Game Reviews

The Heist

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| The Heist
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The Heist
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| The Heist

Anyone who’s seen Ocean's Eleven will know that breaking into a vault requires a set of unique skills, meticulous planning, and balls of steel.

Security cameras, laser beams, and a massive steel door are but a few of the measures put in place to prevent would-be burglars from retrieving the protected bounty.

Fortunately, the process of illicitly procuring goods in The Heist is far simpler than that. Coming from the creators of MacHeist, its menu of logic puzzles ensures that the process of earning the real reward is far more enjoyable than attempting to rob a bank.

Metal Gear Puzzle

The game requires you to break into the vault by completing a series of puzzles that will gradually disable the four levels of security.

This task is explained via a phone call from your accomplice Sophia, which may cause some confusion as, cleverly, the interface is almost identical to the iPhone's.

Each of the sixty puzzles has an energy rating out of four, depending on the difficulty, and successfully completing a puzzle will increase a meter at the bottom of the screen. Once this is full, a new level of security and the next set of puzzles become available.

There are four types of puzzle, and if one particular type isn’t your strength, then you can focus on the others, even if they do become increasingly more difficult.

Puzzling

The first type requires you to slide various wooden blocks around a grid to create a safe passage for a microchip. You move blocks using the touchscreen, and they can shift vertically or horizontally, depending on the shape.

The second type is a variation of Sudoku that uses symbols and colours instead of numbers and a traditional 9x9 grid. The first few puzzles are fairly simple, but eventually the size of the grid increases and symbols become harder to distinguish from each other, with sets ranging from hieroglyphics to different types of cat.

The third type sees you controlling a robot around a maze in order to push a number of boxes into the correct position. This requires a fair bit of forward planning as just one wrong move can necessitate the use of the 'restart' button at the top of the screen.

The final type is a sliding puzzle, where you have to rearrange a series of panels to complete the various coloured wires. Initially, the puzzles use a 3x3 grid, which grows in proportion with the difficulty.

Pole vaulted

Unlocking the vault is not only rewarded with a smug sense of achievement, but also by a steam voucher code. This may be a tangible reward for your efforts, but the process of completing the puzzles is rewarding in itself.

The learning curve feels fairly natural, with earlier puzzles introducing new concepts and later ones frustrating and challenging you.

The touchscreen controls are effective, while the presentation is unmistakably slick. From the polished visuals to the almost cheesy fake phone call, a lot of effort has clearly gone into its production.

This effort results in a solid collection of testing puzzles whose difficulty and variety mean that it’s essential for both casual players and fans of the genre.

The Heist

A polished, entertaining, and varied assortment of brainteasers that’s a must have for any iPhone puzzle fan
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Steve McCaskill
Steve McCaskill
A crippling addiction to Football Manager threatened Steve's education and social life for much of the past ten years, but he has come through it with a history degree and an unparalleled knowledge of zonal marking.