Microsoft Entertainment Pack Puzzle Collection

by Microsoft

Product Details

• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S. and to APO/FPO addresses. For APO/FPO shipments, please check with the manufacturer regarding warranty and support issues.
• ASIN: B00001LDBR
• Media: CD-ROM
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,878 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

GameSpot Review

Puzzle games have changed remarkably little over the years. Targeting the widest possible spectrum of users and machines, puzzle games skew towards the lowest common denominator in terms of control complexity and system requirements. The result has been a marked lack of innovation in the genre - most of today's puzzle games bear more than a passing resemblance to titles released five or even ten years ago.

In the absence of flashy graphics, immersive sound, or breakthrough technology, the only distinguishing factor between one puzzle game and another is gameplay. That's good news for gaming purists, but bad news for puzzle game designers, as it puts their new creations up against the best games in the genre, even if they were released years ago. This is why you'll almost never read a review of a puzzle game that doesn't mention Tetris - although released in the mid-80s it's still the standard by which all new puzzle games are judged.

Needless to say, Tetris is a difficult game to match - even if you're Alexey Pajitnov, Tetris' original designer. Not that he hasn't tried: Pajitnov has designed or endorsed dozens of games subsequent to Tetris, but none of them have even come close to matching the appeal or success of that seminal work.

And now he's at it again. Following the end of an association with MicroProse, Pajitnov has returned to the scene via Microsoft's Puzzle Collection. The disc includes ten all-new puzzle games, some of which were designed by Pajitnov, although it's never made clear exactly which ones. This may just be an oversight. Then again, it may not be. Based on the quality of the games on the disc, it would be a surprise if anyone, let alone Pajitnov, would be in a hurry to take credit for them.

Not everything in the collection is bad. Rat Poker, which challenges you to create "hands" of rats by catching them using manually activated traps, is highly original and reasonably entertaining. Another bright spot is Lineup, a turn-based game that requires you to manipulate variously shaped objects in order to create vertical or horizontal lines (imagine Tetris in quicksand, and you've got the idea). Mixed Genetics, which asks you to breed triplet sets of mutant creatures in order to create a pure breed, plays better than it sounds, and is quite fun once you get the hang of it.

But beyond that, it's a slippery slope straight into puzzle hell. Of the remaining seven games, four (Spring Weekend, Finty Fush, Charmer, and Jewel Chase) are decidedly mediocre, with marginal appeal and limited replay value - frankly, they seem more appropriate for a shareware CD-ROM than a retail product from the world's most powerful software company. As for the remaining three games (Fringer, Color Collision, and Muddled Casino), suffice it to say that the first is extremely tedious, the second isn't even a puzzle game, and the third is muddled, indeed.

To top it all off, whether good, bad, or mediocre, none of The Puzzle Collection games includes a two-player mode (either competitive or cooperative). For those who enjoy two-player matches - whether in Tetris, Baku Baku, or Bust-a-Move 2 - this is a major omission.

Bottom line? If Microsoft and Pajitnov want to make us forget about Tetris, they're going to have to do a lot better than this. --Vince Broady
--Copyright ©1998 GameSpot Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of GameSpot is prohibited.

Product Description

This software is BRAND NEW. Packaging may differ slightly from the stock photo above. Please click on our logo above to see over 15,000 titles in stock.

See all Product Description

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 47 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Not bad, but not great, November 20, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Microsoft Entertainment Pack Puzzle Collection (CD-ROM)

When I first purchased this CD I was disappointed with the choice of puzzles. Although they are fun, only two of them are actually challenging (Line up & Finty Flush). After a while I got very bored with "Jewel Thief" and "Rat Porker". However, after a hard day at work the games are good stress relievers because of their simplicity. Because of this factor I give the package 3 stars.

35 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A nice time killer, but lacking in real depth, December 1, 1999

By 

E. Carley "Coastermom" (The birthplace of flight) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Microsoft Entertainment Pack Puzzle Collection (CD-ROM)

After having this game for several months, I regularly play only one of the games. Several of them are quite confusing, even with the pop-up hints. Some are just too cute for their own good.

If you're looking for simple, short games, this software will do fine. If you're a serious puzzle person, get Pandora's box instead.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Additing !! as in Betty Ford !!, January 8, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: Microsoft Entertainment Pack Puzzle Collection (CD-ROM)

You will never get tired of this collection. It is definitely for puzzle/logic lovers. Chance does affect the outcome, but if you're good, you'll find yourself battling to increasing your score. It may not take forever to learn all the rules, strategy or any names ( which I appreciate ), but you could spend forever perfecting your skills - and every once in a while going back to it because you just enjoyed one of the games.