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EA`s Create sounds like a rather easy game at first. You are given an item like a basket ball or motorbike and are required to get it from Point A to Point B. Point B being your goal doesn’t sound to hard, does it? Well its not as simple as it sounds. You are given a limited amount of objects along the way to use as aids to get your object to the Goal, such as using say a balloon and an array of fans to blow the floating object to the goal point. However, upon reaching the finish line you then might need to pop the balloon with a spike to get your object to land on the goal. You might remember a old game called The Incredible Machine, well this game is based on the same idea and forces you to use your brain to solve the puzzles.

The majority of the gameplay is mainly based around set challenges, which, when you complete them,  award you the stars that you need to progress and unlock to the next floating themed world. There is no one way to complete a challenge, this is where EA get the name CREATE! from. They want you to be creative. You can design and use any method you like to try and beat the challenges. There is also another side to the game which I personally found very tedious. This involved you decorating the floating world that you are on. When you first arrive on a new world, you are faced with a blank template which you are forced to decorate with the objects you have unlocked along the way. I guess this was placed in the game to keep it family orientated and keep the kids amused. However, for older players it feels like you are back in kindergarten, painting by numbers again. I guess this was placed in the game to keep you amused longer.

The more you progress the game it very quickly becomes very hard. I mean the learning curve rockets within three challenges, and before you know it you are getting very frustrated with the game. Trying to work out a challenge can start to take a good 30 minutes. It is, however, very satisfying once you get it right and as you progress you unlock various items, of which there are plenty, that you then get to use in the game.

The graphics are nothing to write home about, nor is the music. I would not rush out to buy this game if you think you are in for good graphics and music. They are in a basic cartoon style and the music becomes annoying.  I became very frustrated with the menu’s and the actual control system for the game. The menu’s kept getting in the way while I tried to rotate and place my items. This was very frustrating. Also, I found that the camera view did not let you zoom out far enough to let you see your whole level.

This brings me onto the control system. I found the controls took me a good hour or so to master. They are pretty fiddly, I am sure on the PC or Mac versions they might be simpler. Once you have mastered them it is not too hard to control. One huge problem I found with the game though was the fact that once you have selected your floating world to play on if you want to swap to a different world, and maybe go back to a challenge that you did not complete, you can’t do it easily. There is no menu option I could find to do this. The only way I found was to reset the game completely. A simple option to go and choose a different world would have been simply to implement.

I found my self quite amused and enjoyed this game for a few hours. It does require you to think and feels slightly like a Brain Training game you might play of your Nintendo DS. However, it does start to become a bit tedious and gets a bit boring after a while. Especially when you are really stuck, it starts to get you so frustrated you leave the game for a while to calm down. This game is not bad but its not great. I am sure that it is aimed at a family environment where I am sure it could be quite fun if you are all huddled around working out the challenges together. You also have the option to share your creations via screen-shots over Xbox Live. I did find this useful as it gave you some tips for creations of your own. I would recommend this game for someone that loves a good challenge, but be warned though it will take you hours to master. With all the good points and bad points, I am sure if EA release a Create  2 they will have it all sorted. I do feel that it is a sign that now EA is so big they are starting to roll-out quite a few games that just don’t meet the standards I used to enjoy!

REVIEW CODE: A complimentary Microsoft Xbox 360 code was provided to Bonus Stage for this review. Please send all review code enquiries to press@4gn.co.uk.

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