Solve, share, create and share again.

Rovio, the creators of Angry Birds, have unleashed a new physics-based puzzle game today called Amazing Alex, and while it may not have any birds in it, I think it’s going to be every bit as successful for them. As someone who has always found Rube Goldberg machines interesting, I couldn’t wait to check this one out.

Single Player

In Amazing Alex you have to solve puzzles by moving objects around in order to create a chain reaction that will allow other objects to collect all three stars on their way to the goal. It could be a soccer ball that has to bounce down a set of steps to land in a laundry basket, or a pool ball that has to roll through a set of pipes, then bump into a pair of scissors to cut a string that was holding a balloon to launch it so that it bumps into a book which bumps a soccer ball off of the ledge to land on the other side of a box. You get the idea. You’ll see half of the puzzle already in place and it’s up to you to place the other pieces in the proper spots to complete a successful Rube Goldberg machine.

Each level has a specific set of pieces that you are allowed to use, which can be placed anywhere you want while trying to solve the puzzle and collect as many stars as you can along the way. You can move each object around and spin them in place in order to find the perfect spot, and after you think you have everything all set you can press play and see if you were right. If you weren’t, your pieces stay where you had them and you can adjust them as you see fit and try again until you are right. Trial and error plays a big part in the later, more complicated levels, much like it did in Angry Birds. You can however, view user uploaded solutions to each level if you get stuck, which is a nice option to have instead of having to go to youtube to find them.

Anyone who’s played Angry Birds is going to feel right at home with Amazing Alex as it shares the exact same interface and features the same cartoon style graphics. The gameplay may be different, but the overall package quality is the same high level that we’ve come to expect from Rovio games at this point. The one problem that I did run into was when creating a new level. The problem is that you can place objects up in the far left and right of the screen, but there are also on-screen buttons in the same spot which get in the way and your pieces are stuck underneath them, and I couldn’t find a way to get them back. If you touch an object, the controls disappear, but since you can’t select more than one object at a time, that still didn’t help. They either need to make those on-screen controls auto-hide, or let you drag the screen up and down to reach any pieces that get placed behind them.

Currently there are over 100 levels in the game, but that is only counting the ones that Rovio created. Which leads me to one of the things that I really love about Amazing Alex, the ability to create and upload your own puzzles for the rest of the world to enjoy. As you complete stages in the game you will unlock new pieces to use while creating new levels, opening things up for you to get really creative. Having the ability to create and share content sends the replay value through the roof, and with over 4000 user-created levels already available, there is never going to be a lack of content for Amazing Alex.

Multiplayer

There are no multiplayer or cooperative modes in Amazing Alex.

Closing Comments

If you are a fan of puzzle games, want a new fun and addictive game for your mobile device, love Angry Birds or all of the above, then you are going to really enjoy Amazing Alex. It comes with enough content to get you going, while supplying an endless amount of new levels by allowing you to create and share your own levels. You can’t really go wrong with Amazing Alex, especially since it only costs a dollar.

Score: 9/10

Amazing Alex is currently only available on iTunes or Android, but it is coming soon to PC and MAC as well.