Exceeded expectations
Written: Aug 26 '00
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Pros: PC and Mac versions on same CD
Cons: Might be sluggish on a 90MHz Pentium (but doesn't need more than 133MHz)
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| sheepdog's Full Review: Puzz 3D CD: Notre Dame Cathedral |
"A pessimist is never disappointed"... and in the case of these 3D jigsaw puzzles he or she may give up hir outlook on life. (Sorry female persons, but hier, while being more even handed, just doesn't roll off the tongue as well.)
This is not just a jigsaw, not even just a 3D jigsaw. It is a very fine 3D jigsaw, too, though. I'll come back to its strengths in that department in a minute.
Besides the obvious, the game includes many small multimedia presentations about the history and construction of the cathedral... If you can persuade the kids not to turn them off (I prefer just to get on with doing the puzzle!), you can buy this product for a school (9-16 year olds) with a clear conscience.
When you complete the jigsaw, you can go inside the cathedral, and, once inside, you can engage in a treasure hunt... You find clues which lead to further clues and eventually a treasure. While you are inside the cathedral, you can move about pretty well as if you were in the real thing, and you can look up and down. The graphics are not quite photo-realistic... but nearly so. The game and walkabout would have been enough to justify the product.
Returning to the ostensible product, the 3D jigsaw.
Two aspects: The pieces and the final result, and the interface for manipulating the pieces.
The pieces are exquisite. When you join two pieces, the joint disappear, so you're not left with all the "cracks" showing on real, and some virtual, jigsaws. The size and shape of the pieces is similar to ordinary jigsaws. Where two planes join to create the 3D aspect, the edges are distinctive, which is a help.
The interface goes a long way beyond adequate. I was reminded of some CAD packages I've used. I won't go into full detail. Picking up pieces, rotating them, moving groups of pieces, etc, etc all works fine. The interface does a good job of creating the impression of being in a lovely room with the pieces on a table. You can view the table at three levels of magnification. Take advantage of this, if you want to make good progress. As you complete "chunks" of the puzzle, you move them to a second table where the final assembly takes place.
You can do the puzzle many different ways, but there are four basic variations from easy to hard. Only by completing the hardest can you complete the full treasure hunt. After puzzle variants 1, 2 and 3, you can go a little, more, most of the way through the treasure hunt.
The easiest variant start with the pieces partially pre-assembled, into blocks of about 9 pieces, sorted by color, and all turned "right" way up. There are many options you can select to adjust the puzzle assembly to your view of "best". I would recommend turning off the possibility of 3D assemblies... it is easier to put the thing together in flat pieces, and then link them on the final assembly table. If you do make some 3D sub-assemblies, remember that to join two pieces, they must both be "flat" on the table, neither may be in a part "sticking up".
Good news or bad? The game includes a timer. It tracks how much time you spend on the puzzle, and draws several graphs, e.g. one of pieces assembled vs time. As another indication of the quality of the implementation: If you have to leave the puzzle there's no need to put it on "pause". It stops the clock by itself if you don't join any pieces within a reasonable time.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Played With/Intended For: Single Player
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Epinions.com ID:
sheepdog
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Member: Tom Boyd
Location: Essex, CT, USA
Reviews written: 32
Trusted by: 2 members
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