Game Reviews

MrMixit

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MrMixit
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MrMixit is definitely not a rhythm game, despite the developer's efforts to ensure it comes off as one.

Music features prominently, but it has about as much influence on the proceedings as MrMixit’s favorite brand of batteries.

You see, the titular Mr Mixit is in fact a DJ-ing robot and you, the player, are cast as his humble label-pasting assistant.

That doesn’t really strike us as a job exciting enough to warrant its own video game adaptation, but it’s actually quite a thoughtful premise.

Match Day

The main mechanic of the game revolves around the simple memory game Pairs.

Whereas the object of the original was to turn over pairs of images until two of them matched, MrMixit has a much more compelling paradigm for the act in question.

Only one image is employed, inexplicably split in two cross-cut patterns that the aspiring DJ’s assistant must drag to the nearest available turntable and coax into merging to form the original image.

There’s plenty of trial and error, but the finely honed difficulty curve expertly frustrates just enough to keep you plugging away.

Our funky overlords

As the game starts to layer more and more images on you the time for experimentation vanishes. If you make a mess on your first attempt, don't expect a second.

Visually, it might as well be an Adobe commercial, as the clean lines all but scream upscale Flash game. We mean that in the nicest possible way.

HD Interactive’s robotic puzzler may ultimately be a one trick pony, but it’s a deceptively engrossing trick thanks to the ageless spell of a simple mechanic flawlessly implemented and beautifully presented.

MrMixit

Hiding behind the rhythm game presentation is a strangely compelling puzzler whose still mechanics run just deep enough to amuse
Score
Catalin Alexandru
Catalin Alexandru
Catalin has worked as a game designer with Electronic Arts for two and a half years, creating mechanics and levels, while writing everything from narrative and dialog to postmortems and game reviews for iPhone versions of franchises like Star Trek, Red Alert and Medal of Honor.