Pipe Mania (Amiga) - A Playguide and Review - by LemonAmiga.com
34Pipe Mania is a conversion of the Arcade puzzle original, released by Empire and Lucasfilm Games in 1989. We have to put down tiles in order to allow water to flow down the pipes. Are there any fans of this game out there?
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Recorded: 9th and 17th January 2024
Editing started: 6th June 2024
Narrated: 20th July 2024
Uploaded: 10th Sept 2024
V2
Once again, I recorded this just because it came up in the SuperLeague Amiga games competition, which was the first round we played back in January of 2024. Players figured out that the best solution was to get the completion bonus, so there were some really big score. Although I didn't do so well, I got one good clearance once, which was recorded and is seen at the end of this video. I used to 'cheat sheet' I created (which is in the video) showing some successfully completed runs on one page, and this helped me to form a strategy, because the start point can be anywhere on the grid.
When it came to editing, the audio is quite low for some reason, but I was almost whispering as I was trying to keep my voice low because of the neighbours. No idea why I chose Cornflake Girl as the intro and credits music, other than it sounded like a good tune, and I wanted to put a pop song mod in to the series at some point. So I know it doesn't really fit with the review, but I like the rolling piano over the end credits.
Danscore:
Arcade puzzle conversions are plentiful on the Amiga, but the simplicity of the game design is a love it or hate it kind of affair. Placing down blocks to form a pathway is not so difficult, but dumping the endless seemingly useless blocks which get in the way is a hazard, and sometimes a chore, when the player uses the same block to cycle through the backlog. Playing tiles around randomly can block an area, and so the player learns to create a block dumping area, and takes the penalties of leaving some tiles behind. Later levels rely on two variables - the tile orientation, but also the flow direction - so even if the tile you want appears, it could be useless for the spot you really needed to fill. Advanced players can think ahead, and try to plot a pathway using the spare tiles. But this can lead to gaps, which the player has to remember to go back to, all while looking out for the perfect right-angled, and perfect flow-direction corner. The time limit of having the water constantly gushing out means there is a fair amount of stress involved, and slowing it down with reservoirs isnt an option until world 2! By world 3, things are becoming a bit too stressful to be fun, and all the joys of the game seem to disappear. Perhaps this is the aim of the arcade game, to lure players in with an easy world 2, and then let 'em have it for world 3? At least long runs up until that point can feel very rewarding, and sometimes a lucky run can mean the player gets far. The graphics seem to be ported from the EGA PC version, and the players face in the corner seems decidedly red. Sound effects are sparse, and gameplay is take-it-or-leave it, compared to Rampart or Qix, for example. Overall, this 1980s plumber gets a score of 6.5 out of 10 from me (Lemon gave it closer to 8!). I used to really like it, but there seems to be something missing to make this concept a true classic??