Musaic Box blends Puzzles, Storytelling and Music in One Intriguing Game
by Paul Wilks
Nov 18, 2011 8:22 AM –
Install
Musaic Box is an incredible game that blends all kind of different genres. It’s part puzzle, part point-and-click-story and part music studio. It perhaps shouldn’t work, but it really does! From the same developers as Farm Frenzy and Yumsters, Musaic Box is a unique experience that’s definitely worth a look.
Price: Free, ~$1.49
Tested on: HTC Desire HD
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Immersive narrative!
- Fun puzzles!
- Rewarding to solve!
- Lots of music!
- Great graphics!
Cons
- Very occasionally unresponsive.
Features:
Musaic Box is a very tricky game to place. It’s certainly a puzzle game, as there is a distinct element where you have to fit pieces together into a grid. It’s also one of those point-and-click detective adventure games as you work your way through different rooms, searching for clues as to the whereabouts of a musical impresario. It’s also not unlike music studio games as you have to blend musical elements together to create a tune. You also need a keen ear to put the music together and complete the puzzle. So it’s a deep melting pot of ideas and genres, but does it work?
Musaic Box is automatically a very immersive and intriguing experience, as you are presented with a room filled with clickable items. The aim of the game is to piece together bits of musical outlines which are then playable in your music box. The setting is quite twee, and the music is most often classical tunes and golden oldies. Subsequently however, it has a very familiar feel and (dare I say it) slightly educational, expect yourself to say “Ah, so that’s what that tune is called!”.
You move from room to room and each space has a number of clues to find. When you complete an outline you switch to the music box view. Here you usually have a band along the bottom which can play the bones of the tune. Then, you have to piece together the different shapes (think ‘Tetris’) in order to complete the tune. When it’s complete it gives a pleasing glow and plays through in completion.
In a nutshell then, explore rooms, collect outline pieces, solve musical puzzles and follow the narrative plot. The pace of the game is obviously quite pedestrian and people who only like high-octane thrills and 3D graphics are perhaps not going to enjoy Musaic Box. However, they are missing out because this is a delightful, challenging and fun game which is equally puzzling as it is musical and intriguing. The only thing that lets the game down currently is that it sometimes feels ever-so-slightly unresponsive. Items are not always highlighted immediately and the ‘Back’ tab occasionally has to be pressed a few times to work. This, however, is pretty minor and detracts little from the experience.
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Musaic Box – 1st Room
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Musaic Box – 2nd Room
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Musaic Box – 3rd Room
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Musaic Box – 4th Room
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Musaic Box – Music puzzle view (1)
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Musaic Box – Music puzzle view (2)
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Musaic Box – Music puzzle view (3)
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Musaic Box – Music puzzle view (4)
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Musaic Box – Puzzle complete
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Musaic Box – Map
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Musaic Box – Story telling narrative
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Musaic Box – Outline found
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Musaic Box – Ongoing narrative
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Musaic Box – Level solved
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Musaic Box – Level solved (2)
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Musaic Box – End of level awards
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Musaic Box – Discovered songs
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Musaic Box – Discover new songs
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Musaic Box – Acheivements
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Musaic Box – Help
Fun Factor:
Musaic Box is undoubtedly fun, and highly rewarding for patient play. The game is relaxing, immersive and thoroughly enjoyable. I found myself playing puzzle after puzzle and each is just as much fun as the last. There are hints if you get stuck, but I found that if you follow the sound of the pink or red icons, then build the other elements around it, it becomes a little easier.
Addictive:
It’s addictive in quite a unexpecting way. I tended to think ‘just one more‘ and before I knew it I was 3 rooms into the whole game. In this way it gobbles up time in the same way as any highly addictive Android game can.
Graphics:
The graphics are very smooth, but they are principally made up of still images. The puzzles are a little more interesting and deliver a rich and twinkling visual experience.
Accelerometer, Vibration & Sound:
The sound is phenomenal and, although the tunes are, essentially from a simulated music box so relatively basic, they still sound pure and nicely developed into the game.
Tags:
adventure,
Android App,
Android Apps,
Android Game,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
Herocraft,
Musaic Box,
Music,
Puzzle
Categorised in: Casual
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