One is in a small dialog bubble in the main menu which gives the player a hint as to what the end goal is in a specific area. That said, the player is also given a quick and easy way to find solutions if he so desires. Some of the brain teasers took me a long time to figure out, and the game is not afraid of throwing something out there that looks insanely difficult at first glance. Make absolutely no mistake about it- Machinarium is a difficult game. It was very, very satisfying to see such a gorgeous game (similar to what Aquaria did) not be afraid to show some bite to go along with the bark. The puzzles are challenging, extremely challenging in some cases, and the feeling after finding a solution was always rewarding. This is where I make the only negative comment I have about that game, in that I wish that after taking an item out of my inventory I could right-click and send it back rather than having to drag it back up there (a la The Longest Journey), but even this doesn't come close to dampening the experience. The only interaction with the game world is clicking on things and using items on things by clicking on them, so the controls are pretty simple. The player must find and use items within the game world to solve puzzles and access more areas. Machinarium is a point-and-click adventure game executed to near perfection. With its stunning aesthetics, Machinarium immerses the player into its world entirely, with all the wonderful quirks that go along with it. The music is also fantastic, creating a sometimes playful, sometimes sad, and always engaging feeling throughout the game. Similar to the storytelling in Wall-E, the narrative is expressed mostly through gesture and a few emotionally charged spurts of sounds from the characters, and the result is something endlessly charming and always heartwarming. The game's backstory is told largely through a series of animated dialog bubbles that were always a treat to watch, as the hand-drawn sketch style used in them really lends itself well to the overall theme. Machinarium casts the player as a simple little automaton known only as "The Robot" who must find his way back into the city after being taken out with the garbage. I honestly can't put into words how well-done the visuals are in Machinarium-it's probably better expressed through a quick Google image search. In fact, sometimes the game looks so good it can be difficult to see items that can be picked up or used in some way. Every single area, even the small enclosed ones, are so painstakingly detailed and stylistic that it really fells similar to playing an episode of Aaahh!!! Real Monsters. The open areas that overlook the rest of the world are absolutely breathtaking, and at the beginning of the game the scenery looked so good that I thought I was playing some sort of introductory cinematic and the in-game graphics would be coming soon. Saying that Machinarium looks good simply does not do it justice-this game is jaw-droppingly beautiful. Machinarium, the recent Flash-based adventure hit from Amanita Design, does both of these things and does them extremely well. The other is to wrap a familiar set of gameplay mechanics in a good package of style and substance to make the experience feel fresh. One is to make the puzzles and other obstacles interesting and challenging enough to make the player feel like he is actually progressing through the game rather than just tagging along for the ride. The formula really hasn't changed all that much in about ten years, so any new adventure game's mission consists mostly of two things. It's easy to think that adventure games are a stagnant lot. WTF: The oddly convenient series of pipes in one of the puzzles. HIGH: Overlooking the city from the game's high points. You Won't Even Notice that All the Humans are Gone
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