This game previously received positive thumbs up of 89% of 205 votes as well as 87% of 162. For details of previous comments please follow the links below as well as my original comment from March 2007:
http://game.giveawayoftheday.com/numericon/#comments
in particular comment 33 by game seeker
or
http://game.giveawayoftheday.com/numer-icon/
in particular Shell comment #19, DNS comment #48, L Dahl comment # 59 and Hempman #55
other reviews:
http://www.robingames.com/games/numericon/?show_flash
The Game
You can set up multiple profiles and when ending a level you can return to the same spot whenever you decide to return. The options menu enables you to set the game for full screen (default) or windowed mode, as well as have a custom cursor. There is also a toggle for hardware acceleration and another toggle for turning on and off in game tips.
There are three game modes:
Survival:
You select a sequence of numbers to complete a sum by dragging the mouse from one number to the next for example 4+2=6 including the jewels that can be found scores bonus points. You have to score as many points as you can before the time runs out, which is indicated by an hour glass to the right of the screen. You can reshuffle the board if required, though this will take up valuable time from the sand trickling out of the timer.
Puzzle Mode:
This has the same basic game play as the survival mode but you have to try and remove all the pieces from the playing area. You cannot leave a tile as an orphan tile. All tiles that you use must be contiguous. You can restart the level, but doing so you will lose one life.
Adventure Mode:
There are 30 levels in the adventure mode. The way you use the tiles is still the same as in both other modes, but in this mode you progress in a linear fashion through the levels, all of which appear to be laid out in different patterns looking at the levels map that’s provided, though the first two levels had exactly the same board lay out. As with the survival game you can re-shuffle the board at any time. There are two ways of using the tiles in adventure mode; that is either to use the required number of pieces or use each piece at least once. There is a feather at the left side of the screen that indicates which mode you have to play in. The peacock feather indicates the latter mode.
The longer the chain of number the bigger the score you will get in both the adventure and the survival game, for example 1+1=2 gives 4 points, 1+1+1=3 gives 9 points, 1+1+1+1=4 gives 20 points and 1+1+1+1+1=5 gives you 30 points, though the scoring isn’t as simple as that as the higher the numbers you use to attain such sequences the higher the bonus you get. Eg 2+3=5 gives you 10 points compared to the above 1+1=2 giving 4 points.
You also get points for the speed at which you make sequences; one each for sequences of 3, 4 or 5 tiles, there’s also jewel sequences and a time bonus. In the adventure mode, at some points you will be able to upgrade certain skills for example, the Dwarven Engineer skill upgrade which causes a bomb to appear at the beginning of a level or the Leprechaun skill that gives you more jewels. Then there are also extra lives and an Alchemist skill that enables the bomb bonus to be used more than once. I didn’t check whether these were applicable in the survival mode though.
When using the Jewel mode you gain even more bonus points by clicking the jewel as it leaves the playing area.
Screen captures:
http://s109.photobucket.com/albums/n61/Whiterabbit_01/gaotd/Numericon/
Googled:
http://search.msn.co.uk/images/results.aspx?q=Numericon&FORM=MSNH
System Requirements
Operating System……...Windows 98/ME/2000/XP,
CPU……………………………….600MHz+
Memory…………………………128MB RAM
Conclusion
This is a great game for the young ones. It’s really cool that you cater for all sections of the gaming community. I’m really pleased and thankful for the wide variety of games you provide here; from my favorite arkanoids, to strategy and adventure, racing games, sports and basic arcade games such as the platform and color matching games, as well as space shooters and the more unusual games such as baby drive and soup and even Hacker Evolution. Keep up the fantastic work.
This game is an ideal complement to the game given away from the other day; ‘Key Words’. It has similar features such as the trophy room, which will give the kids something to aim for. There are also three game modes with this particular game, called, Adventure, Puzzle and Survival, which will undoubtedly give the game some extended playability. The graphics are nicely presented and thankfully you can turn down the music if you find it too distracting. Well worth 7 out of 10 for family fun and educational for the kids to IMO
Thank you Robin Games, Meridian93 and the GGAotD team for providing another educational game for the family.
