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Game Stats
System: PC
Genre: Puzzle
Players: 1
Memory used: Approx. 37.5 MB's (w/ installer)
Playtime: 00:02 / --:--
ESRB Rating: Everybody (6+)

Screenshots

Paging Dr. Atomicus! Your experiment is ready! Atomica Deluxe is a game where you get to play with atoms as you try to create various molecules as other atoms periodically appears.

In Atomica Deluxe, you play a nuclear physicist with an atomic manipulator machine. You try to group atoms of 4 or more together to clear them off the grid as more atoms appear.

The graphics in the game are pretty basic, but there's a 3D-like background. Each color is a different element (Hydrogen, Helium, Iron, ect.) However, if you have colorblindness issues, you can click on the "Colorblind fix" option & the game will post the atomic symbol on the atoms (O of Oxygen, N for Nitrogen, FE for Iron, ect.) to them. If you hover the cursor over an atom long enough, the game will also tell you what atom it is. The only problem I have with the graphics is that they use PE (instead of FE) on the bonus molecules that require iron. If you don't use the colorblind fix, you won't notice this.

The sound in the game is OK, but it gets repetitive VERY EASY. There's only one music track for normal gameplay & you only get a different track when you reach a "Radiation" (aka bonus) round. The sound effects can be annoying as well with buzzes, pops and explosions. Thankfully, you can turn the down (of off) within the game so you can play your own music.

The controls of the game are done completely with the mouse as you click on the atom you want to move & then click on the square you want to move it to, granted there's an open path to it. That's all there is to the controls. As for gameplay, you try to make molecules by moving the atoms into groups of four or more (in a 2 x 2 square or even a 3 x 2 rectangle) to clear them off the grid and eventually clear the level. Every time you move an atom, more atoms will appear on the screen. Every time you clear a molecule, the atoms will temporarily stop appearing on the grid until you stop making molecules. The game ends when the entire grid fills up with atoms that you can't clear.

If this seems like a daunting task, you do have a few tools to help you out. The main tool you'll get is the Atomic Bomb, which is practically your panic button. When the grid gets filled up with atoms & you really need more room (or time) to make your molecules, just hit the big red button (with the radiation symbol on it) to activate it. The Atomic Bomb gets charged up by perfoming combos, where you clear multiple molecules in a row. The bigger the charge it gets, the more atoms it blows up. Since you need a minimum of 5 megatons (or whatever the units are on the guage by the button) before the bomb is ready. The second tool that you can get are bonus molecules. During regular game stages, you'll periodically see a diagram of a special molecule. If you can arrange the atoms to that diagram, you get that bonus molecule. Bonus molecules are special molecules that will temporarily affect the grid in some way when you double-click it. Once you create a bonus molecule, you can hold onto it and wait the next bonus molecule diagram shows up to power up the molecule or use it when you need help. The one downside with bonus molecules are that they're only good for the stage they're created in. It's one of those "use it or lose it" deals. The third tool you'll perodically receive are Chromium Atoms (CR). Chromium is a metalic atom that acts as a wild card. Therefore you can subtitute any missing atoms you'll need with Chromium to complete a molecule

Within the game, there are two types of specialty stages. First is the Radiation Round, which is kind of a bonus level as no new atoms appear & you try to clear all the atoms off the grid. Radiation Rounds are the only stages where you're NOT allowed to use the Atomic Bomb (as it's unneeded). The other specialty stage is the Magnet Round, where an atomic magnet is placed on the side of the grid and all the atoms are drawn to it (like gravity). Magnet rounds are harder than regular stages as you cannot move the atoms around the grid as normal (because of the magnet), but you don't have to make as many molecules to complete the level.

Atomica Deluxe is a decent game for people who can really want to give their brain a challenge. Atomica Deluxe comes with two game modes (action and strategic) as well as two difficulty levels (normal and expert) to break your beakers on. However, this game isn't for everybody & you'll want to try the basic online version before you consider spending the $20 on the deluxe version.