Preview: Aki

Previewed By: Erica Marceau

Preview Computer: 400MHz G4 (Gigabit Ethernet) with 768MB RAM, ATI Rage Pro 128, Mac OS X v10.2.8

Preview Date: October 15, 2003

Genre: Board game

Format: Download or CD

Developer: Liquid Metal Software

Publisher: Ambrosia Software

Preliminary System Requirements: Mac OS X

Network Feature: No

3D Support: No

Retail Price: $20.00

Availability: Coming soon

There are some games with which, no matter how often they are remade, there will always be another person or company that will try to breathe a new life into an old favorite. Mahjong Solitaire is one of those games, and Liquid Metal Software is the company who is trying to make their version the one you want to play.

Mahjong Solitaire uses a set of matching tiles and places them in one of nearly an infinite number of layouts. Your goal is to match two similar tiles which don't have a tile on top of them and then slide either to the left or right. To win, you have to match all of the tiles and remove them from the board.

Aki takes you on a path through 12 locations near Hiroshima in Japan, each with a different tile layout, a different background, and trivia about each area. You can only gain access to the latter levels by winning the earlier ones, but, after you've unlocked them, you can go back to them at any time.

In a twist, you have limited time to complete each level which vary with the difficulty you have chosen (easy, medium, hard). The time bar continually goes down, and asking for hints and reshuffling the layout take even more time away, depending on the difficulty. Making tile matches gives you more time, so you have to be on your toes in order to win.

The music and art further the Japanese influence. Both are currently being refined, so, at the request of Ambrosia, I have not included any screenshots. You can, however, watch the progress of the graphics updates at Ambrosia's website.

Aki is a Mahjong Solitaire game which separates itself from the others I've played. If development continues as it has progressed thus far, it will be a game to pay attention to.

[an error occurred while processing this directive]

.