Stacking

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Release Date: February 9, 2011
Developers: Double Fine Productions
Publishers: THQ
Platforms: PlayStation Network, Xbox Live Arcade, Microsoft Windows
Genre: Adventure, Puzzle
Players: Single-Player
Rating (ESRB): E10+ (Everyone 10 and up)


Synopsis:

The game is based on the Russian stacking matryoshka dolls, an idea coined by Double Fine's art director, Lee Petty, who saw the dolls as a means to replace the standard player interface used in graphical adventure games. The player controls the smallest doll, Charlie Blackmore, who has the ability to stack and unstack into larger dolls and use their abilities to solve puzzles to allow Charlie to free his older siblings and put an end to child labor enforced by the antagonist, the Baron. Puzzles within the game have multiple solutions, and include additional puzzles and challenges that allow the player to explore the game's world outside of the main story.

Story:

In the story you are the smallest Russian doll and you must get your siblings back from the baron. Who makes kids work for nothing. Your basically ending child labor and saving your family. You slowly go to each area where they are holding your siblings and save them. Some of these areas are a boat, a blimp and a train station. The game is very unique with its way of beating missions. Every mission has a different way of beating it: A funny way, the normal way and a crazy way that the developers make up. This makes it very entertaining to try to find all the possibilities to the story line. In the end you beat the baron and get all your siblings back. You can also do certain challenges for special dolls and earn them in your gallery. The story line made me laugh a lot and I think you should enjoy it. One bad thing about the story is the length, most players think the story was too short and they wanted more.

Story Rating: 8/10

Gameplay:

The gameplay is very fun, You basically can get inside of any Russian doll you can get behind and is one size bigger then the Russian doll your controlling. Getting in and out of dolls is very easy and using their special actions is the same. Once you use a characters special action a number of times their items will turn gold. Some frustrations in the gameplay would be finding certain dolls, dealing with dolls you want to get out of for a second running off or finding a certain solution to a mission. Other then those the game is great and I have not found any bugs so far.

Gameplay Rating: 9/10

Graphics:

The graphics are great, very smooth and look superb on a HDTV. The dolls look like real Russian matryoshka dolls and each have unique and neat designs that look as if they were painted on them. I really liked the graphics in this game and have yet to fund something wrong with them. The piano music that plays throughout the game is pretty cool too if you like the sound of classic piano. When characters preform their special actions it can be quite entertaining. Like a man who farts and clears out areas, a fat woman that screams until glass breaks and a wrestler who gives people wedgies and wears underwear on his head. (That turn gold after you give enough people wedgies.)

Graphics Rating: 9/10

Examples:

Controls:

The controls are different from any game I've played and can be frustrating at times. Getting into a certain matryoshka doll when their are many standing around is like getting into a certain car in 5 car pile-up in a grand theft auto game. Other then that the controls are simple and easy to get used to after a hour or less of playing they should be second nature to you. I have not heard a complaint about them from any of my pals.

Controls Rating: 8/10

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Overall Rating: 8/10 (Good: Very fun gameplay with a great story line. Bad: Frustrating controls and short story length. )