17-Feb-2012, 8:01 PM
I've only played about a fifth of the levels. (I don't have a lot of free time, so I only played levels that looked easy and/or short.) I'll comment on some of my experiences with some of the more interesting levels, along with my times for them.
#28 Secondary Shifting (351/650 seconds) -- A fun and different take on block pushing. This level forced me to suppress my instincts not to push blocks to locations where I can't retrieve them right away.
#62 Closed Track (137/300 seconds) -- A good puzzle that wasn't too difficult. The end confused me, though, until I went into a teleport, found a force floor under the block, went back, and slid into the exit without even meaning to.
#70 Frozen Labyrinth (336/600) -- A highly original concept for a maze. Made all the more interesting by the fact that there are a couple -- just a couple! -- of places where you actually can slide across the ice for a shortcut. I don't know if you intended these mini-shortcuts (one vertical one near the right side a bit less than halfway down and one tiny horizontal one 3-5 spaces left of the socket) but I think they actually add to the experience of playing the level (by rewarding alert and/or curious players) rather than take away from it. In any case, I would vote this level for CCLP1.
#74 Explosives (684/800) -- This level was both shorter and more interesting than I expected. After playing it for awhile, I discovered that it has the surprising property that half of the bombs are impossible to destroy unless you visit the bottom-right corner and use a block from there to get them "started." Unfortunately, I was able to solve the level without visiting the bottom-right corner at all. I say "unfortunately" because I think it would have been a more enjoyable and challenging puzzle if you had required double-bridging to reach the exit, which would require the player to notice and take advantage of the property I described above.
#83 No Turning Back (380/400) -- After the update--while I have never before seen the tile combination you used in this level, the concept of "no turning back" doesn't really exist anymore--if you take the wrong path, you can just turn around and try a different one.
#95 Mega Blocks (389/900) -- Looks really hard, but is rather straightforward. I will admit to (ab)using block slapping to get rid of the bomb under the block because its presence was making me feel nervous. I also got pancaked at the one point in the fire/water/ice room where you have to push the block, follow it without being able to see where it landed, then instantly step out of the way after pushing it. On the other hand, I did have a moment of extreme skill: at the end, I accidentally cloned one too many
s, yet I managed to snag the 3rd-to-last chip with perfect timing from the that was stuck in the little area next to it.
#112 Ocean Currents (242/500) -- A challenging and original puzzle. The only things I didn't like about it were that it was hard to tell where to go next at some points and there was very little leeway with regard to stepping off the force floors at some points.
#114 Jungle Rumble (290/450) -- A nice easy level for its location in the set. This was fun to play and seemed like it would go nicely into CCLP1.
#123 Revisiting the Prison (232/300) -- This one took me a few tries and was harder than it looked. I got cornered a lot because the nine teeth kept splitting up when they encountered obstacles, coming at me from both directions. It was an enjoyable level, another worthy CCLP1 candidate.
All in all, this set contains a large variety of creative ideas. The only issue I have with it is that about an eighth of the levels (6, 7, 15, 24, and 69, for instance) seem like they belong significantly later in the set, while others (70, 78, 113, 114, 117, 118, and 121, for example) seem like they belong much earlier based on their difficulty.
#28 Secondary Shifting (351/650 seconds) -- A fun and different take on block pushing. This level forced me to suppress my instincts not to push blocks to locations where I can't retrieve them right away.
#62 Closed Track (137/300 seconds) -- A good puzzle that wasn't too difficult. The end confused me, though, until I went into a teleport, found a force floor under the block, went back, and slid into the exit without even meaning to.
#70 Frozen Labyrinth (336/600) -- A highly original concept for a maze. Made all the more interesting by the fact that there are a couple -- just a couple! -- of places where you actually can slide across the ice for a shortcut. I don't know if you intended these mini-shortcuts (one vertical one near the right side a bit less than halfway down and one tiny horizontal one 3-5 spaces left of the socket) but I think they actually add to the experience of playing the level (by rewarding alert and/or curious players) rather than take away from it. In any case, I would vote this level for CCLP1.
#74 Explosives (684/800) -- This level was both shorter and more interesting than I expected. After playing it for awhile, I discovered that it has the surprising property that half of the bombs are impossible to destroy unless you visit the bottom-right corner and use a block from there to get them "started." Unfortunately, I was able to solve the level without visiting the bottom-right corner at all. I say "unfortunately" because I think it would have been a more enjoyable and challenging puzzle if you had required double-bridging to reach the exit, which would require the player to notice and take advantage of the property I described above.
#83 No Turning Back (380/400) -- After the update--while I have never before seen the tile combination you used in this level, the concept of "no turning back" doesn't really exist anymore--if you take the wrong path, you can just turn around and try a different one.
#95 Mega Blocks (389/900) -- Looks really hard, but is rather straightforward. I will admit to (ab)using block slapping to get rid of the bomb under the block because its presence was making me feel nervous. I also got pancaked at the one point in the fire/water/ice room where you have to push the block, follow it without being able to see where it landed, then instantly step out of the way after pushing it. On the other hand, I did have a moment of extreme skill: at the end, I accidentally cloned one too many
s, yet I managed to snag the 3rd-to-last chip with perfect timing from the that was stuck in the little area next to it.#112 Ocean Currents (242/500) -- A challenging and original puzzle. The only things I didn't like about it were that it was hard to tell where to go next at some points and there was very little leeway with regard to stepping off the force floors at some points.
#114 Jungle Rumble (290/450) -- A nice easy level for its location in the set. This was fun to play and seemed like it would go nicely into CCLP1.
#123 Revisiting the Prison (232/300) -- This one took me a few tries and was harder than it looked. I got cornered a lot because the nine teeth kept splitting up when they encountered obstacles, coming at me from both directions. It was an enjoyable level, another worthy CCLP1 candidate.
All in all, this set contains a large variety of creative ideas. The only issue I have with it is that about an eighth of the levels (6, 7, 15, 24, and 69, for instance) seem like they belong significantly later in the set, while others (70, 78, 113, 114, 117, 118, and 121, for example) seem like they belong much earlier based on their difficulty.