N-Philes

DS PREVIEW - I Heart Geeks

Posted September 2nd 2009 by Adrian DeHerrera.

One of the coolest things about Wile E. Coyote is that not only is he an eternal optimist (seriously, how many times can you epically fail and keep coming back for more?), but he has a dedicated knack for making complicated contraptions to catch the roadrunner. A well placed arrow can hit a bullseye causing a match to light which ignites a rocket that explodes against a giant boulder, causing it to careen off a cliff – usually to the bone crushing tragedy of our brilliant but unlucky coyote friend. Although the results were always predictable, the coolness of the physics in the elaborate setups was undeniable. The basic premise of I Heart Geeks is similar to the elaborate setups constructed by Wile E. Coyote, with more real-life physics and a lot less Satan-approved roadrunners.

You've been drafted to assist a smart coterie of defiant nerds who are sick of being picked on by their athletic schoolmates. Rather than wait for the government to intervene with anti-bullying legislature, they've decided to take things into their own hands. With training, you're going to assist in taking out the bullies one by one, using your wits against their ‘roid rage.

A total of four nerds will take you under their wing, each with a specialty ranging from electricity to liquids and gases to mechanics. Each geek will take you through level after level of puzzling tasks with the smallest amount of guidance, in hopes you will hone your skills enough to use them to beat a bully at the end of the level. Each level has a goal and multiple ways to get to that goal. For example, Milton may ask you to pop a balloon in the laboratory (who knows why, just do it). Having only a battery, an electric plug and a steel ball, you realize that by powering up a fan in the corner, the balloon will drift across the screen. Placing the steel ball in a certain spot will cause gravity to pull it downward, knocking the balloon even further away where it can run into a candle, popping it, which takes you onto the next task.

The game starts off easy enough, but, of course, the levels get much harder as you progress. In fact, some levels had me scratching my head and trying and failing for over 30 minutes. A level can contain multiple obstacles and many items to assist you in your mission; choose from bottle rockets, laser beams, steam engines, mirrors and more. What's addictive about the game is that you know there are solutions to the puzzle, but it's your job to think many steps ahead to imagine how changes on the board (adding a magnifying glass to candle light or reversing a treadmill) will affect the outcome. Luckily for you, the game allows you to make as many modifications as needed. Once you're done you can play and replay the board again and again until you have it right. You are being timed, so you can come back anytime to try and break your previous finish times.

Overall, I had fun with this preview. This is the kind of game you can pick up, complete a level, save, and put back down again. The game is not what you would call "graphics intensive" - the character designs are cartoonish and super basic - but, perhaps like Tetris, you're playing to tickle your brain, not impress your eyeballs. Once you get to playing, you might feel that your subconscious is working on the puzzles as you sleep or, like me, as you work; coming back to a challenge is something you'll look forward to. Hopefully the finished project is more polished, but just as good as the version I got to play.

Tags: I Heart Geeks, Nintendo-DS

Posted in: Features, Gaming

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