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| That's a skeleton alright. Make no bones about it. |
- Reviewed by: Mark Goninon
- Developer: EightyEight Games
- Publisher: EightyEight Games
- Release Date: 16 Jan 2013
- Time played: 9 hours
What is it
EightyEight Games is a British indie development studio founded in 2011 by Luca Redwood. Motivated by the imminent arrival of a new baby, Luca worked weekends and evenings after his dayjob for 9 months to develop the game that is being reviewed today called 10,000,000.
10,000,000 is a combination of match-3 arcade gameplay, endless runner and a basic role-playing game. Your goal is to achieve a score of 10,000,000 points in order to free yourself from a dungeon but you'll need better weapons and armour in order to fight tougher enemies to give you the requisite points to escape. Dungeon runs work like endless runners in that it's game over when the edge of the screen catches up with you but you'll have to overcome obstacles such as locked doors, chests and monsters. Combat, unlocking and collecting of resources (which are used for upgrading items as well as your base) are performed by matching three items of the same type, a bit like Bejeweled or Candy Crush.
10,000,000 was originally released on iOS devices in August 2012 but eventually made its way to PC in 2013. Luca credits a favourable review on website TouchArcade as the reason 10,000,000 was such a huge success and the game initially sold about 2,000 units per day with 50,000 copies of the game being sold on the App Store by the end of the first month. By 2014, Luca says the game had sold over 330,000 copies across all platforms and had earned him $500,000.
In terms of critical reception on PC, the game has a Metascore of 67 indicating "Mixed or Average Reviews" but on Steam, 10,000,000 received a "Very Positive" rating based on 90% of the 1,577 Steam user reviews being positive.
Critics praised the game for the addictive mix of Bejeweled-like match-3 gameplay and RPG. The retro music and graphics were also praised, however criticisms were made about the game's limited longevity or depth and that it is not as superior as similar games such as Puzzle Quest. Critics also mentioned that the iOS version was the superior version of the game as mouse controls on the PC are fiddly and the game is more suited to the swiping gestures you make on a phone.
How I got it
A copy of 10,000,000 was linked to my Steam account back in 2016. I'm not quite sure how I got it but it's most likely that the very generous Mix-Master gave me a copy (thanks mate)! I've been always meaning to give 10,000,000 a try especially after a friend of mine recommended I give it a go. It was only when I realised I needed a quick game to play whenever I only had limited time (a pretty common occurrence when you're a father of three young children) that I finally decided to give the game a try.
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| At each level you'll have little quests to complete that will give you bonus resources |
What I like:
Retro soundtrack
There's only two tracks that make the 10,000,000 soundtrack but I love the retro chiptune feel to them, especially the second dungeon theme (Tayfun by Tomasz Gierygowski) which I believe is actually an old Amiga track called taj fun by chaser. I'm teleported back to the 1990s whenever I hear it.
Match-3
Match-3 games are pretty simple games to understand but being able to spot ideal combinations in a limited time is where things get challenging. So, easy to pick up, hard to master.
A rogue-like with persistence
Each time you go on a dungeon run you collect resources you can use to upgrade things such as your weapons and armour. This means no matter what happens, you're always becoming stronger and making progress towards beating the game.
Mouse-only
You can play this game just using the mouse, similar to point ‘n' click adventures, which is a completely different genre, I know, but a genre I have fond memories of. It also means you can drink a cup of tea and play the game at the same time!
Addictive gameplay loop
Thanks to the game's persistence and short dungeon runs, the game can get very addictive. The game will lure you back in for multiple runs and this is exactly what happened when I played the game for the first time: I ended up playing the game for half an hour despite only planning to play it for a few minutes.
Family Friendly
The game has very mild pixelated violence so it's suitable for most ages to play.
Steam Achievements and Trading Cards
There are 14 Steam Achievements you can earn and 6 trading cards to collect
A good time waster
If you only have a few minutes to spare, you can easily fit in a couple of rounds of 10,000,000 while you're waiting on something else. |
| It'll take a while to unlock every store and every item |
What I dislike:
A good time waster
Unfortunately, one of the game's strengths is also its weakness. Considering each round of the game is really short, it means you have to play a lot of rounds in order to complete the game. It took me 9 hours of grinding enough resources to upgrade my weapons and armour to the point where I had a chance of finishing the game.
Mobile version is cheaper
The game was made for the mobile and considering it's $2.99 on the Apple Store and $4.19 on Google Play Store, why wouldn't you get one of these versions?
No reason to replay
Once you've finished the game, there's very little reason to replay. Unlike other games (even ones that have similar gameplay such as Puzzle Quest) there is no real narrative, or branching plot or different classes to try out. In 10,000,000 the only reason to replay the game is if you enjoy the match-3 gameplay but there are other options out there if you want to get that dopamine hit.
Not enough music
There are only two tracks you hear when you're playing the actual part of the game. It would've been nice if they introduced a couple of more tracks for a bit of variety.
Score – 7/10 (Good)
If you like addictive, retro, match-3 with elements of RPG added to the mix, 10,000,000 isn't a bad option. Once you've finished the game though, there's very little reason to replay it and on PC there is strong competition to this game out there, including Gems of War which is free and with heaps more content and strategy included.
Is the game worth $7.50 AUD?: Yes. You'll still get a few hours of gameplay for the price, but the mobile versions of this game are probably better value for money.
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[ LINK: 10,000,000 Official Website ]
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