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"'Amazing Alex' Hands On\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nHow to Play\nIn Amazing Alex, you are given a goal each level you have to achieve: in the first levels, its getting a ball into a basket using ramps and a force called gravity. \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nCollecting Stars\nAlong with achieving the goal, you have to collect stars to unlock later zones in the game.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nYour Goals\nEach level, arrows direct you to what you need to do to complete the task.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nSetting Up\nBefore you start the action, you need to use the pieces provided to help make the puzzle work, whether that involves adding a rampor a pipe to guide the objects. You can't move anything that's already in the space, but \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMaking it Go\nOnce you're set, you press the play button in the top right corner to start the action.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nPhysics is Fun!\nThe puzzles get more complex, and eventually you'll be setting off more than one object when you press play.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nMissing Pieces\nThe great thing about the game is you don't necessarily need all the pieces it provides to solve a puzzle.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nDifferent Solutions\nAnd, you don't have to solve the puzzle in the same way. You can slightly deviate to ensure you capture all the stars.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nNew Levels\nYou can design levels as well, and share them online.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nAmazing Alex, Rovio's newest physics puzzle game is great for people of all ages, but it's not quite as addicting as Angry Birds.\nRovio released its newest game franchise to the Apple App Store [download link] and Google Play [download link] on Thursday morning. It's a rebranded version of Casey's Contraptions, which was released last year for iPad and was well-reviewed then. It's interesting that Rovio decided to simply purchase and rebrand a game rather than coming up with their own new game ideas, but with the success of Angry Birds, they have cart blanche to do what they like. So this review is partially for a game that has been out a year, with some changes.\nAmazing Alex takes place in a young boy's messy house. Each level presents a different physics puzzle that involves cleaning up: you have to put balls in a bin, topple some books, or pop balloons. You then use the objects available to you to solve the puzzle, earning bonuses for each of the three stars you collect. \nThe physics puzzles are a little more clever than some games, because there isn't just one solution to every problem. You can place several pieces \u2014 like shelves or pipes \u2014 on a blank canvas to experiment with the game's physics. You don't also need every piece available to you (and they change every level) to solve a puzzle, meaning there is room fiddle with your designs.\nThis is where the game could have extra challenge, and it misses the boat. There are no time bonuses for solving a puzzle in one go, for not using all your pieces, or solving it an allotted time. The only achievement is collecting the three stars each level, which you'll have to do to unlock new sections of the game.\nThe game's difficulty isn't too challenging; the first few levels serve entirely as tutorial, and it won't be hard for you to breeze through the first couple of zones. The joy in the game lies more with its sandbox nature, and it challenges you to create whatever Rube Goldberg can most creatively solve the level. That might not satisfy the most achievement-hungry player, but it is far more creative and would be a great title to help kids' problem solving skills.\nThis is especially true in the section of the game that allows you to create your own levels with the same simple household objects. Players will be able to publish and share their own levels with friends, giving the game an extra creative level lost on many mobile titles.\nRovio says they will offer regular, free updates to the game, similar to their support for Angry Birds. The game is easily worth the 99 cents, but those looking for a serious challenge might not get into the game.\nCheck out screenshots from the game above, and let us know what you think in the comments."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://mashable.com/2012/07/13/amazing-alex-review/>