Back in the dark ages of gaming - you know, the early 90s - The Incredible Machine was simply the coolest game ever. Assuming you can find a copy and an emulator, it still is. Based upon the principles of a Rube Goldberg machine, it asked you to solve simple problems in insanely complex ways. "Please place this ball in the basket using only 3 platforms, an electrical fan, 2 ropes and pulleys, and 4 trampolines." The magic is never the end but the means. I Love Geeks! is the Rube Goldberg principle at its best: 100 levels of "incredible machines" using the physics of today's game systems and controls of the Nintendo DS.
Side note to developers: Really, not all games need a reason for the gameplay; no need to tie them to a shallow premise! Moving on...
Even though nerds are now cool (you know, the people you call to fix anything remotely related to your computer), geeks aren't yet chic. Still the outcasts in high school, I Love Geeks! casts you as the brainy geek who uses your noggin at solving intractable puzzles to outwit the pushy jocks and win the heart of the cheerleader.
Initially, the game is divided by puzzle types as it adds different machines, items and pieces of ... stuff. Once you've shown you're proficient at completing basic puzzles, you're thrown to the wolves. This isn't to say the difficulty increases significantly; in truth, it's a rather pleasant increase as you progress. What makes the game both difficult and easy is that not every item needs be used and there is often more than one way to solve the puzzle.
When presented with 3 long platforms and you can solve the puzzle with either 2 (or 3), it is difficult to not spend time trying to determine how to fit that third platform in. Not that I ever had that happen.
The interface is pleasantly uncluttered. Rather than having 12-15 items sitting on the screen confusing how to complete the puzzle, you choose specifically what you'd like to test on the puzzle and how it will interact. Simply choose 2 gears and a belt and test that; then add a trampoline and a fan and test again. If it isn't working, just rotate the items, move them or reset.
Although each puzzle has a timer, there is no failure for not completing within a certain time. It is simply a tool to extend the game - beat your own time! Or better yet - and this is where the game becomes deliciously evil - playing head to head with a friend. Only the delightfully nerdy (or competitive gamer) need apply.
I Love Geeks! has been a long time coming; I'm quite surprised the Nintendo DS has been out for so long without Rube Goldberg puzzles as a core game mechanic before now. It's wonderfully addicting yet terribly frustrating. Thirty minutes I looked at one puzzle, carefully placed the machine on the table (as to not chuck it across the room), and walked away. Two hours later I returned, picked it up and solved it in under a minute. Only 74 more to go.
I'm a mother of two boys, ages 7 and 10 and live in the chaos that ensues. I've a permanent disability that keeps me homebound, so books, kids, games and books are my constant companions. Oh, and books, too. *grins*
My children both play games so I often play them first, getting to know exactly how something may effect my sensitive and easily stimulated older child vs. my stoic and imperturbable younger.
I like games for games; for the pure enjoyment of them and believe that no game is wholly bad, though some are real stinkers.
I also have the dexterity of a camel in mittens so find playing FPSs difficult (and I also don't like the gore) and RTSs at times can stump me. I just can't seem to move quickly enough to keep up with them. Some of my favorite games are arcade games and I'll spend 3-5 years on the same 5-6 levels because I just never get any better. But, I have fun.
