tkcMahjongg by, by theKompany.com,
$5.45
Reviewed September 2003 by David Peach
Those who are addicted to Mahjong games
will be satisfied with tkcMahjongg, developed by theKompany.
It contains 105 tile layouts, two tile sets, and eight different
backgrounds. You could play a different game setup every
day for more than four and a half years without repeating.
That would be before you used the layout editor which allows
you to build your own tile layouts, delete, or modify existing
ones.
If you have used other tkc applications,
you will feel comfortable with tkcMahjongg. Along with being
much like their other offerings in its look and feel, tkcMahjongg
requires their helper application. Therefore, if you have
any of theKompany applications, you will have to upgrade
them all to the same version as the game.
There are two sets of tiles, one is the
traditional Mahjong set, and the other is more designed for
playing the game on a small handheld screen. This optional
tile set is so nice that I cannot imagine anyone wanting
to use the traditional set. Even though the background and
tile look very sharp, seven of the eight included backgrounds
are anime art and three of those are either nudes, or close
to it. There is no need to include the questionable backgrounds.
There is plenty of good oriental art without being bold and
offensive. It would be nice if the level editor allowed you
to add your own backgrounds or delete some of the included
ones.
In the game, the screen taps seemed sluggish,
but you get used to that fairly quickly. It has options to
hint where the matching tiles are and to allow the game to
play by itself. One would think that a game this simple would
not need a manual or help file, but there are icons on the
playing board that I never figured out. I was looking for
an “undo” button (which does not exist) when
I clicked a leftward facing arrow that cleared the screen
and after a few seconds, declared me to be the winner.
As a Mahjong game, theKompany has done
many things well with tkcMahjongg. While the selection of
backgrounds is abundant, the questionable background art
might not be in the best of tastes. If you can deal with
the lack of help file and the need to upgrade all of your
tkc helper applications, then this game is worthy of checking
out. This game works with the SL-5x00, and C-7xx series Zaurii.
Playing Hints and Tips
Playing around with the backgrounds and
layout, or designing your own pile will add fun to this traditional
game. |
