Exorbis 2

Description: This is a colorful puzzle game which starts off easy but gets very difficult. Can you get the perfect score on every level?

Kongai Card: Girdle of Iron Will
Description: Complete any 20 levels.

I've never had the misfortune of playing the first Exorbis, and it seems that I'm not missing out on a whole lot. The description for this puzzle game doesn't really do it justice. It's just one of those puzzle games that, once you get started, you know that you'll be wondering why you even bother. Exorbis puts upon you the task of placing colored balls into their properly colored recepticles. To further challenge you, the game asks that you do this in a certain number of turns. That means, in most puzzles, there are faster, more efficient ways to do the puzzle, which is frustrating, because in many cases you're not sure how much better you CAN do.

In all honesty, I only played long enough to get the first two badges. The last badge, for as merciful as it is, just isn't really worth the trouble, and looking up a guide just doesn't really seem worth it in my opinion. If you're really hardcore into puzzle games and love the challenge, you'll feel most welcome here. Otherwise, anyone else should focus for the decently challenging twenty points and keep on walking.

As a game, Exorbis is relatively simple and delivers appropriately. There are a few curveballs here and there, but they don't change the game so dramatically that it's impossible to deal with them. Examples of changes include adding obstacles or panels that cause balls to move around them when clicked on, but as mentioned before, these changes aren't radical or thrown at you so quickly that you have little time to accustom yourself to them.

With one hundred levels and a difficulty that goes from easy to hard at the start and finish of each row, you can see why it's so easy to net yourself the initial twenty points. Without letting my own personal bias against impossible puzzle games cloud my judgment, Exorbis accomplishes what it set out to do. It's got a ton of levels, which only adds to the challenge, and the premise is simple and easy to understand, even with gradual changes.

Rating: 8/10

Achievement: "It Puts The Orbs in the Basket" (Easy - 5 Points)
Description: Achieve 10% overall progress.
Tips: Simply put, beat any ten levels.

Achievement: Push It Real Good (Medium - 5 Points)
Description: Ace 25 levels.
Tips: If you simply beat the first two or three levels in each row, which are considered the easiest in each row, you'll get this badge eventually. You might want to challenge yourself and try to ace the harder levels in the first two or three rows.

Achievement: "I'm Flippin' Balls, Man" (Hard - 30 Points)
Description: Complete 100 levels.
Tips: Since 100 levels is all that Exorbis has to offer (as far as I can tell, anyway), actually getting this is as simple as beating the game. Unfortunately, due to the difficulty of the game, actually acquiring this badge requires a guide and a lot of patience. Or, just having a knack for puzzle games like these. I haven't acquired this, and it's unlikely I ever will.