This Means (Germ) War!
Mad scientists, don’t they ever learn?
You’d think with those off the chart IQs and a disastrous track record that takes in the creation of any number of murderous monsters, deadly viruses, and inadvertent openings of portals to dimensions best left closed, these eggheads would’ve by now come to the conclusion that their playing God only ever ends in tears.
Well apparently not. Because, true to form, Germinal‘s top secret experiment has gone terribly wrong, this time accidentally unleashing a rampaging horde of killer germs which are threatening to reduce the world as we know it to a coughing, spluttering mess. Mind you, when the resulting game is as good-looking and downright addictive as Germinal is it’s kinda hard to complain.
Playing as a heroic boffin, it’s up to you to curb this pandemic by going toe-to-toe with armies of invading germs across 30 levels of puzzle based brilliance.
Your task in each and every stage is the same: eradicate all enemies by matching pairs of same coloured nasties or pushing them over the edge of platforms with your finger. A lengthy and detailed tutorial eases the player into the game, yet as the layout of levels and patterns of enemies get increasingly complex and a variety of contraptions (some a help, others a hindrance) such as teleporters, time-bombs and incinerators come into play, Germinal ups the brain-teasing ante considerably.
And while the core mechanic and one-finger friendly control method are easily grasped, it’s worth noting the game gets very difficult very quickly. However, there are a number of concessions made for the less accomplished puzzle gamer (i.e. me) such as handy undo button that allows you to backtrack should you make a wrong move rather than having to re-start levels from scratch and the fact you can skip problematic puzzles entirely. All the same, I was still left completely bamboozled a good deal of the time.
Even though I felt like tearing my hair out more than once, I had a huge amount of, albeit frustrating, fun with Germinal. Its bacterial baddies are probably the most ugly (yet strangely cute) characters I’ve come across since Thumpies‘ roster of charismatic odd balls, and their cheeky grinning, gurning, and face pulling ensures the game is an amusing visual treat from start to finish. Highly recommended, but be warned, you’ll definitely need to put your thinking cap on for this one!
Intrigued? Give the excellent lite a whirl. Go on…
iFanzine Verdict: An utterly unputdownable puzzler, Germinal’s quirky visual style immediately impresses, but its the expertly devised – and at times fiendishly complex – problem solving that really gets under your skin and will keep you coming back for more.
[xrr rating=3.5/5]