Customer Reviews

Crazy Machines 2 - A New Dimension [Download]

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

I downloaded this for my son's birthday yesterday and intended to install it on a laptop running Windows XP. When he tried to install the software, it took absolutely forever. Once the installation was done, the game could not be run do to a missing DLL.

After several frustrating reinstalls to no avail, I decided to try it on my own computer running Windows Vista Premium. Initially, I had thought that the problem might have been that my son's laptop was relatively old and just did not have enough memory and disk space to handle the game. However, I experienced the same aggravation when trying to install it on my new computer!

I did some research on the error and apparently, the game will not work due to a problem with a missing file in the OpenAL Library, which is responsible for the game sound. Although I did eventually find a patch for the the OpenAL Library, it was not an easy task. This is a known issue with this game that Amazon failed to mention. I also would have thought that it would have been the responsible thing to do to at least inform the buyer of this issue and provide a link to download the patch necessary to run the game.

Stay away from this one. I wasted $[...]. I work with computers and software on a daily basis which is why I was able to figure out how to work this thing. For someone does not have any computer expertise, this game would be worthless.

Also, read the Amazon disclaimer. They do not offer refunds for software downloads - which is fine by me - as long as they work! For $[...], I would have expected this thing to work without any hitches!

I would have thought that Amazon ensured that the software they offer for download works before they post it for sale online.

Never again. This was an absolute rip-off!

UPDATE:

The OpenAL patch did not work. Though it did get the inital screen to pop-up to a certain point, it still doesn't work. I also tried a patch that requires replacing the cm2.dll and cm2.exe files but that didn't work either. According to some forums, you need the AGEIA PhysX Processor to run this stupid game. There is no way in hell I'm spending $[...] to run an $[...] game. There is another suggested option w/c requires the user to mount an .MDS image in conjunction with Daemon Tools but I don't want to go through any more aggravation and have it not work anyway. I didn't spend $[...] to go through all this crap. If you pay good money for something, you shouldn't have to FORCE it to work!!! This was complete highway robbery!!!

I'm writing this note since I just downloaded the product and couldn't install it either on my Windows 7 system, like others have mentioned. Here's how I got it to work. First, it should be pointed out that he problem isn't from Crazy Machine 2 itself, but rather with the anti-piracy program that comes with the download. The first time you run the CM2, it wants to automatically activate the program by running "TagesClient.exe" which is located under the same folder as "cm2.exe" (where you installed the game).

So the first thing to do is "simply" download the latest version of "TagesClient.exe", which works with Win 7. I found it here for both the 32 bit/64 bit platforms.

[...].

Download and install the appropriate file.

Then, in my case anyway, I needed to start the Crazy Machine program (only the first time) with Administrator priviledges. One way do this is to press the "Shift Key" while "Right-Clicking" on the Desktop Icon the game installation created. Select "Run as administrator" from there. From that point on, the activation process will begin and just follow the instructions. Next time you start the game (in regular mode, i.e. non-admin), things should be good.

Of COURSE, you MUST MEET the minimum requirements which is to have a PhysX graphics card installed on your machine. If this doesn't sound familiar to you.. chances are... you don't have it.

Hope this helped some...

The previous reviewer is correct in noting that install takes a long time (about 20-25 minutes, even on a new machine). The main issue, however, is the missing .dll file. This was easy to find through a Google search complete with an installer that resolved the problem. Nevertheless, one would expect the software to work effectively once installed without having to seek out missing files. No other issues (e.g., the processor issue noted by the earlier review) were noted. Game play is good.

DO NOT PURCHASE DOWNLOAD!!! you will be given a product key. but access to the game is denied. customer service was no help. game just freezes on prepare to install! Amazon won't issue refund. I wish there was a 0 star option.
Laura Donahue

Dealt with an activation error for over 7 days! Online software activation claimed I had an invalid serial number, which was supplied by Amazon. After 2 emails and 2 phone calls with Amazon, they passed the buck and sent me to the publishers web site. No response from the publisher! In the end, Amazon customer service came thru and made the situation right. Spent way to much time downloading, installing, trying to activate, then uninstalling and starting over. Install time was only 5 minutes for me, as opposed to the posted 20-25 minutes. The demo worked great on my system, so I still believe the full version will work. I'll be getting the hard copy. Stay away from the download! Try the demo first.

Same problem as most of the others here. I bought this for my son and expected it to work. I updated my video drivers, my audio drivers and installed the latest version of DirectX. Quite simply, it hangs when I try to run it. It doesn't even give an error message.

I should have purchased the CD.

I admit my fault for not reading the reviews before I bought the download. However, I expected this to work.

I am now downloading this game for the third time. The DL status is at 105% and 530 MB of a file that is supposed to be 502 MB. The game will not even launch the setup menu. Seems to me this would be a good game if I could actually play it.

No problems here. I downloaded and installed in good time, way faster than the 20-30 minutes other people posted. I had to come back later and find the serial number to register it, but that was no problem, and the game registered fine. Excellent game, similar to "The Incredible Machine" but more realistic, and neater puzzles. I like the way the game follows a storyline, rather than each puzzle being totally separate.

I was a little afraid to buy this because of all the negative reviews saying that there was missing files or something, but i bought it anyways (there was not enough time to order the CD-rom) The download was fast, installing was fast (I dont know where the 20-30 minute installation times came from) and the game works perfectly. I have a recent windows VISTA.

There might have been problems in the past (all the negative reviews were from 2008-09) but i guess AMAZON fixed it.

So if you have a recent computer, have no worries, it works great!

I was worried due to the 2 reviews I saw here, but we didn't have time to wait for the package, so we took our chances.

On top of that, we were using Parallels to run Windows xp (sp3) on an iMac!

But though the install took a long time, it seems to be working just fine.