Mario is famous for many
things, including saving princesses, throwing parties, and even organizing
fighting tournaments. However, one of his talents that rarely gets mentioned is
his plumbing, a skill relegated to moments of the
hilariously bad cartoon that ate up my youth.
Droplitz lets you delve into that aspect of the big M’s life, putting you
in charge of a series of interconnected pipes that need to be organized. While
Droplitz may not sound that exciting, its addictive brand of puzzle
action might just keep you coming back for more.
Droplitz is a game of
redirection, as your job is to guide the water droplets that flow from the
dropper at the top of the screen into one of the collectors at the bottom. After
falling from the dropper, the water seeps through a number of interwoven pipes,
each of which is sectioned off into movable panels. Your job is to twist the
pipe panels to successfully create a funnel from the droppers to the collectors,
so that the water will flow smoothly from top to bottom. All of the pipes that
you used become locked once you make a connection, forcing you to utilize
whatever pipes are left on the game board to connect the rest of the droppers.
Once enough water has been collected, that level will be cleared, those pipes
will vanish, and a new set of randomized tubes will drop onto the screen for you
to start the process all over again.
As simplistic as it sounds,
Droplitz is actually pretty tough to get the hang of. There are a handful of
different pipe patterns, with each branching off in specific directions. Some
pipes are X-shaped–which allows you to link to them from nearly any
direction–while others are C shaped—which forces you to flow the water at them
from a certain angle. This makes it tough to get everything linked properly, as
you have to deal with the pipe pieces that you are given and somehow make the
connection work. You also want to be careful when completing a path, as you
might use up too many of the on-screen pipes and not have a way to connect the
remaining droppers and collectors. It also doesn’t help that the game moves very
quickly, with drops hitting the tubes every few seconds. If you fail at
connecting the drip points to the buckets in a set amount time, you will run out
of water and lose the game.
Once you get used to the
nonstop pipe rotations, you will find a lot to like about Droplitz. There
are plenty of different nuances to the gameplay, as drops will split off into
multiple paths when they hit a multi-exit pipe. Following all of these trails of
water requires constant attention, yet you will enjoy planning out the perfect
route for the everlasting flow once you get used to it. You will also have to
develop a strategy for each situation, especially later on when the ante gets
upped. You start out with two droppers and three collectors on-screen, yet more
advanced levels will throw three times as many of each at you. The learning
curve of Droplitz is a bit steep at first, but you will find yourself
easing into it after a few rounds.
Getting a certain amount of
points in each level will unlock new areas, themes, or features for the game, a
goal that will drive you to keep trying despite many agonizing failures. While
you will have to face an increased dripping speed and more on-screen droppers
and collectors, the gameplay doesn’t really evolve too much as you go along.
Some variety comes from the additional modes that you can unlock, such as
Zendurance, Power-Up and Infection. Zendurance challenges you with staying alive
as long as you can in one area, Power-up allows you to gain special abilities to
make your pipe-swapping efforts smoother, and Infection poisons certain pieces
of the board and forces you to come up with new strategies. These differences
help freshen up the gameplay as you get several hours in, and the fact that they
have to be unlocked gives you something meaningful to work towards.
Surprisingly, no multiplayer options were included, which definitely limits the
appeal of this $10 puzzler.
Droplitz is pleasant to
look at, but doesn’t really have much style to it. The visuals are loaded with
neon colors and sparkly effects, but there is nothing defining about them. The
game lacks a distinctive personality, looking almost like a flash game at times.
This generic-feel drips into the audio design as well, which is mostly made up
of unmemorable mood music and techno that is only there to fill the void.
Overall, Droplitz might
not be the most memorable game on XBLA and PSN, but it does offer a lot of
high-speed, pipe-turning excitement that can get very addictive. Those looking
for a downloadable puzzler that doesn’t involve matching jewel types or stacking
blocks should give this one a shot, but don’t expect to be overwhelmed by
variety or have a lot of options to play around with.
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Gameplay: 7
The gameplay of
Droplitz is simplistic, but will keep you coming back for more thanks to
its fast-paced pipe-turning action and an overabundance of unlockables.
Graphics: 6
While the visuals
are bright, clean, and full of color, Droplitz lacks any semblance of a
personality and there isn’t much variety between levels and modes.
Sound: 6
The music of
Droplitz is mostly there as background filler, with your typical jumpy
techno beats and generic pop sounds. Sound effects relay the dripping well
enough.
Difficulty: Medium-Hard
Like many other
puzzles of this type, Droplitz starts off easy and gets incredibly hectic
over time. The game doesn’t let you unlock new modes and levels until you hit
certain scores, forcing you to master the mechanics quickly and get better as
you play.
Concept: 7
Droplitz
combines the
block rotation of Bejewled with the connection aspect of Pipe Dreams.
While not the most original idea, this amalgamation ends up being solid fun to
play around with.
Overall: 6.7
What Droplitz
lacks in personality and originality, it makes up for in fun, addictive
gameplay. Unfortunately, bit of repetition and a lack of multiplayer keep this
one from dropping into must-have territory.
