The Tintinnabulation Of The Bells!
Chime Super Deluxe squares off in the puzzle genre and hits a sweet note.
Published: April 3, 2011
Have a puzzle pal close by? Chime Super Deluxe lets you two (or three or four) be friend or foe in the same grid as you battle it out or buddy it up to cover the whole surface. You'll see the same songs and same levels as the single player, only now you get to work together to make beautiful music. Or fight each other. You see, in the competitive mode, you are battling to get more coverage than your opponents, and things can get downright chippy when the action heats up. See, whoever puts the last piece in place to complete a Quad gets credit for the whole thing. That means you can grab up eight or more squares from your opponent just by placing that last single block that forms a Quad. And once a Quad gets imprinted, you can build over that territory. The first time you create a Quad on it, you'll turn it back to neutral, and a subsequent Quad on there will mark it as your territory. Of course while you are doing that, your opponents are off covering more territory or deactivating your turf. The battle constantly swings back and forth as you try to make sure you have a majority of the surface area when time runs out or everything gets covered.
Visually Chime keeps with the minimalist roots of its music, focusing on simple block shapes with a minimal of texture where there is anything at all. Soft glows highlight the stark lines of the grid, and subtle bloom effects accompany the musical samples when Quads are stamped. The whole package combines into a tranquil setting that does sometimes belie the frantic action that can occur in multiplayer. You don't want the sensory overload of Pac-Man Championship Edition DX in your mellow puzzle game, and it is a credit to Zoë Mode that they eschewed that aesthetic.
Those who loved Lumines but got a little burnt out on it after all the iterations will find that love rekindled by Chime. If anything, the music is more integral to experience than ever, even if it has no pronounced effect on the gameplay. The game is simple enough that even someone unfamiliar with this style of game, or even games in general should have no trouble unlocking everything and having a fun experience with Chime. Seasoned veterans will appreciate challenging themselves to see how far they can get in three minute mode, and while online multiplayer is always missed, the inclusion of up to four players gives Chime party-game appeal for when you and your nerdy math friends get together for a barbecue.
