- #Microsoft puzzle collection free download full version for free
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Microsoft is to be commended in making sure that the drop-down menus and options in each of the ten games are quite similar, making it very easy to get accustomed to the interface. Also missing from the games is a multiplayer option. The game controls are quite intuitive, although it is amazing how many need to be played with the keyboard and not the mouse, and joystick/game pad support is noticeably absent. All three games managed to combine frenzied fun with intense logic.
In the end, which games emerge as your favorites is somewhat a matter of personal taste I liked "Color Collision" (which is not really a puzzle game), "Jewel Chase" (which has a cute animated introduction), and "Lineup" (which involves awesome amounts of planning ahead). The ten puzzle games included in this collection are "Charmer," where you save dancing snakes "Color Collision," where you dodge obstacles in pursuit of color targets "Finty Flush," where you work against the clock to fill the grids with the right combination of marbles "Fringer," where you try to untangle knots in strings of beads under time pressure "Jewel Chase," where you try to outrace a computer opponent to collect gems and get to the next level "Lineup," where you try to connect opposite sides of the playing field with vertical or horizontal arrays of balls "Mixed Genetics," where you try to restore mutated hybrid creatures to their original selves "Muddled Casino," where you try to remove cards from the table in a particular order and win the jackpot, "Rat Poker," where you trap rats and try to combine them into winning poker hands and "Spring Weekend," where you rotate garden patterns to try to create a match. After several unsuccessful post- Tetris releases with Spectrum Holobyte - including BreakThru and ClockWerx - Pajitnov is apparently hoping for more success with Microsoft. Ironically, the first Microsoft Entertainment Pack contained a version of Tetris by Alexey Pajitnov, and The Puzzle Collection contains several games designed by him.
#Microsoft puzzle collection free download full version windows
Compared to recent Windows 95 retail puzzle game releases by other companies - such as SegaSoft's Lose Your Marbles and Actual Entertainment's Gubble - The Puzzle Collection contains a lot less depth, intrigue, addictive quality and replay value. The games in this collection are slightly more elaborate than their predecessors, but they appear to continue the Microsoft tradition here that less is better. The Puzzle Collection is the first set released specifically for Windows 95, and the first to focus exclusively on puzzles. These earlier efforts gradually moved from 16 colors to 256 colors and gradually introduced sound effects into the games, but they were in general relatively Spartan compared to similar games released by other companies.
#Microsoft puzzle collection free download full version for free
All were mildly successful in the marketplace, but more were more frequently bundled for free with new computers. Since that time, there have been four Entertainment Packs and one "best-of" Entertainment Pack. Microsoft has a long tradition of Entertainment Packs for Windows, beginning in 1990.