What makes a game relaxing? Despite featuring a large quantity of whizzing, brightly-colored particles and a constantly counting down timer, Pulsus somehow manages to be a game I'd like to pick up and play at o'dark hundred while sipping a cup of herbal tea until I get sleepy again.
In this puzzle game, an emitter is releasing particles of different colors. You cannot manipulate the particles directly, but using the mouse, you can place circles called "forces" onto the field to direct particles into the goals. You win the level when all the goals are filled. Some goals are colored, and only fill up when hit by particles of their own color; for these levels, you need to use colored forces which attract particles of one color and repel all other colors.
Analysis: Pulsus will doubtlessly be compared to Auditorium. The superficial resemblance is quite strong: manipulating streams to hit targets, with sleek graphics and sounds and a relaxing mood. After playing both games, however, it's clearly only a skin deep similarity. The strategies for solving the puzzles of one game would be completely useless in the other.
Pulsus' strength, its primary entertainment value, is in the way the visuals, the chimes in the audio, and the trial-and-error, sit-back-and-watch puzzle solving combine for a meditative gaming experience. So, why is there a timer? The big purpose of timers in gaming is to add tension. It's like I was lying on a massage table, smelling incense, listening to water flowing over stones, totally relaxed, and all of a sudden the therapist drips cold massage oil into the small of my back. Mood broken, and it totally could have been avoided!
Although I more-or-less sailed through the levels, I had a rough time with the final one. I couldn't even get any of the left hand goals half-way full. In frustration, I even wrote to the developer to ask what the strategy was for that level. So, I may not be an expert at the game, but I still enjoyed it quite a bit.
Despite the timer, Pulsus has still earned a place among the tiny coterie of games I turn to for relaxation. A massage is lovely, even with a little cold shock.
(And then tell me how to beat the last level.)
Walkthrough Guide
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Here are some hints for each level.
Caveats abound: These are by far not the only solutions possible, and I don't promise they will result in the highest possible score. But, they will work if you're stuck.
Level 00
One disk above the generator and one below should fill both goals fairly quickly.
Level 01
One disk to the left and slightly above the generator, the other to the left and slightly below.
Level 02
One disk above the generator and one to the right. Now imagine a straight line between the generator and goal. Place one disk off to the right of that line and one disk to the left of that line, so that these two disks, the generator, and goal form a diamond shape.
Level 03
One disk directly above the generator, very close to it. One disk below the generator close to the bottom edge of the screen.
Level 04
This level can be solved with only three disks, but it doesn't hurt to use all five. Place the disks a little ways away from the generator evenly spaced in a semicircle around the left side of the generator.
Level 05
Place one disk so the generator, left goal, top goal, and disk form a diamond. Place a second disk below the generator, halfway between the generator and the bottom of the screen. The top goal should fill very quickly, and the left goal will soon follow. Once the left goal is full, place the third disk to the left of the generator.
Level 06
Put the two blue disks equally spaced in a line between the generator and goal. Put the purple disk and orange disk behind the generator. You do not need to use the grey disk to clear the level.
Level 07
Put the two purple disks equally spaced in a line between the generator and purple goal. Place a black disk beneath the generator, not quite halfway to the bottom of the screen.
Level 08
Fill the goals one at a time. Place all four disks very close to the generator in a semi-circle opposite one goal. This will cause the particles to leave the generator in a narrow dense stream. Once the first goal fills, shift the disks around so the stream is pointing at the second goal. You should end up with a score between 1500-2000.
Level 09
For each goal, place both disks of that color equally spaced in a line between the goal and generator.
Level 10
It is quite hard to describe in words how I solve this, so here, have an image.
Level 11
Place one of each color disk near to the generator and one about halfway between the first disk and the goal.
Level 12
Place the two purple disks in a line from the generator to the goal. Pick either orange or blue and place two disks of the same color in a line from the generator to the grey goal.
I know there is a faster way to do this, since my high score is 2600, and this method at best yields 2200 points, but I can't remember the more efficient method of solving it.
Level 13
Place the two blue disks equally spaced in a line going straight up from the generator. Place the orange disks below the generator in a line. You should earn more than 2000 points this way.
Level 14
Place the disks like so. The blue goal will fill relatively quickly, after which you can return the blue disks. Adjust the placement of the black disks so the stream is pointing at one goal, then after it fills, point the stream at the other goal. I managed a high of 1979 with this method.
Level 15
Start by placing the orange and purple disks between the goals and generator in a rough V shape. Place the thre black disks behind the generator in a semi-circle. Once the purple and orange fill up, move the purple and orange disks to the top and bottom of the screen and place the blue disks in a line between goal and generator. I had between 1300 and 1500 points on this level, depending on how quickly I did the initial setup of disks.
Level 16
I used this arrangement and scored 2050.
Level 17
Place the three black disks in a semi circle around the generator so the stream is pointing at the orange goal. Place one orange disk near the generator and one near the orange goal.
After the orange goal fills up, return the orange disks and rearrange the black disks so the particles are hitting both blue and purple goals. Put the blue and purple disks in lines from the generator to their respective goals.
My high score with this method was around 1000. The orange goal takes a loooong time to fill.
Level 18
Put a disk of the appropriate color between the generator and each goal. As soon as a goal fills, remove the disk next to it.
My high score was 2370.
Level 19
Place the three blue disks equally spaced in al ine from the generator to the blue goal. Repeat with orange. As each of the blue and orange goals fill adjust their disks slightly further away from the generator, to allow more particles freedom to move to the purple goals.
My high score was 2387.
Level 20
This is by far the hardest round. Start by arranging the black disks to form a funnel around the generator, so the particles all go towards the center goal. As soon as the center goal fills up, rearrange the disks so that the stream is more tightly aimed and the left middle goal, which should fill in a second or two after the center goal filled.
Now rearrange the disks to focus the stream at one of the remaining goals. As soon as it fills, focus the stream on the last goal.
Most of this level will depend on quick placement and rearranging of the disks and on generating a nice tightly-focused stream of particles. Keep tweaking the black disks until you can aim the funnel well.
My high score was a mere 890 points.
Level 21
Put two black disks to the left of the generator.
Put the three purple disks in a triangular formation around the purple goal.
Put a black disk below and to the right of the generator, so the stream of particles flows mostly toward the top left grey goal. This goal should fill quickly.
After the top left goal fills, move the black disk further down and to the right, almost to the bottom of the screen. Ad another black disk between the generator and the top goal. Most of the stream of particles should hit the lower grey goal, and what don't get caught up in that goal flow on towards the purple goal.
My best score on this level was 1500.
Posted by: MmeTurbulence
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January 27, 2010 8:30 PM