Finally, a casual game that doesn't involve mass amounts of clicking until your finger starts to cramp. There is some mad clicking in Sonoro TV, but it also takes a lot of precision and strategy. Sonoro TV is similar to puzzle games such as Lemmings, in which you need to create a path for your mindless minion — in this case, music samples to get to the exit.
The premise of the game is that you can play either as Nina or Jin, two contestants who are to compete against DJ Sonoro in what seems to be a game show. There are 30 levels in all, and the goal is to guide these wacky-looking music samples to the exit before DJ Sonoro catches them. You need to save more than half the samples to move on to the next level.
You are provided with various types of paint to create the path for your music samples. You are only given a limited supply, and you can always erase a previously drawn path to continue building a new one. This gets tricky when your music samples are mindlessly bouncing along, and you need to be within certain proximity to paint. You can't paint a path halfway across the screen. You need to actually be in the area, so you'll have to walk and paint.
The blue paint works like sticky glue; the samples will stick to it to keep them in place. The yellow paint cannot be erased, so you need to ration and plan your path carefully. The orange paint paints a normal path that can be erased and reused. The purple paint is on a timer; it'll disappear eventually, but you can reuse it again. The green paint works like a trampoline, your music-sample friends as well as yourself will get launched into the air when you walk on the green paint. Finally there is the pink paint, which will paint walls to block things. The music samples can't walk over the pink paint. It doesn't matter what type of paint you use, DJ Sonoro can launch discs at your path to make them disappear. He can't really hurt you, but he does hinder your work.
This game is a lot harder than I thought it would be, especially when you're given a very limited amount of paint. You basically have to paint and erase at the same time, because you can't be given enough to just draw a nice long path to the finish line. You control your character with the directional arrows, and the mouse is used to select and paint. You also can use the numbers on the keyboard to select the paint, but one hand is on the mouse, and the other is to control your character, so you really don't have the mobility to switch back and forth easily.
Sonoro TV is a fun and interesting concept, with colorful characters and upbeat music. It's a perfect setting for this type of game to keep things offbeat and fun. The puzzles are challenging, and they take awhile to get, but once you get the handle on how to pass the levels, it gets better. The tutorial gives you some basic instructions on what each paint color does, but other than that, you're on your own.
This game is worth checking out if you like a challenging platform puzzle game. It's very simple and easy to pick up, although I did have to try each level several times before I could figure out how to complete it.
I am a Canadian living in California with my husband and my precious baby Bailey (95lbs of labrador fun). I work full time and go to school, so finding the time to play video games is tough. I still manage to sneak some time in, whether it's playing on my GBA while I wait in line or sitting in the back seat of my car so I can use our dvd player to play the Gamecube on long trips. I've always been fairly decent at playing games to give my younger brother some competition. I started at the early age of 6 when I inherited an Atari 2600. I played any computer game I could get my hands on during those Commodore 64 days. Now I'll play anything from RPGs to first person shooters, racing games or basically anything that's fun and allows me to play with at least 3 other people.
