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By Al Giovetti, 03/10/97
Price:$30
Genre:puzzle game
Release:February 27, 1997
Developer:
Lead Artist:
Programmer:
Producer:
Publisher: Maxis
Phone: 510-933-5630, 800-336-2947
Website: www.maxis. com
Requirements:Winddows 3.1 and 95, 486 or above, SVGA display, 8mb Memory, double-speed CD-ROM, and mouse; or Windows 95 with a 486 or above, SVGA display, 8mb Memory, double-speed CD-ROM, and mouse.
Marble Drop
History
The Incredible Machine by Sierra was released in 1992 and was received well by critics and the buying public. Later Sierra released the Even More Incredible Machine and other games of this ilk. These games were computer based Rube Goldberg machines that you solved when you made them work
Reuben Lucius Goldberg, born in 1883 died in 1970, was the cartoonist who invented the Rube Goldberg aparatus which performs simple operations in a round about and complex way. (Something like the US Government - Ed.) The methods involved in getting from point A to B often involved extremely complex machines which dropped balls which rolled town and tripped switches which started something else and finally ended up completing the task.
Company Line
Marble Drop is a unique puzzle strategy game that challenges players to explore the workings of different mechanical puzzles. Players drop different colored marbles in each puzzle machine and figure out how to get the right colored marbles to their corresponding destination. Each puzzle gets progressively more complex with the addition of various components such as cannons, triggers, teleporters, splitters, springs, swingbars, and lifts which direct the marble's course. The challenge is anticipating how the marbles will ultimately fall. As a special bonus, each copy of Marble Drop also includes the original Full Tilt! Pinball.Game Play
You drop a marble which may come into contact with a variety of gadgets which can alter the marble's course. A cannon will fire the marble into another location within the puzzle machine. Another dropped marble will ignite the fuse of the marble. The marble may also be diverted from the straight and narrow by swing-bars, teleporters, targets, diverters, splitters, and lifts.
As you play the game the puzzles get more and more complex until you have multiple marble combinations and other information and either you lose or you solve all the puzzles. Scoring components in the game result in the accumulation of points. Bonus point awards and hidden puzzles add to the complexity and fun.
Plot
Graphics