Review of the game "Minesweeper"
Today I got my hands on an amazing game – "Minesweeper"; I think few of you have played it before this review.
Briefly about the plot
There is no plot as such; from the "Help" section, we learn only the goal of the game:
"The aim of the game is to find all the mines on the minefield as quickly as possible without triggering any of them. If the opened cell contains a mine, you lose."
This reminded me a lot of a bomb disposal simulator; what’s it called again? Damn, it’s slipped my mind, oh well... The first launch greets us with this window:
A very confusing interface; where are the usual options: "New Game", "Load Game", "Settings"? So unclear...
What is this "Game" option? Yes, I want to play, I click! Oooooo, right there are both "Settings" and "New Game"; yes, I’m a newbie at this game, I’ll leave everything as it is, but how to play? Apparently, I’ll have to dive into the manual since WASD and the arrow keys don’t work. It turns out that control is entirely with the mouse; who would have thought? The left button opens a cell, and the right button marks mines.
Let’s continue examining the main game window.
On the left (the numbers) shows us how many mines are left on the field, and on the right – the stopwatch (not a timer) shows how much time has passed. The amusing smiley face (presumably an image of a modern minesweeper) equals pressing the F2 key or in the main menu – "New Game".
Graphics
When I first saw this game, I was, to put it mildly, shocked. I’ve never seen such amazing special effects, and most importantly – nothing lags! As soon as I clicked on the game field, it magically opened almost halfway in a fraction of a second!
Once again, I say, this is magnificent; of course, there are no landscapes like in Crysis, but in Crysis, there aren't half the features presented in the game we are reviewing. Initially, at the "Novice" level, there are 10 mines, a total of 81 cells; you need to reveal the entire field, there’s no need to defuse bombs, just find them, resolving a logical puzzle. The numbers are made neatly, inconspicuously since nothing should distract the true minesweeper from the main task. The explosion of the bomb is very restrained; the designers could have put in some effort, but unfortunately, we immediately see all the bombs; maybe the game just adjusted to my ancient video card 8800 (I won't advertise the manufacturer) and refuses to reproduce the special effects available on more modern video cards.
The animation also penetrates to the depths of the soul; just look at this expression on the minesweeper’s face:
In his eyes, it's clearly read: "Oh damn, what’s going to happen now!!!"
Gameplay
Playing this product is interesting; there’s always a significant fear when you first start uncovering the field, and the fear becomes so overwhelming that no Dead Space can compare; in my fright, I even accidentally closed the game. We are playing "Minesweeper", and "Minesweeper" is playing on our nerves, it’s very captivating! In the meantime, I completely finished the game; my minesweeper was awarded a prize, and he was able to buy himself sunglasses.
You know, I want to replay this game over and over again; "replayability 10/10", as they would say in a popular publication. Unfortunately, I didn’t beat the Anonymous’ record; I wonder how my computer got an acquaintance @Anonymous? Well, let’s try again and again until we finally break this cheater’s record. WOW, I made it to the leaderboard; that’s why the "Champions" option was needed in the game menu. I don’t want to brag, but I did it in 24 seconds; that’s not 999, by the way!
Conclusions
In conclusion, I want to say that Microsoft has outdone themselves; during the time I played "Minesweeper", it didn't crash even once, didn’t complain about drivers, and there wasn’t a single BSOD; most importantly – there’s no need to install DirectX, meaning the game is practically accessible to everyone. You can spend several pleasant evenings with this game, playing it a couple of million times; it feels like you’re a mega-professional, but I remind you that there are people who are better than you.
Graphics 9/10
Gameplay 10/10
Interest 10/10
Interface 5/10
Total: 8.5 – EDITOR'S CHOICE.