hard. Please post a walkthrough for this level!
how do you get throgh the first level with the blue wall thing?!
I got a glitch where after the error levels my telekinesis stopped working :(
I seem to be pretty good at this game, as I'm way past the point everybody fets stuck on! I'm well past 'Techno Error' phase, hated that! I can't beat the level with a big set of stairs, 2 boxes, a row of spikes, 1 Telekinetic Wall, & a normal gray wall that's just TOO TALL! I tried a few ways of configuring the boxes, but still can't get it! By the way, I call "Telekinetic Ted" 'Kinetic Kid'. Kinetic=telekinetic! Catchy huh? Anyway, HELP PLZ!!!
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