Arcade Game Central

Brickshooter Egypt has all the elements of a great casual game: simple rules, addictive gameplay, and a compelling story line. Well, “compelling” might not be the right word - “derivative”, though a bit harsh, is perhaps closer to the truth. OK, let’s be charitable and call the story line “familiar”.

Brickshooter Egypt is a fancied-up version of the original Brickshooter game, created by Sergey Stolbov and Terminal Studio in 1999. The first versions only offered simple graphics and rudimentary animations, but that’s all that was needed. The game concept was so strong that no extra graphical fluff was necessary to make it a great game.

But times have changed, the bar has been raised, and even simple puzzle games are expected to have spectacular graphics, stunning themes, and compelling backstories.

So Brickshooter gains an Egyptian theme, with the requisite pyramid/pharoah/heiroglyphic accruments. The game is now a quest, set in the land of the Nile, and you’re charged with rebuilding the glorious monuments of the past. Each puzzle you solve brings you closer to restoring an Egyptian icon, including the pyramids of Khufu, Djozer, Sneferu, Senusret, and Niuserre, as well as the majestic Sphinx.

Does the Egyptian atmosphere and rebuilding quest make this a better game? Perhaps. The graphics are very attractive, with tasteful sound and music. The additions certainly don’t detract from the gameplay, and the quest actually helps to draw you in. Unlike in the original game, where each level got progressively more difficult, but was not actually leading you anywhere, the quest gives you a goal, and each puzzle you solve takes you closer to achieving it. You actually feel like you’re accomplishing something, rather than just reaching a higher score.

The gameplay is still basically the same - create combinations of three or more blocks to remove them from the board. Yes, it’s a match-three puzzle, but unlike any others. Rather than starting with a full gameboard and swapping blocks to create matches, Brickshooter starts with a partially-populated gameboard, and you “shoot” colored blocks from the top, bottom, left, or right. Of course, the colors you need aren’t always the colors that are available, and therein lies the challenge. Each level will require you to work around a number of such mini-puzzles. It often requires a good deal of planning and foresight to solve each situation.

Another difference between Brickshooter and seemingly-similar games is that Brickshooter doesn’t have a time limit. The faster you clear your board, the more bonus points you earn, but you can take you time in planning your moves. Ultimately, the only goal is survival. Free all the magic glyphs before you fill the board with blocks, and you live to fight another day. This makes the game more strategic, and less dependent on hand-eye coordination.

I think this game is every bit the equal of some of its better-known contemporaries. Is it completely original? No. But it is truly innovative and original in it’s gameplay, and that’s what counts. It deserves to be a hit.

More information about Brickshooter Egypt
Download Brickshooter Egypt (8.69MB)