It's all fun and games until the pickle-clown ends up in the pool... and even then, it's still fun and games. Strange, but true, this sums up Meetreen Games' latest title, a physics puzzler called Circus. You control the aforementioned pickle-clown as he bounces, flops and rockets his way into a pool of water where his 'friend', the alligator, eagerly awaits his arrival. But your effects aren't direct, he moves on his own and is helped out by the trampolines, unicycles and other clown paraphernalia that you are charged with placing on the level's screen. The more bouncing mister pickle does, the higher your score! Yippee!
Circus is not a game for those looking for a challenging puzzle game as the difficulty is tempered by the limited number of areas you can place each piece. What it is, in fact, is an amusing distraction with a fun character, a lively background and 30 levels of physically punishing physics puzzling. Sure the pickle ends up a little worse for wear, but it's worth it just to be in the spotlight with a cheering, adoring crowd. It's every pickle-clown's dream.
I dilly-dallied through most of the levels, but that left a sour taste. So I picked up the pace and simply relished it in the end.
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