The Game

Maybe you like "board" or "slider" puzzles, like I do, or perhaps you would just appreciate an opportunity to find an entertaining diversion while waiting for some of the newer adventure games to be released over the next couple of months. Well, Microsoft has recently released an interesting puzzle game, called Pandora's Box, which offers the player some unusual variations that are nor typically found in this type of game.

Developed by Alexey Pajitnov, the brilliantly creative mind that gave us Tetris, this game contains 350 puzzles, which fall into 10 categories:

• Find and Fill--find a hidden object(s) among overlapping outlines and fill it with a single color.
• Focus Point--swap pieces of a picture to reassemble the original image.
• Image Hole--match the cutout shape of moving holes to the image underneath.
• Interlock--fill the shape without letting the pieces overlap.
• Jesse's Strips--compose the image from strips arranged on trays.
• Lens Bender--use lenses to figure out where the pieces go.
• Outer Layer--replace the surface of an object by attaching the pieces.
• Overlap--reveal the image by placing overlapping fragments.
• Rotascope--compose the picture by sliding tiles on concentric rings.
• Slices--rebuild an object by rotating, flipping, and stacking the slices.

Thus far, this game may sound like a typical board or slider type game, but it isn't. The difference here is that there is actually a series of stories involved and the opportunity to travel to different locations where you can become familiar with representative architecture, photography, paintings, sculptures, and other artwork relating to each location.

How so, you ask. Well, it seems that Pandora's Box is made up of seven sides, each of which normally contains one of seven Tricksters. As you begin playing this game, you find that all seven Tricksters have escaped from Pandora's Box and that these spirits of chaos and mischief have scattered, traveling to different cities around the globe, hiding the pieces of Pandora's Box that are needed to contain them. Your goal is to follow the Tricksters on their travels, find the missing pieces, and return them all to Pandora's Box. Only in this way can you recapture each of the Tricksters.

As it works out, each of the seven Tricksters has traveled to five cities, and you will have the opportunity to solve up to ten different puzzles at each location. Somewhere, at random, behind one of the puzzles at each location is a missing piece of Pandora's Box, so technically you will not have to solve all ten puzzles, but you may want to do so, if just for the joy of it. Also, by solving puzzles, you can collect hidden bonuses, such as hint tokens and free solve tokens. These may come in useful to avoid frustration, as puzzles will get harder as you progress.

Along with the puzzle gameplay, you will be told stories at each city location that relate to the life and times of the Trickster that you are following. Although this feature certainly doesn't make this an adventure game, it does provide added interest for the player and often humorous moments as you follow the progress of each Trickster's travels.

Once you have solved puzzles at five locations and found five pieces of the Box that are attributable to a given Trickster, then you will be asked to face that Trickster's final challenge ... you guessed it, one more puzzle, only this time it's a really difficult one.

The Interface

The game's interface is very easy to use and provides some excellent features that will be appreciated by players of all skill levels.

The menu offers bonuses and options that can be useful during gameplay and has icons for hints, free puzzle solves (if you are really stuck), puzzles solved, and quick help (gives you a description of how to go about the working of the puzzle that you are currently on).

In addition, there is a really nice feature that "pops up" the first time that you encounter a new puzzle type. It is an interactive tutorial that will walk you though a sample puzzle and give you tips on how to approach puzzle solutions logically and with instruction on how to manipulate the pieces of the puzzle, which may require rotating or flipping the pieces to get better views.

My Recommendation

As I stated at the beginning of this review, if you like to do puzzles and are looking for variety or if you simply want something to provide a diversion while you wait for the release of your most anticipated new adventure games or if you have some family members that might like to gather around the computer to challenge each other's puzzle-solving skills, then Pandora's Box is for you. If you don't like board or slider puzzles coming at you one after another, then this game is not for you.

If you might enjoy a puzzle-based game with a limited degree of storytelling, you will have fun and be challenged by Pandora's Box.

Evaluating Pandora's Box strictly within a set of comparison criteria that would apply for puzzle-based games, my overall rating for Pandora's Box is A.