Ever play a game called Pipe Mania many moons ago?  I think Tonya had it on her Macintosh when we first started dating.  It was a nice distraction of a game that required puzzle solving while under the gun.  The object was to connect a certain number of randomly assigned pipes together in order to control the flow of slime/ooze/sludge or whatever it was called from an inlet to an outlet.  Racing the clock meant trying to complete a set of pipes before the slime began to run.  As the levels progressed, the number of connected pipes required increased while the time before the ooze began to flow decreased.  Like I said, it was a nice distraction that required some thinking, forethought, a bit of skill and just a touch of luck, kind of like Tetris.

So, if you liked the original Pipe Mania, then you are in luck because Empire Interactive has revamped the classic for the Sony PSP adding new twists to game play along with a lot of eye candy.  And this time around, there’s a storyline.

Call the Plumber

As the story goes, Alfonso Senior’s plumbing skills has allowed him to amass his fortune and fulfill his dreams by retiring to his own private island paradise. Unfortunately a bunch of cowboy plumbers have wreaked havoc on The Isle of Ducts causing leaks-a-plenty. And now it is up to you as Alfonso’s children, Junior and Fawcett, to take over the family business and restore order to the pipes of The Isle of Ducts.

Laying the Pipes

There are 11 game modes in the new Pipe Mania, from the World version, which is a majority of the game play, to the Classic version, Bonus games (fill-in an incomplete pipeline), Arcade (where you have to keep the action of the game within the borders of the screen), and various Versus games. 

Most of the action occurs in the World mode where the object is to visit a number of sites on The Isle of Ducts to repair the ‘pipes’.  You start out with Basic Pipes, which is most like the Classic game.  There you complete a set number of levels with a game twist added to each level.  Twists involve having to use a certain number of pipes, use pre-placed pipes, bridge the flow, tunnel off of one side of the screen and come back on the opposite side, etc.  Once you complete the levels in that location, you move on to the Sewers, then Railroad, Factory, Electricity, Internet, and finally Super Pipes.  Each location has it own unique game play and challenges.  As an example, in Railroad, you moved a train around the screen.  However, unlike the other ‘pipe games,’ in Railroad you can run over old track as long as there isn’t a train occupying it.  In other words, you can chase your own tail.  In Factory, the slime flow has been replaced by toys and boxes and the object is to move these items through the manufacturing process and onto the trucks for delivery.  Each location has it own skills that require mastery before moving on to the next location.

The nice thing about the game is that each level in a location is static, in that the objective and screen layout do not change.  So if you fail, you get to try again and know what steps are required and in which order to complete the level. This feature makes completing levels with multiple flows, and you will face this challenge, a bit easier to prepare for when you know what to expect.  The only difference from attempt to attempt is the random pipe piece generator is consistently ‘random’.

Cowboy Plumbers

Additional game action is supplied by the rouge plumbers lead by Buffalo Bonzo.  In certain levels they wreak havoc by causing leaks, slowing your movements down, switching pieces, etc.  Luckily you have that plumber’s wrench to set matters straight.

The Right Pipe for the Right Job

The update also comes with a set of updated pipes.  First there are the basics: Start, End, Straight, Elbow, Cross.  Then you get into your updated pipes, such as Bonus, One Way, Reservoir, Pump, Changer, Splitter, Joiner, Bridge, Double Elbow, etc.  Each pipe brings a new challenge to game play, particularly when a level requires you to use a particular pipe before you can move on.

Overall Impressions

The Classic Pipe Mania was a nice diversion game and the basic game play of this New Pipe Mania also makes it a nice diversion game.  However, I’ve always had a problem when game producers update the Classics.  I know they have to add new features to market the game as “new,” but sometimes they add too much eye candy and too many special, over-the-top features that make the game feel like an annoying ad for a Monster Truck Rally, “SUNDAY, SUNDAY, SUNDAY!!!” As for Pipe Mania, I can see where it comes close to going overboard, but I soon discovered that this was also easily ignored.  So, with that in mind, 7-year-old Nikolai has decided to give Pipe Mania 80 Thumbs Up out of 100, stating that it was fun, but a bit difficult here and there.  As for me, I found the game a challenging diversion despite some of the annoying eye candy, so I’m giving it 6 Dancing Elephants out of 8.

Parting Thoughts

Tonya and my marriage dynamic is such that if there is a leak in the house, she’s the one usually reaching for the plumber’s wrench… Maybe she should have reviewed this game.