Have you got the power? If you didn't take up the Government's PowerGen share offer then you can still have some power if you buy Digital Distribution's latest offering. Originally written by Demonware in Germary, The Power is a puzzle game with a difference - put simply, you'll be puzzled why you ever bought it! Only kidding, it isn't THAT bad.

You control Max, a lovesick, but smiling blob with a few wisps of hair and some feet poking out of his bottom. The aim of the game seems simple enough - you must guide Max through fifty levels of puzzling arcade action until he is finally reunited with the love of his life, Mini (who, like Max, is also a blob).

Each level is completed by collecting love hearts that are scattered around the play area. Once you've collected them all, a quick peck on Mini's cheek will send you to the next level.

Unfortunately, the floors of each level are rather slippery, so once Max starts to move, he can only stop by colliding with another object (a bit like my car, really).
To make things a little easier however, many of the levels feature 'helping stones' that can be strategically positioned to help Max collect all the hearts. These helping stones come in three flavours - Red, Green and Blue. Problem is though, you have to be careful when moving two together, because certain combinations will cause the stones to be destroyed.

Once you've completed all 50 screens, there's a built-in level editor which will let you produce your own screens. These can be saved out onto standard AmigaDOS format disks, so there's no reason why you shouldn't be able to swap screens with your friends.

The Power is quite a fun little game, but it doesn't quite have that certain something to make it special. As it is, you'd probably have more fun watching PowerGen shares crash.

Talk about tenuous game links! Demonware's last offering was Ooops Up! which was built around Snap's hit of last year. For their latest game, they have taken the band's first single and created a puzzle game about 'the power of love'. Well if it gets the game a decent soundtrack who are we to complain?

Will you break my heart again?
The game pits you as Max, a blobby little hero who must make his way through maze-like levels to rescue his girlfriend Mini.
This is more difficult than it sounds, since Max isn't too bright and has trouble finding his way around. Once you set him walking he continues in that direction until he hits an obstacle. Fortunately, there is a set of blocks which can be moved around in the same way as the hero to form barriers. Care must be taken when moving the blocks however because certain colour combinations case blocks to disappear.

You must set up the blocks to allow Max to pick up all the hearts, then guide him to Mini before the time counts to zero.

The game can be played in a number of different ways:
ARCADE: This is where one or two players take turns to complete each level. The level is displayed at full size, with you having to scroll the screen to view the whole of labyrinth.
TACTIC: This is basically the same as Arcade Mode, except the whole level is displayed on screen, so you don't need to scroll around.
KNOCKOUT: This is where two players battle head-to-head on a split screen display. The first to complete a screen is the winner of that stage.

It's getting kinda hectic
The going starts off pretty sedately, but it soon gets a lot more difficult. Before long, the mazes get bigger and more complicated, requiring you to think pretty feverishly to solve the puzzle before the ever-so-quick timer runs out. Some of the levels will have you tearing your hair out with frustration, but the game is fun enough and has a wonderfully cute quality to keep you trying.

With over 100 of the devious little blighters, it will be quite a while before you complete the game, but even if you do there is a level editor which enables you to create a whole new set of puzzles to pass between your friends.

The control method has been seen in a few games before, but the general approach and feel is different enough to allow The Power to be seen as an original enough puzzle game. Couple this with a serious addictiveness and The Power is enough to keep puzzle fans happy through the cold evenings.

Demonware return to the puzzle game field with this unusual offering, which once again uses the title of a Snap record. With the bassline from the original hit thumping away in the background, occasionally by a sampled shout, the object of The Power is to guide a small head along the walls of the surrounding play area in an attempt to make contact with a similar-looking head with a bow on top - presumably the female object of the former blob's intentions.

However, before the proposed meeting can take place, the rotund hero must be made to collect a pre-determined number of hearts to prove his love for the fickle female. However, as our hero can only travel in a straight line along the wall or at a right-angle from it, actually reaching the girl involves a lot of thinking and rearranging of obstacles - all within an ever-decreasing time-limit.

Despite its simple gameplay, The Power proves to be remarkably addictive. The puzzle element is the most addictive I have seen for a while, with some really nasty problems on the later levels - and these are made harder with the addition of blocks that cancel each other out.

As with most of the puzzle genre, though, its lasting appeal is dubious, with very little variety in the levels. To give the programmers credit, they have attempted to rectify this with the addition of extra play modes, but even these can't stop The Power from being short-term fun.