• Gameplay
  • Presentation
  • Replay Value

Rovio has finally moved past their Angry Birds, at least for the time being. Ever since Angry Birds became the huge success that it did, Rovio has taken a back seat when it came to actually developing new games, and has pretty much ridden on the coat tails of Angry Birds’ success. That’s the reason that I was so excited to hear that Rovio would finally be releasing a new title. I didn’t really know what to expect, and I swore to myself that if there was even the mention of a bird that had even the slightest bit of anger inside of it, I would break my iPhone and never play another Rovio game again. Luckily that didn’t happen, and I actually rather enjoyed the creation that is Amazing Alex.

Amazing Alex is about a boy whos name is something I bet none of you can guess. Alex just wants to have fun and play with his toys, all the while trying to show off his inner Rube Goldberg. The whole game revolves around creating various Rube Goldberg machines that have a specific goal in every level. One level may have you using shelves to get an eight ball across the stage to knock a few boxes down, while other stages might have you launching a pinball out of a slingshot to cut the rope tied to a balloon. The tasks are pretty basic, but the way you make those tasks happen is where the fun comes in.

Each level starts you out with some items that are already on the stage which can’t be moved. Then you are given a set amount of objects that you can place on the map. That’s about all the direction that the game gives you, though. The rest is up to you. There are little stars on the map that give you a rating out of 3 (depending on how many you pick up), but those are really only for those of you who want to show off your Amazing Alex skills, and go for three stars on every level. I have to admit, for the beginning of the game, I was one of those people. The little stars actually add a lot of variety to the game, considering you really have to think about how to get all three for a majority of the puzzles.

That’s really all there is to say about the main game. It’s really entertaining to work your way through the levels, and each one creates a unique opportunity for you to combine objects in a different way. You would think that once you complete all the levels, that there is nothing left to do. You, my friend, would be wrong. Along with the massive amount of puzzles to solve, there is a level designer for you to utilize. You can build, test, and create levels the way you want, using as many pieces as you please. Do you want to make it so a ball goes back and forth across the stage in a zig zag, only to get punched back up to the beginning to start again? Go right ahead and do it! While you’re at it, you might as well upload it to Rovio’s download service too. That way other people can marvel at all the effort you put in to making a never-ending cycle of Amazing Alex madness.

Overall, I think Amazing Alex is definitely something that fits perfectly into the mobile game industry. It can nuzzle itself right in there next to Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja. It manages to be very entertaining, providing a lot of puzzles for you to solve, while also giving you a lot of replay value, something that is key to the success of a mobile game.  I really did enjoy Amazing Alex, which is really hard to say considering my hatred for the Angry Birds franchise. You did it, Rovio. You managed to create a game that wasn’t horrible, or about angry birds.