Ankagua3D

Escape is a loaded word. It implies a sequence of events in which you snap a guard's neck, steal his keys, use them to rev up his motorbike before rallying it off a ramp, clearing the perimeter fence, all while flicking an uncouth two-fingered signal over your shoulder on your way out.

In other words, it takes daring, courage, and should be both tricky and exciting. Ankagua3D, alas, is neither of these things. It's little more than a stroll through a series of tombs, punctuated by a box shifting puzzle mechanic that's more inconvenient than challenging. With perseverance, though, the difficulty level finally catches up following this slow first half for a more thoughtful, if slightly bland set of spatial brain teasers.

You play a pug-faced, loin-clothed unfortunate who falls through some unsound flooring while haplessly wandering through an Aztec tomb. Trapped within the labyrinthine belly of the building, you're compelled to solve boxy puzzles to get out.

In each room, there are movable boxes that must be manoeuvered onto a corresponding number of floor switches. There are also several locked boxes that get in your way and, in some cases, cause you to get stuck and unable to finish the level.

There's a directional pad in the bottom-left corner and, when you are facing a block, a small push button appears at the bottom-right. If you press it once, you move a box one space. If held down, you keep pushing the box until you reach an immovable object. The goal is to successfully place all the boxes on all the switches.

There's no timer, no move counter, and no other obstacles. This wouldn't be such a problem if the difficulty curve wasn't so slack, but out of 40 levels you won't find your grey matter sufficiently taxed until at least 15 to 20 levels in.

This isn't a horrendous sin by itself. The real undoing is that it's often quite clear what the solution is early on. Given that movement is painfully slow, the experience becomes a trudging and obvious one.

By the time you hit level 21 the game's difficulty makes a welcome sweep upward. Through the addition of extra boxes and switches, placing each box without blocking the path for the next one evolves into an edifying challenge.

That said, Ankagua3D suffers from the kind of repetition and blandness that no amount of added mental gymnastics can save. The game dynamic remains exactly the same from start to finish, which in itself isn't a problem as long as it's sufficiently compelling. Here, that's not the case. It's a shame, as it's a solidly presented title with bold 3D levels.

Ultimately, Ankagua3D suffers from middle-of-the-road-itis. The challenge comes far too late in the game to undo the damage that's done in the uninspiring first half. There are no cardinal sins committed from a design point of view, but it's just not an especially dynamic concept for a puzzler.