Grind your mind-- Microforum MindGrind
by Alan Zisman
(c) 1996. First
published in Computer Player, November 8, 1996
You're an alien, looking to take over the Earth. But
you're not going
to do it by sending huge, high-tech flying saucers to wipe out major
cities,
as in this summer's hit film, Independence Day. Instead, according to
the
Toronto creators of Mind Grind, you'll be more subtle... by showing off
your knowledge of Earth trivia, you'll demonstrate your potential to
rule
the planet.
Of course, this plot, like that of most games, is
basically a thin veneer-Mind
Grind is a trivia contest. One or two players can take part-the sci-fi
overlay lets you choose from a collection of comically ugly
characters...
think of the bar scene in the original Star Wars film for examples.
Players have to correctly answer questions in order to
successfully
pass through a number of challenges; the same categories of questions
are
used in each level. There are knowledge based questions about
mythology,
inventions, sports, and a rather loosely defined horror category. Brain
teasers include some fairly subtle questions ("How many eggs can a
hungry
man eat on an empty stomach" stumped the group I tested it on-the
answer
is one. Think about it!) Two categories test players' powers of
observation
and listening. The questions range from truly trivial to
thought-provoking,
without becoming too frustrating for non-addicted players. The Pop
Culture
questions are, perhaps, too focused on the 1960s, but random Canadian
geography
questions are a nice touch from the Toronto developers (and may prove a
real challenge for American players!)
Each level is organized differently. At the first
level, players need
to get four squares in a row, from an 8x8 board. The second level
involves
climbing a forest of pillars. (Watch out for the tornado, which may
knock
you back a couple of rows). Next, a maze, with 45 locked doors. The
'Platforms
of Insight' starts each player on top of a pile of platters-one for
each
category. A correct answer removes a platter, an incorrect one
adds
one. I found this level the hardest-the program seemed to have figured
out that I had problems with Horror questions, and when I made a
mistake,
added an additional one... at one point, my character stood on a pile
of
eight Horror questions.
Finally, you emerge in a spaceship, flying to Earth.
Along the way,
you still need to correctly pass ten trivia stations, while avoiding
meteors
and other space debris.
If you enjoy trivia games, you'll find this a nice
twist on the genre.
Generally, the game's interface is discoverable, but we had to refer to
the manual a few times-to learn to use the cursor keys rather than the
mouse in the maze, for example, or to discover that we needed to press
F10 to get options to save a game or to quit. And we could never figure
out what to do in the spaceship, even with the manual!
The game runs under Windows 3.1 or Win 95, and despite
being CD-ROM
based, takes about 13 megs of drive space. It ran acceptably on its
minimum
recommended platform, a 486/66 with 8 megs of ram and a double-speed
CD-ROM;
play was improved when tested on a Pentium with more ram and a faster
CD
player.
Mind Grind
Microforum
1 Woodborough Avenue
Toronto, Ontario M6M 5A1
1-800-465-2323/ 416-656-6406
http://www.microforum.com