TMax by AIM
Productions, Price: $14.99
Reviewed May 2003
AIM Productions has a way of making an
ordinary game look brilliant. Case in point? The latest maze
game TMax, which was developed by Bug Factory and published
by AIM. On first look at the characters in TMax, you’d
think that this game is something like Planet Side. Once
you load it up, you will discover it’s a maze puzzle
game with extremely good-looking graphics, animation and
polished packaging.
In the year 2666 AD, Earth has to complete
a test called TMax in order to join an Interstellar Intellectual
Community. This test takes place in over 40 maze rooms with
a deadly robot named Minotaur chasing after your heroes.
This daunting task rests on the shoulders of Theseus and
Ariadne, two model-like humans who will take turns in escaping
the mazes. The game play is very similar to Mummy Maze. You
start each level in a room with dividers and an exit. You
must reach the exit before Minotaur gets to you. You can’t
outrun the robot since every step you take the robot gets
to take two steps. The only way you can beat it is to trick
the robot into walking behind walls or into traps. How are
you going to do this? The robot will always try to get close
to you, but it will move horizontally first. Once you can
utilize this design flaw in Minotaur, you will be able to
move freely and escape from a maze that may have seemed impossible
to escape at first.
There isn’t much AI complexity since
the robot always behaves in a similar way in each level,
but the maze layout will present you with some good brain
exercise and challenges. The mazes are in a top-down view.
Some levels are in more zoomed-in views; other levels look
zoomed out with a more complex grid. The maze can be displayed
in either portrait or landscape mode. Both the human characters
and the robot are very well designed and their animations
are fun to watch. The alternating human characters in each
level make the game fun to play and each level feel refreshing.
The puzzles are very well mixed in both layout and logic,
though there aren't any hints if you get stuck.
There is no in-game background music. You
will only enjoy nice music tracks during the title screen
and when you exit the game. The in-game sound effects however
are well designed with futuristic style. There is an in-game
menu where you have quick access to level select, quick save
and load as well as game settings including turning on or
off the sound. TMax currently supports Pocket PCs with ARM,
Xscale and MIPS processors and MS Smartphone. It takes about
2MB memory.
If you enjoyed brainteasers like
the Mummy Maze, TMax will be another great title to improve
your skills and keep you on your toes. The futuristic graphic
design and animation make the game fun to play. Once you
become the master of the maze, you will enjoy the satisfaction
of trapping the meanest robot and walking out of the maze
feeling untouchable.
Playing Hints and Tips
Number one thing to remember is that
the robot always goes horizontally first in your direction.
If you get stuck, explore other ways. Often the path seems
the most unlikly will turn out to be the only way.
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