Customer Reviews

The Incredible Machine: Even More Contraptions

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

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.

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.

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!

I think this software is the best program I've played
in my life! I first played it at school and everyone
thought it was hard except for me. It is very
challenging just when you you get to the easy
level. Once I got it for Christmas one year, and
I couldn't stop playing it. My mom was amazed when
she saw me completing the contraptions so fast. There's
over 100 contraptions. This software is worth the money.
I highly recommend it for anyone.

We had to play this game in school in our tech ed. class. Every day, I found myself wanting badly to go to 3rd Hour(My tech ed. class.) I would recomend this game to everyone.

I chose this game as a Christmas gift for my 11 year old daughter, after reading the reviews on Amazon. This was the hottest gift in the household. My 19 year old son and 23 year old daughter and her husband all enjoyed the game. Everything about this game is well done. Good sound, graphics, variety, and appeal to various ages. It provided many hours of family entertainment and was a vehicle for building teamwork and self-esteem.

This is a good, clean game that will provide hours upon hours of entertainment. It has a lot of puzzles at various difficulty levels that make it fun for beginners and those looking for a challenge. The game is very addicting, guaranteeing that you'll get your money's worth out of it. An excellent way to exercise your brain and have fun at the same time.

It's a very fun game for kids or adults. It allows you to build Rube Goldberg-like contraptions on your computer, and then watch them in action. You can also "solve" existing (partially built) contraptions by figuring out what pieces to put where to make it accomplish a specified goal. And you can build contraptions for other people to solve. Very cool!

There's little to criticize about it. The directions aren't as clear as they could be (typical: they describe how to do things instead of *showing* you) but you'll catch on quickly, since its very simple, and anyone who has used a computer will understand their cartoon-like interface (take normal computer widgets and make them big and cartoon-like and colorful: take a look at the screen shots to see what I mean). So if you have very young kids who haven't used the computer before, you might want to play it and let them watch: they'll catch on quickly. My first kid is still 4 weeks away, but I still can't wait to play this with him: we'll both enjoy it.

Another criticism is that you have a very small space in which to build the contraptions, so they can't be as big as your screen (unless I just didn't find this option). That is annoying and limiting, but it's still lots of fun.

The level of reality is cartoon-like, fitting the Rube Goldberg theme (many of Rube's contraptions wouldn't actually work because everything wouldn't fall perfectly into place) but that's good, of course.

the sixth graders really enjoy working with the program. They learn alot of problem solving. "Thinking outside the box" We will use it also with seventh and eighth graders as well.

I played this game in Video Production every so often, and while making contraptions, I literally NEVER wanted the end-of-the-period bell to ring for at least another hour. This game has no limits to what you can create. Imagination is the tool of success!