| “No, no,” they said, “just your current favorite game.” Whew! My brain had been threatening to lock up like a cheap PC after a four-day LAN party. But at this particular moment in time, I definitely have a favorite game, and that’s Cradle of Rome. It’s a download game (12 megs, with the usual free trial period) from the folks at Awem Studio, it’s definitely a puzzle game, and it’s how I spent a good bit of last weekend.
And there’s nothing I’d like more than to tell you all about it. Good games should be shared! | 
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| On the surface, Cradle of Rome is very reminiscent of Jewel Quest and Big Kahuna Reef, two of the games I still play from time to time, even with all the newer titles clamoring for my attention. The gameplay is classic icon-matching, with the usual twitch-inducing perks such as asymmetrical boards, locked pieces, and multi-match squares. But then the game goes one step further. Each of the different icons on the board represents a different type of resource: gold, food, and construction supplies. Each time you make a match, that particular type of resource is added to your stockpile.
Now here’s the really clever part: between each level, you’re taken to a landscape (initially quite empty), and given the chance to spend your hard-earned resources on construction projects. In short, you are building the great city of Rome. From the most basic of farms to the magnificent Forum, the more resources you collect, the more impressive your city will become! Better still, each new building adds a new type of icon to the game board. Some are upgrades to current icons, making each resource worth a bit more. Others allow you to perform special moves, such as clearing an entire line of icons at once, or turning one icon into a huge bounty of resources.
So, really, I’d be playing and enjoying Cradle of Rome even without the city-building layer. I’m a total sucker for good, challenging icon-matching games. But with the extra incentive of watching your city grow (and checking out all the new special moves as you unlock them)… well, let’s just say that I know what I’ll be doing again this weekend. Aside from laundry.
Cradle of Rome: definitely my pick of the week!
Tips and tricks
When I first started playing Cradle of Rome, I’d use every spare moment of time available on a level to make more and more and more matches. It seemed like a no-brainer: the more time you spend making matches, the more resources you’ll have at the end of the level! Well, that’s not quite how it worked out. When you finish a level, any leftover time is turned into a bonus of whichever resource you need the most. Finish the level quickly enough, and that bonus alone is more than you could possibly make just by matching resources!
Some of the trickiest levels are the ones with chains locking some of the resources in place. If there are multiple layers of chains – for example, one set up near the top of the screen and another set down near the bottom – work on clearing the lowest available area first. Since this causes new resources to cascade down from above, some of the top chains might be cleared just by accident while you’re clearing the lower ones! Work on the top areas only if there are no viable matches near the bottom.
At each stage of the game, you’ll have the opportunity to purchase four different buildings. Take a look at the description of each one, and focus first on purchasing the buildings that provide a new type of special move! Since the specials will help you clear a level faster (and sometimes can be the difference between winning and losing a level), they’re worth more than the resource upgrades.
Oh, one more thing… as with all matching games of this type, you really want to pay special attention to any areas that are only open to the rest of the board on one or two sides. These can be a real headache to clear! Try to get them taken care of early, so that you’re not fighting to clear one out with only ten seconds left on the clock. That’s pretty much a one-way ticket to the fridge for some “comfort food” ice cream.
Finally, a note about level 72: this is, without a doubt, the toughest level in the game. If at all possible, make sure all your specials are fully charged before starting level 72!
Coming up…
One thing I’ve always found amazing and cool about casual games players is how incredibly diverse we all are. If you look at the audience for “hardcore” videogames – 3D shooters, role-playing games, sports simulations, real-time wargames – it’s a fairly specific group for each variety of game. Not so with casual gamers! We are everybody, or at least that subset of everybody who has access to a computer and five minutes of free time. Of course, every one of us has different tastes, different favorites, and different perspectives, but what we all appreciate is good, solid, fun gameplay.
With that in mind, I’d love to introduce you to some of my game-obsessed coworkers. Everybody here is passionate about games (you have to really, really love games to survive for long in a game development group!), but they all have very different ideas on which games are the best, and why. I’d like to feature a different great game every week, and I intend to hassle a wide selection of my colleagues into presenting their favorites. Assuming that they don’t scatter like pheasants when I go looking for volunteers, we should have some great insights, anecdotes, and tips for you in upcoming weeks.
Until next time, happy playing! | |
