Multitasking Done Right!

Review by matthade2 on Sunday, October 27th 2013

The art of multitasking is an interesting one. Doing multiple tasks at the same time tests your brain and physical endurance and is almost an essential skill in today's world. So when I saw a game like 4Tasks (Yes that's literally how Gerald spelled it) on the featured page I decided to give it try because I like Gerald�s games and I wanted to play something with a challenge. I failed miserably at the game but luckily there was a walkthrough so with the help of Sploder Central let's see if 4Tasks is a game worth playing.

Review

Now when I played the game the first thing it reminded me of was a game called Splitscreen. You know that game by Splatter! 4Tasks looks almost identical to Splitscreen only Splitscreen was featured almost a year before. The point I'm trying to make here is that this concept has been done before so it's not very unique. However and this is just my opinion here I think 4Tasks does this concept better than Splitscreen. More gameplay mechanics and features are in this game and it's a bit more developed as well. So while the concept isn't exactly new it's done really well.

Let's actually talk about the gameplay for a minute. You control four squares as you solve puzzles and avoid obstacles in six levels (not counting the intro). Each square has its own screen and each square controls differently. This allows for multiple challenges in each screen causing you to think and multitask. All the early levels introduce a new mechanic and the last two levels combine all the mechanics to make for a good challenge at the end of the game. For example level three introduces block puzzles and level five introduces copies and switches. Then later when you get to level six and seven block puzzles, switches, and copies are all a part of the level! The game is a little hard to get into at first and I would have liked more content but other than that the gameplay here is flawless.

Another great thing about this game is its placement. It felt so thought out and when you play the game you can tell how much this game was tested to be just right. This is especially true during the block puzzles and the location of the squares at the beginning of each level. The placement was the backbone of this game and it makes the levels playable and fun.

The biggest flaw of 4Tasks is its difficulty. It's not impossible and it's not a cakewalk it's all over the place. Never have I played a game where the difficulty goes in a crazy roller coaster throughout all the levels. The first playable level is one of the hardest with only two levels being harder (one of which is early on!). The last level is the hardest but it was a close contest between the first three levels early in the game. Surprisingly the later levels actually get easier and they manage to slow down the action and intensity. The screens in each level also vary in difficulty with some being as easy as making a jump while other requires dodging, maneuvering, and jumping at the same time. This is the weakest part of the game and its problem that Splitscreen never had.

Finally let's talk about presentation and see if 4Tasks can redeem itself. The graphics are pretty basic with each screen having basic shapes and one color. However the intro looked really nice and impressive which made me hyped to play the game. The game isn't amazing to look at but it's colorful and has a nice charm to it. This music in this game gives off two moods which are insanity and serenity. Some levels feature hectic scenarios and the music adds to the level with a hectic track. Other levels are slowed down and require you to solve puzzles and the music again adds to the level with a calm track. The presentation here got the job done. The game looked okay but the music and levels created a nice atmosphere depending on what situation you were in.

Now let's move on to the ratings!

Ratings

Concept: 7 out of 10

Presentation: 8 out of 10

Placement: 8 out of 10

Difficulty: 4 out of 10

Gameplay: 8 out of 10

Overall: 7 out of 10

So in conclusion I thought 4Tasks was a solid game. In every category other than difficulty 4Tasks did an amazing job. The game got me to think and multitask thanks to its placement and fantastic gameplay and I can see why it was featured. While Splitscreen did the concept first 4Tasks raised the bar and to me is the better game. Overall I can recommend this game to a lot of people just be sure to watch the walkthrough if you get stuck.