I'd Like to Solve the Puzzle

While doing jig-saw puzzles, I like to look at the box. What is wrong with that? According to my family, everything! They complain that I am cheating, but I heartily disagree. To me, using the box does not bypass a hard skill in puzzle-solving, but instead it bypasses the boring factor. I like putting together pieces of the puzzle that make a fun picture, and using the box lets me have an idea of what that picture is so I have a vision of the masterpiece I am creating. It is similar to a painter sketching a picture on the canvas or on another piece of paper to use as a reference while painting the real thing. So while to one person it is cheating, to me it is a way to make the puzzle more enjoyable.


While on the topic of puzzles, I am reminded of a recent Wii game purchase: Wheel of Fortune. I got it for Deanna for Christmas, and after playing it and watching a couple of other games, I have enough for a quick Review. Check out my Review Guidelines if you do not know what my categories mean.

Wheel of Fortune (Wii)
Overall Game - B
Game Play - B+
Visual Design - B-

The game is really fun to play, though the quality is a lot better when playing multiplayer. The computer opponents are fine, but we noticed that besides adding a better competitive atmosphere, it was generally more fun and balanced with human opponents. The Mini-Games between rounds are entertaining, although they are not really very necessary as they only impact a contestant's popularity with the audience, which cheers for everyone anyways.

The graphics are of typicall Wii fasion (that is, cheap to compensate for the Wii's weaker graphics abilities, but friendly enough to work) and enjoyable, although it would have been really easy to improve the lip-synching with Pat Sajak's Mii character since the lips could have been done better by a five year-old doing clay-mation. It was not a huge setback though, but it was distracting enough to bring the Visual Design down to a B-, although the rest of the animation was either decent or cute.

The Mii characters are also used, allowing the players to use their own faces. Their vocal sounds are also fun and interesting. The characters are very excited when they guess a letter. Also, if you have the Wii Speak feature on your Wii, you can record your own sounds for good and bad events! The puzzles are fun and have difficultly levels to choose from, so it will never be too easy or too hard if you adjust the difficulty.

Overall Verdict: B. It is not my favorite game I have ever played, but it is a great addition to the Wii's list of games catering to the non-gamer, and is a great family game that I can easily get my mom to play!