Recently, I stumbled upon a new (or at least new to me) genre of puzzle games based upon the Lines concept.  These games are available both as commercial games and freeware.  In fact, I featured two such games in The Arcade.  Recently, Herocraft contacted me to tell me they had released their own commercial entrant to the Lines genre.  I was curious to see whether a commercial version would stand out from the crowded field of free versions of this game.  Would it be significantly better, in order to justify the cost?  Let’s take a closer look and find out whether Happy Lines stands out in an already crowded field.

Installation and Registration:  Installation is fairly standard.  Simply download the desktop installer and load it onto your device using ActiveSync.  You can play up to two levels in Progress Mode, or 100 points in Arcade Mode.  Once you have purchased the game, you can enter the registration code — which is linked to your device’s owner name — for unlimited playing enjoyment. 

Overview and Gameplay: Happy Lines is a puzzle game, in which you must arrange colored balls in order to form lines or patterns.  In earlier levels, you will need to match four like colored balls in a row.  Later levels will see you building longer rows or even blocks of balls, such as two balls on top of two balls for a four ball block.

The game is played on a grid.  Again, you will start with an easy 9×9 grid containing several colored balls  As the levels increase, so too will the difficulty of the grid, which will form into irregular shapes or include obstacles which cannot be passed. 

To play, simply tap on the ball you want to move, and then tap the square in which you want the ball to land.  You do not need a straight path between the two, however, you must have a clear path with no obstacles or obstructions.  As long as the path is clear, the selected ball will move to that space.  If you create a valid grouping (at the beginning of each level you will be told what groupings are valid for that level) then the grouped balls will disappear.  If you do not create a valid grouping, then three new balls will be added randomly to the game board. 

Graphics: I previously reviewed Herocraft’s Ball Rush Aqua.  Although I liked the game, I was not particularly impressed by the graphics.  I had no such problems with Happy Lines.  I loved the cartoonish backgrounds, and the board was well drawn, particularly for a puzzle game.  My favorite part of the game, however, were the balls themselves.  Each of the several colors has a different personality with facial expressions reflecting your progress.  A ball which is not grouped together with any others will frown or appear sad.  The more balls you group together, the happier the group will become until you complete a valid group and the balls are eliminated from the playing surface (hence the name of the Happy Lines game). 

One final note, I would be remiss if I failed to mention the falling leaves.  It would be one thing to have leaves moving in the background.  Hero Lines, however, has includes leaves which fall in the foreground, periodically blocking your view of the gameboard.  This doesn’t significantly affect gameplay, however, I thought it was a clever touch which really complimented the game.

Audio: Frequent readers of my reviews will recall that I usually play games on my device with sound muted.  Happy Lines is another prime example of why I do this.

The soundtrack was, at best, slightly annoying.  To be honest, the high pitched-synthesized chimes which formed the soundtrack for this game reminded me of my early days of computer programming with the TRS-80, when a four note bar of digitized sounds was considered an accomplishment, and the ultimate goal was always to convince the computer to play Axel F.  Listening to the soundtrack of this game made me long for that digitized version of Axel F we used to aspire to program.

The game sounds were really not much better.  When you tap a ball, it makes a funny hiccup sound.  Likewise, when new balls are released upon the field, they issue forth with sort of a burped giggle.  As such, although I enjoyed playing Happy Lines, I felt the audio was a significant detraction.  I plan to leave my device in mute the next time I play.

Modes: There are two game modes in Happy Lines: Progress Game and Arcade Game.  In Progress Game, you will simply continue playing the game until you have no moves remaining.  Periodically, you will complete goals which will result in new challenges.  In Arcade Game, gameplay is identical, however, the game is divided into 40 different levels.  Each level contains its own unique challenges, so be prepared.  In both modes, your progress is based upon earning a certain number of points to complete the level.  Points are earned by clearing valid groups.  Each time you clear a group, you will earn one point for each ball in the group.

Saving: One thing I really appreciated about this game was the autosave feature.  No need to push anything if you need to exit in the middle of a game.  Just close the program, and the next time you open it, your game will continue at the beginning of your last level.

Conclusion: Happy Lines, like all games in this genre, provided a fun escape from an otherwise dreary commute.  The real question on my mind, however, was whether HeroCraft would offer something unique.  The gameplay is essentially the same as any other game in this genre, which does not lend itself to significant variations.  What I felt really set this game apart, particularly from the freeware versions, were the outstanding graphics.  I loved the faces on the balls which seemed to give them personality.  I almost found myself getting happier when I made the balls happy.  So now, I am not sure whether I am playing the game or it is playing me.  All I know is that there are some frowning balls on my screen and I am feeling compelled to make them smile…and I like it.

Vital Statistics:

Name: Happy Lines

Version: 1.0

Platform: WM 2003 SE, WM 5 Smartphone

Also Available:  All platforms are supported

Developer: HeroCraft

Price:          $9.97

Available From: HeroCraft

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