Sokomania

David Sherwin plays the Lynx version of an old classic

Most modern Lynx development has occurred in Europe, where a small group of hardcore Lynx fans began to code software titles for Atari's hand-held gaming system after commercial software development collapsed in the mid-'90s. While initial efforts largely resulted in interesting demonstration titles that had little commercial appeal, many of these coders' subsequent efforts have been very good indeed. Sokomania, released in 1999, was one of the first of these "second generation" European efforts, and it was given a small cartridge run later that year. It was, somewhat unaccountably, then forgotten by most gamers in the Lynx community, and it is now almost impossibly difficult to find both in personal collections and from retailers.

Sokomania hasn't turned up on many "Best of" lists for the Lynx, but that doesn't mean that it doesn't possess its own considerable charms. An interesting Sokoban clone, Sokomania features dozens of high-quality puzzles with a degree of difficulty that marks this as the most challenging of all of the titles in the Lynx's impressive puzzle catalogue. Sokomania may not suit all tastes, and may prove to be redundant for those gamers who already have a Soko' clone on half a dozen other platforms, but, in its quiet manner, it does prove to be a worthy addition to the Lynx's stellar line of puzzlers.

Gameplay
Sokomania will be familiar to anyone who's ever seen, played, heard, or read about Sokoban, that ubiquitous Japanese box-moving game that's somehow morphed from simple time-killer to international phenomenon (Lynx owners have long enjoyed Chip's Challenge, Atari's own unique Sokoban spin).

The game's concept, for the uninitiated, is deceptively simple: players must move a number of boxes across and around a number of obstacles to a corresponding "target field". Each box can only be pushed in the basic NESW ordinals, and can't be retrieved once pushed against an immovable barrier (level walls).

Levels 1-5 of Sokomania are fairly simple and are useful as a general orientation to the game and controls: each of these can be solved in about 20 minutes - with a little foresight, patience, and luck. The game quickly escalates in difficulty after this point and players should expect to spend at least an hour solving some of the trickier levels, and especially if they've never played Sokoban, as many of the levels in that game are replicated here.

Each level higher than, say, level 5 typically has only one solution and mistakes are easily made. Sokomania is, like all Sokoban clones, unforgiving of errors, and many attempts must be made before the correct solution to a particular level can be found. If an error is made, players must reset each level (accomplished here by [Option 1] and [Pause]) to try again. Sokomania is not an easy game and none but the most expert puzzler will be able to master the highest levels of play; it has, as a result, received much criticism from gaming fans who claimed, perhaps unfairly, that the levels are too difficult and/or unsolvable.

Sokomania does demand a great deal of patience and concentration from players, but there's nothing quite like the rush that you'll receive when you finally think through a problem and complete a level. For the record, level 6 (BIKINI) was my particular nemesis, and I spent two sweaty hours on that one before I was able to rise up to HELIUM (level 7).

Sokomania, like many Lynx puzzlers, offers a handy password feature ([Pause]) that enables gamers to complete the game in stages. Unlike most Lynx games, however, it demands a six-letter password, and I found it to be the most awkward scheme this side of Soccer Kid for the Jaguar. Let's hope that, in the future, coders will stick to three or four letter codes.

Graphics
Sokomania needs neither visual tricks nor flash to enhance gameplay on its static screen levels, and the game's graphic display doesn't offer anything that you haven't seen in a dozen other Soko' clones.

Flashy displays aren't particularly conducive to problem solving, and Markus Wühl should be commended, rather than condemned, for sticking to displays that are simple, clean, and easy on the eyes.

Sprites are small, but clear, and the game's palette, while limited to a few unappealing shades of green and brown, is fairly unobtrusive.

Sokomania's graphic display is ultimately competent and utilitarian, but I did end up missing the graphic ingenuity of Chip's Challenge - which was part of the reason it was such fun to play - and hope that Wühl will find time to add a little extra spice to his next Lynx effort.

Sound and music
Sokomania features a very nice title screen tune that appears to be an original effort. Gamers may want to linger here before proceeding to the actual game; this is the best music to be encountered in the game.

In-game music consists of four repeating tunes (a poorly warbled version of Scott Joplin's "The Entertainer" and three classical pieces that I could not identify) that are of a somewhat inferior quality, and best turned off after a round or two of play. Fortunately, this is accomplished easily with the [Option 2] button.

Gaming sounds are sparse and, true to the genre, generally irrelevant to gameplay. [Option 1] enables players to select from one of two rather irritating sound effects for player movement, but these sounds can't be turned off. The Lynx's volume wheel does, however, solve this problem very nicely.

Summary
Sokomania is most likely to appeal to those gamers who breezed through Chip's Challenge and Crystal Mines II and have been waiting to test their wits on something truly difficult.

While it's true that Sokoban clones are a dime a dozen, and have been coded for everything from the Game Boy to cell phones, it's nice to see that our favourite hand-held hasn't been left out of this particular craze. Björn Spruck promises to up the ante with his graphically and musically amped Sokoban port, "Push Around the World" later this year, but until then Sokomania will provide more than a pleasant distraction to the Lynx's many puzzle fanatics - and there are many of us - itching for something a little different.

MyAtari magazine - Review #1, March 2004