Vid Grid Download (1994 Puzzle Game)

Vid Grid is a great new twist on the puzzle game, especially for fans of the music videos included on the disc. While it may seem nothing more than a publicity stunt to promote the artists (all of whom were signed by Geffen Records at the time of its release), the game would be fun no matter what type of media was used: commercials, movie trailers or even cartoons. It sounds simple, but the game really hooks you with its steadily increasing challenge and surprising amount of depth.

The game begins with nine different still pictures representing the videos. Select the picture of the video you want to solve and you'll be taken to a play screen with the following features: a scrambled video in the center, a clock telling you how much time you have left to solve the puzzle, your name, level and score. You then press "play" to begin the puzzle and use your mouse to unscramble the pieces before the video is over. If you manage to solve it in time, you can have another player try, play it again to beat your time, or choose another video.

There are three mouse "moves" you can use depending on the type of puzzle (each video can be scrambled in different ways): dragging and dropping each piece until it "snaps" into place; sliding the pieces in either a horizontal or vertical direction; and flipping the pieces by using the right mouse button. Puzzle sizes can range from a minimum of nine pieces all the way up to thirty-six. Now here is where things get interesting: the videos can play upside down or have certain pieces inverted! Since one of the puzzle modes is "perfection," where you have to put each piece in exactly the right location or the entire puzzle will scramble, you can see how challenging the game can be. Still too easy? Customize your own puzzle to solve!

As you can imagine, your familiarity with the videos is essential as the puzzles get more complex. Luckily, you can watch them in their entirety before attempting to solve them. There is also a fair amount of strategy involved while playing. The game is structured into five levels, and in order to complete each level, you must solve each video in any sequence you prefer. The catch? The type of puzzle does not change until you solve it. So do you use the Aerosmith video for completing the perfection puzzle, since you're so familar with it? Or do you want to save it for a trickier puzzle type?

The videos also differ in complexity. November Rain is nearly ten minutes in length, so you'll have a lot of time to complete a more difficult puzzle. All of these things must be considered before starting a video! Alas, if there is but one drawback to the game it's that nine videos seems a bit limiting. Plus, many people may not like the style of music. Yet if you enjoy puzzles and love your MTV, Vid Grid is a match made in heaven.

Graphics: The videos do not play on a full screen, and the quality isn't as good as what you'd see on television, but the quality of the videos never get in the way of solving the puzzles. The rest of the menu screens are pretty simple.

Sound: The sound is very well done, but if you don't like the artists you might want to turn the speakers down. Of course, the music can be a clue to certain scenes.

Enjoyment: The only thing holding this game back is having only nine videos. The variety of puzzles is staggering, but I wanted a wider selection of music. Ozzy just doesn't do it for me.

Replay Value: You can customize your own puzzles and the game can be quite challenging. This is a great game to play with a group of people, as it's easy for anyone to jump right in and play. See who can complete the puzzle the fastest!

The rock video moving puzzle game.

Here's a whole new way to play music videos. As you watch each video, the screen is divided into squares that are all mixed-up. You have to unscramble each video while it's playing and before the music ends. It takes just a few minutes to learn, but provides hours of challenging entertainment.

How to run this game on modern Windows PC?

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