Sheer Graphical Power
Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom makes clever additions to the mahjong solitaire formula, but it falls apart when it comes to the fundamentals.
Published: March 18, 2009
The two person Multiplayer mode borrows concepts from Motion, with a channel of moving tiles bisecting the play field. Each player has a pile of tiles to dispose of, and the moving tiles are in a common area that both players can draw from, making it a competition to see who can grab the useful tiles the fastest. This mode also includes various special tiles which can be used to gain an advantage. This mode can be played locally with a second controller, or online via the PlayStation Network. This head-to-head mode is fun, and online play works well.
Both Motion and Multiplayer take the staid action of mahjong solitaire and successfully expand on it in exciting ways. The potential is there to create that state of panic that only puzzle games can consistently evoke. Unfortunately, too much of that panic is created by the sub-optimal control scheme. A mouse cursor is controlled by either the directional buttons or left analog stick, and it simply doesn't feel precise enough. The cursor will sometimes decide to snap to nearby tiles, but it is very loose and awkward. It's possible that a more finely tuned acceleration curve would have made the stick more suitable for this duty, but even then Mahjong Tales would not feel like a game that was designed for a console controller.
The graphics in Mahjong Tales are wholly unimpressive. In spite of the "sheer graphical power" purportedly on display here, Mahjong Tales does not look like a worthy addition to the PlayStation Network's library of downloadable games. The touted hand-drawn content is decent, but many elements of the game are done in bland pre-rendered 3D, with most of the visual excitement coming from distinctly unattractive particle effects. Aside from the botched narration, the audio is fair, with vaguely Chinese sounding music and noises.
If you've been desperately awaiting a mahjong solitaire game that you can play on the PlayStation 3, then Mahjong Tales: Ancient Wisdom will serve, especially if you are a purist content to match at a leisurely pace in Classic Infinity. The more action oriented modes are cleverly designed, but the sloppy controls add an extra layer of frustration that detracts from what should otherwise be a fun experience. Most people would probably be better off playing a free browser-based mahjong solitaire game, of which there is no shortage.
