''Crazy Machines 2'' is a

puzzle video game Puzzle video games make up a broad genre of video games that emphasize puzzle solving. The types of puzzles can test problem-solving skills, including logic, pattern recognition, sequence solving, spatial recognition, and word completion. H ...

developed by German studios

Fakt Software ''Fakt'' (Polish for "fact") is a Polish tabloid daily newspaper published in Warsaw, Poland, by Ringier Axel Springer Polska (a Swiss-German joint-venture subsidiary of Axel Springer SE and Ringier), and is one of the best-selling papers in Pola ...

and DTP Entertainment for

Microsoft Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

, and

iOS iOS (formerly iPhone OS) is a mobile operating system created and developed by Apple Inc. exclusively for its hardware. It is the operating system that powers many of the company's mobile devices, including the iPhone; the term also includes ...

. It is the sequel to ''

Crazy Machines ''Crazy Machines'' is a puzzle video game, puzzle computer game created by German studio FAKT Software GmbH. Crazy Machines based many of its ideas on ''The Incredible Machine (game), The Incredible Machine'' series of games. The player is given a ...

''.

Gameplay

The goal in ''Crazy Machines 2'' is to solve a seemingly simple problem (cook a hot dog, pop a balloon) by constructing a

Heath Robinson William Heath Robinson (31 May 1872 – 13 September 1944) was an English cartoonist, illustrator and artist, best known for drawings of whimsically elaborate machines to achieve simple objectives. In the UK, the term "Heath Robinson contr ...

Rube Goldberg Reuben Garrett Lucius Goldberg (July 4, 1883 – December 7, 1970), known best as Rube Goldberg, was an American cartoonist, sculptor, author, engineer, and inventor. Goldberg is best known for his popular cartoons depicting complicated gadge ...

-esque machine. The 3D game relies heavily on in-game physics and utilises

NVidia Nvidia CorporationOfficially written as NVIDIA and stylized in its logo as VIDIA with the lowercase "n" the same height as the uppercase "VIDIA"; formerly stylized as VIDIA with a large italicized lowercase "n" on products from the mid 1990s to ...

PhysX PhysX is an open-source realtime physics engine middleware SDK developed by Nvidia as a part of Nvidia GameWorks software suite. Initially, video games supporting PhysX were meant to be accelerated by PhysX PPU (expansion cards designed by Ag ...

. For any given puzzle, the player is provided with a collection of items e.g.

ramps An inclined plane, also known as a ramp, is a flat supporting surface tilted at an angle from the vertical direction, with one end higher than the other, used as an aid for raising or lowering a load. The inclined plane is one of the six clas ...

, springs,

steam engine A steam engine is a heat engine that performs mechanical work using steam as its working fluid. The steam engine uses the force produced by steam pressure to push a piston back and forth inside a cylinder. This pushing force can be trans ...

s, electrical devices,

gear A gear is a rotating circular machine part having cut teeth or, in the case of a cogwheel or gearwheel, inserted teeth (called ''cogs''), which mesh with another (compatible) toothed part to transmit (convert) torque and speed. The basic pr ...

s, belts, and a large selection of other mechanical devices for converting and directing raw energy into useful motion. On the completion of each puzzle, the player is rewarded with points and a gold, silver, or bronze

lug nut A lug nut or wheel nut is a fastener, specifically a nut, used to secure a wheel on a vehicle. Typically, lug nuts are found on automobiles, trucks (lorries), and other large vehicles using rubber tires. Design A lug nut is a nut fastener wi ...

. Not only does the created machine have to perform the assigned primary task, but might also complete one or more of the optional secondary tasks thus earning more points.

Reception

The PC version received above-average reviews according to the

review aggregation A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

website

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

. ''GameZone'' were impressed by the number of puzzles, saying, "Now the game has like 200 puzzles to complete, which is an astonishing number," and that the game was "Easy to use, forward thinking and inventive," being "really a delight to play." ''

IGN ''IGN'' (formerly ''Imagine Games Network'') is an American video game and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa distri ...

'' were less keen, saying, "The core gameplay mechanics are solid," but "''Crazy Machines 2'' is at times poorly constructed."

References

External links

Crazy Machines 2 official site
* *{{moby game, id=/nintendo-ds/crazy-machines-2_, name=''Crazy Machines 2'' (Nintendo DS) 2007 video games DTP Entertainment games IOS games Nintendo DS games Puzzle video games Single-player video games Video game sequels Video games developed in Germany Video games using PhysX Viva Media games Windows games Fakt Software games

Gameplay

Reception

See also

References

External links