The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions

by Vivendi Universal

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005KB3J
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: August 28, 2001
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,170 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
  • #36 in Software > Children's Software > Thinking & Problem Solving
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

This fantastic program will have your brain working as hard as a mandrill on a conveyer belt with bananas dangling in front of it. Don't worry, we'll explain. The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions gives players dozens of tools that perform an action: balls that bounce, cats that chase (and don't bounce), pulleys, ropes, generators, and yes, mandrill baboons on conveyer belts, bananas a-dangle in front of them. Then players are given a problem to solve with all of this crazy energy. Here's an example: in one puzzle called "Wood is Good," players must get three balls into a box, make wooden toast, and wood-smoke a hunk of gouda cheese for a mouse. Among the tools available to accomplish this task are a bike pump and an antigravity pad. And this is one of the easy puzzles.

There are 250 gizmos to build here, some designed for single players and some designed for head-to-head puzzling competition. There is also a field where players can design their own Rube Goldberg Machine from scratch. The vast amount of projects and their complexity make this a program with staying power. Mercifully, there is a tutorial that takes rookies and right-brainers in hand. Players can choose four levels of difficulty: easy, which is quite challenging; to expert, which is insane. Mitigating the challenge factor is a function that turns the cursor into a question mark, and allows players to inspect gadget elements and get in-depth information about what each object and surface does.

This game does a great job graphically. The well-rendered objects all perform as they ought, and form never hinders function. A thoughtful extra is a place where mad scientists can mess with their invention's appearance and background music: nice final touches for folks who want to take their custom-built games online to challenge others who are addicted to The Incredible Machine. This program's biggest strength is that it manages to put a humorous and creative spin on physics and engineering. They're not just giving you levers and weights to work with, they're giving you bottle rockets and alligators. A final wonderful point: there is no "right way" to build your contraption. If you scrabble something together that achieves the goal, it's right, no matter if you used the antigravity pad on the cat or on the bowling ball. No age rating given; we recommend ages 8 and up. --Anne Erickson

Product Description

The Incredible Machine - Even More Contraptions

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very addictive puzzle solving game that is often overlooked., October 11, 2001

By 

Peter - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions (CD-ROM)

Every once in a while, a company manages to release a simple puzzle solving or trivia based PC game that hooks a dedicated fan base everywhere. The Incredible Machine series is one of those titles. The Even More Contraptions edition comes with approximately two hundred puzzles arranged in order of difficulty and an editor that allows you to make your own contraptions.

If you're not familiar with the Incredible Machine series, it's a layman mechanical engineer's dream. If you've ever watched a movie with a stereotypical nutty professor that has a contraption set up involving ten to twenty devices all reacting to each other in a "domino chain" to complete one simple task you already have an idea what the puzzles are like. In other words, a can opener with a can of tuna causing a cat to move which pulls a string that starts a fan which blows a wind chime that somehow turns on the TV. :D

That's how the puzzles are set up but many of the key components are left out and provided to the gamer to figure out how to get the device to work and complete the goals listed. Many times your solution is completely different from the given solution and the game doesn't limit your creativity. Over a hundred different pieces are including various gears, fire starting devices, animals, platforms, floating mechanisms, etc. Only a few picked by the original programmer are included in each puzzle but if you make your own puzzles you can pick from any device in the game.

There are also various websites set up by fans that allow you to download different creations. A fun game that you can keep coming back to as you attempt to complete the many puzzles provided.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love it! It's a great thinking game!, March 29, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions (CD-ROM)

This game is soooooooo 3D!
You won't find silly cartoons stick poeple etc in this game!
I love making my own contraptions and letting my mom play!
If you want your kid to now a lot about physics then this is a great game!
It has a lot of new stuff like a monkey and a jack in the box.
It keeps all the old contraptions the same so don't worry about losing contraptions in the old game that you liked.
The gears are made easyer so you don't need to take them out then put them back to get them working unlike in the first game.
It is very compatiple with most computers I heard it works on Mac and I had a Windows me wich it worked on and now I have a XP and it works even better on that.
This game is not like most games that you complete in weeks, months, days, or even one day this game takes years!
But it's not too hard so you won't need to wory about not beeing able to complete one contraption.
The tutorial level is to get started and to learn the basics.
The easy level is to get you to understand the controls and to get your brain runing and any other stuff it also gets you better at reading the real hints and knowing those things that might trick you like extra parts.
This game is a great buy!
But there is some things like harming animals but what I do is say thay are just robots.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Doesn't turn your brain into mush!, August 4, 2004

A Kid's Review

This review is from: The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions (CD-ROM)

I first played the game at school and loved it! Some people may say it is hard it is really very fun! But you have to think about it! If you say it is boring that is becase you just went straight ahead and failed didn't even think that mabye your contraption doesn't work! It is a great game for schools because it is a thinking game and it is one of the funnist games I know of! I think even if you aren't a good thinking game person it is still a great game, because you can take as much time as you want and think about it! Also it isn't one of those games that warps your brain into mush! It makes you think and not just sit there and stare at a computer! You actually DO something! It is a great game for any age that can think! I am 11 and I love it and I know of a 5 year old who loves it! Even my dad would love if I could get him to buy it for me! A great game a I recommend it for All!