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### Mind Blast [Atari XE/XL]

#### http://atari.fandal.cz/

#### Reviewed By J. Monkman

It's been a bit quiet on the 8-bit Atari front over the past few months - and as a result there's only one game review in this issue (we were originally going to include Raster's 'Speed Up' in the mag, but as it's a multiplayer only game that requires two or more real Atari's to play the review was a non-starter). However, in the world of retro-gaming it's all about quality, not-quantity - and high quality is definitely an attribute of Fandal's latest game.

Originally released with issue 50 of the Czech Atari XE/XL 'Flop' diskmag, Mind Blast is an addictive and (very) colourful game based on the Mind Bender play-mode in Raptisoft's 'Chuzzle Deluxe' - a PC-based casual game published by PopCap, the undisputed kings of the match-three genre. That said, Mind Blast (thankfully) lacks any match-three mechanics - although it is still essentially a casual-style logic game. The player's goal in Mind Blast is to rearrange the different coloured balls on the puzzle grid by shifting along the rows and columns to match the pattern displayed on the lower left-hand side of the screen, but as manipulation of the grid works in a similar way to a Rubik's cube, a degree of forward planning is necessary if you are to succeed - especially on the later levels with three, four or five different colour balls. And really, that's it - Mind Blast is a prime example of a simple game-mechanic that has been executed well.

The first thing that players will notice upon booting Mind Blast is the commercial-quality presentation - few games have looked and sounded so lush on the Atari 8-bit. Control is via the joystick and after getting your head around the row and column movement it's all very intuitive. In total there are 150 levels in the game; 15 puzzles with two coloured balls, 30 three coloured, 45 four coloured and 60 five coloured (aka impossible), and thanks to the simple password system it's easy to pick up the game and continue where you previously left off. The learning curve is steady, with the early levels introducing the player (via simple puzzles) to the control method and arranging patterns that require forward-planning before bringing in extra colours, after which point the game becomes considerably more difficult.

To summarise, Mind Blast is one of Fandal's best games to date (beaten only by the awesome HexxagonXE). It's a strong addition to the Atari's catalogue of software as well as being one of the most refined and well-realised puzzlers we've played on an 8-bit computer - period.

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Graphics: | 90%
Sound: | 92%
Game Concept: | 89%
Gameplay: | 80%
Lasting Appeal: | 85%

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