Roll Dem Bones -- 3D CEDiCE reviewed [Archive]

Don Tolson

08-25-2004, 06:00 PM

<img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug04-CEDiCE-title.gif" /> Product Category: Games – Single Player Manufacturer: <A HREF = "http://www.ru0-games.com" target = "blank"> RU0 Games </A> Where to Buy: 3D CEdiCE is available from <A HREF = "http://www.handango.com/brainstore/PlatformProductDetail.jsp?siteId=311&productId=125064" target = "blank"> Handango </A>[Affiliate] Price: $9.99 USD System Requirements: Needs 583K of memory, and can be installed to CF and SD cards Specifications: Available for all ARM/X-scale devices running Pocket PC 2002 or Pocket Mobile 2003. Pros:<li>Actually two games in one (Vertical and Horizontal orientation)!; <li>Great Graphics and smooth game play; <li>Can use the stylus or the keypad to control movement; <li>Over 250 levels (2000 with future expansions) of increasing difficulty; <li>Submission/comparison of top scores and level upgrades from central server (requires internet access from Pocket PC)Cons:<li>Levels are very challenging, especially in the Horizontal game and escalate quickly in the Demo version; <li>Hardware button mappings are superseded by those in the game, even if you haven’t mapped any in the game.Summary: Well, I’m not a big games player on any platform, but the look of this game is what intrigued me most. I was looking for something a little more challenging than <A HREF = "http://www.pocketmind.com/crazybubbles.htm" target = "blank"> Crazy Bubbles </A> and I got much more than I bargained for. This is definitely not for the feint of heart (or mind!!!) Read on for the full review!<!> <PAGEBREAK> What the Game’s About... According to the Ru0 web-site, 3D CEDiCE is based on something called Devil’s Dice, but since I haven’t played it, I can’t really speak to any similarities or differences. There are actually two games included: one called ‘Vertical’ and the other called ‘Horizontal’ which you select from the main screen. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug04-CEDiCE-horizontalintro.gif" /> Figure 1: Intro to the Horizontal Game. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug04-CEDiCE-verticalintro.gif" /> Figure 2: Intro to the Vertical Game. As you can see from the descriptions on these screens, the objective is basically the same for each -- to remove all the blocks by adjoining sides of the same type of block -- but the methods used are very different. After clearing all the blocks, you move to the next level. Your score is calculated from the number of moves and amount of time required to clear the level. I found the Vertical game a little easier, but my sons (aged 8 and 10) had more fun with the Horizontal game. ’Easy as Falling Off a Log” -- The Vertical Game Here, the object is to make matching die fall onto one another (or roll over to each other horizontally), so that one whole face is touching another die of the same type. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug04-CEDiCE-vertical01.gif" /> Figure 3: Vertical Game Level 1 (yes, there is a level 0). There is a ‘six’ cube, a ‘three’ cube, etc., each with a different colour to provide another visual cue for matching. Once the faces of two identical cubes touch, both cubes disappear. You can make three disappear if you create a corner with two of them (one edge touching), for your target cube. You move cubes by making them ‘active’. Any cube can become the active or target cube by simply tapping it, but its movement is constrained by gravity and other blocks surrounding and supporting it. (No, you can’t use the 3D effect to change the direction of gravity. Sorry.) As you can see from the above picture, there are also immovable cubes you need to work around. There’s a fair bit of planning and strategy required as you move to the higher levels to make sure you get things in the right places to clear the board. I found I had to think about each level for a couple of minutes to develop a clear strategy. ”Pushing Rope” -- The Horizontal Game No, the title is not intended to describe the degree of difficulty associated with this version, although I did find it much more frustrating than the Vertical game. (Actually, my 8-year-old son had to show me a couple of tricks for moving the blocks around to get past even the first level.) <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug04-CEDiCE-horizontal00.gif" /> Figure 4: Horizontal Game Level 0. In this game, gravity doesn’t play a part, and you must move the blocks around by pushing them with your target block. Unfortunately, you cannot select your target block (it is predefined when you enter the level), nor can you change it. This creates an extra level of complexity in solving these puzzles, since you must ensure that you don’t lose your target block by placing it up against a similar block. As well, in this game when blocks are ‘removed’ from the playing field, they don’t disappear -- they become solid, immovable walls, which you must now work around. <PAGEBREAK> Game Play Not being an experienced game player, I found even the lower levels challenging – especially in the Horizontal Game. 3D CEDiCE is not so much a game, as it is a series of puzzles to be solved. It’s definitely not a mindless distraction (like Solitaire or Crazy Bubbles) type of activity, and requires considerable fore-thought as to how to move the dice to clear the level. In general, the graphics were very smooth, and I had really no problem figuring out the controls. The game did everything it was supposed to. I just wish there was some way to make cubes jump ‘up’ in the Vertical game! It would make things sooooooo much easier. I wish I could tell you more about the higher levels of the game, but as you can see, in the limited time I had for this review, I didn’t get very far. 3D An added feature of 3D CEDiCE is the ability to change the perspective of the display along the major axes. It’s not so pronounced in the Vertical game, since all you can do is kind of tilt the board toward or away from you. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug04-CEDiCE-vertical3d.gif" /> Figure 5: 3D on the Vertical game. The effect is much more noticeable in the Horizontal game where you can change the view through a much greater range. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug04-CEDiCE-horiz3d01.gif" /> Figure 6: 3D on the Horizontal Game – original perspective. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug04-CEDiCE-horiz3d02.gif" /> Figure 7: Switched to the other side. There is also an ability to change the view to place the target cube at the center via the Target button. This, I suspect, would be useful for larger, more complex puzzles at the upper levels. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug04-CEDiCE-horiz3d03.gif" /> Figure 8: Using the ‘Target’ button. Changing the viewing angle doesn’t appear to affect gameplay in either version. As I noted before, it doesn’t change the direction of gravity in the Vertical game (unfortunately :cry: ), nor can you create gravity :idea: in the Horizontal game. All in all, having the 3D rotation is kind of cute, but not really useful. <PAGEBREAK> Tutorials Ru0 Games has thoughtfully provided fully animated tutorials for both versions of CEDiCE. The animations have a text description and then a display of the move. The animations run a bit slowly for me, and the buttons, etc. are turned off, so you can’t move the demo along any quicker. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug04-CEDiCE-tutorial.gif" /> Figure 9: Example Tutorial Screen. They show the basic rules of each type of game, to get you started. Unfortunately, there are no details or hints as to the more complicated rules/moves. Those are left for you to discover on your own. The Demo Version The demo version provides both the Horizontal and Vertical games, but there are significant jumps in level (in the Vertical, you go from 1 to 30 to 60) and there is no way to save the level you got to. This means you have to restart at zero (or one) each time you play the game. In the full, registered version, as you progress through the levels, the application tracks your progress and lets you re-enter and any level successfully completed. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug04-CEDiCE-selectlevel.gif" /> Figure 10: Selecting which level to return to. (Note, this is only available in the registered version) Internet Connectivity There is internet connectivity directly available from the game so you can share your scores on their central server and/or download new levels. Unfortunately, I didn’t have this available as I was testing, so I wasn’t able to see how it worked. (To be honest, I don’t think I want to share my paltry scores anyway....) <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug04-CEDiCE-sharingscores.gif" /> Figure 11: Sharing Your Scores. <PAGEBREAK> Installation The <A HREF = "http://www.ru0-games.com/dice/index.php#try" target = "blank"> Ru0 website </A> has both Windows installer (through Activesync) and .CAB file versions available. With the Windows version, things move along pretty well as expected. The application requires (according to Activesync installer) about 580K of memory. I installed the game to my CF and SD cards and had no problems running them from there. For those new to Pocket PCs, .CAB files are compressed files which you can execute directly on your Pocket PC to install applications. With these files, you either download them directly to the Pocket PC, or transfer them directly from a PC to your Pocket PC via Activesync (or whatever other method you have). I would suggest copying them to the main directory of your Pocket PC, or to a CF or SD card. Once transferred, open up File Explorer and locate the file, then double-tap the file to execute it, and everything should happen automatically from there. The main difficulty with .CAB files is that you don’t get any options as to where you want the application installed. In most cases, it will just go directly into main memory. If you want to redirect the application to a storage card, then you need to use the Windows installer version via Activesync. Also, with the CAB install, it’s difficult to tell how much room the application is going to take before (or after!) it’s installed. Configuring the Game Ru0 Games has also provided a number of parameters for configuring the look and feel of 3D CEDiCE. These include:<li>Changing the difficulty level of the game; <li>Tuning the colours and graphics; <li>Using game sounds or Pocket PC O/S sounds; <li>Specifying proxy server(s) for Internet access. You can also change the look of the die used in the game. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug04-CEDiCE-configtileset.gif" /> Figure 11: Another type of tileset. And map your hardware buttons to various game controls. <img src="http://www.pocketpcthoughts.com/images/web/2003/don-aug04-CEDiCE-hwmapping.gif" /> Figure 12: Mapping the Hardware buttons. Conclusions For those of you looking for a bit of harmless distraction for 10 or 20 minutes while waiting for your next meeting, dental appointment, or whatever else, this 3D CEDiCE might not be the right choice. If, however, you’re looking for challenging and engaging puzzles to solve, with great graphics this is the one for you and I would highly recommend it.