Match'em Up

I did not write a review since the start of February, so I think I'll finish off my reviews for February with one of BYOND Casual's new games.

The game of course is Xogre's Match'em Up which was added at the start of 2008. Match'em Up is a matching game where at the start you can choose to play with a player, or AI. There are 3 different sorts of AI to choose from to match your skill. The AI is fun to play with since he/she will talk to the players watching/you inside the lobby you are in. There are 5 lobbies so many players can play. It is only 2 player compatible, but like I said has additional lobbies to choose from. The game is played like any matching game, there are different cards and you click them to show what's under them, if you click two cards that are the same color(red or blue) + shape(triangle, square, circle) you get points(2 for red, 4 for blue. The player who has the most points at the end of the game wins. It also has nice small additions to the game such as changing your color, a nice ranking system, and a help file.

Graphic Rating: 7.5/10
The graphics are general, but fit nicely. There are different card sets that are randomly chosen and a special member icon for the BYOND members. The graphics are not really what makes a game like this, but they still look nice.

Sound - Music Rating: 6.5/10
Their is currently no music inside the game, but there are some sounds such as when the card is flipped. The sounds fit in the game and are nice to listen to, some music would be nice too, but oh well.

Game play Rating: 8.5/10
The gameplay is like most matching games, and is nicely done. Playing with AI or players is a very nice addition, and I do enjoy them talking to you. They compliment you on how you are doing, or say how awesome they just did. They sometimes ask the players in the audience if they are enjoying the game, and more. The AI also can be tricky if you are playing it on hard. The interface is user friendly, and looks pretty nice. It shows you what is happening inside the different lobbies, has an info output that says what's happening in the current lobby you are in. It also has buttons such as options which allows you to access the high scores, help file, managing your icon, etc.

Multi-player Rating: 8/10
The Multi-player is not a necessity inside this game, but it is more fun to play with a real player, since they are smarter than the AI. Something that makes me want to play with players other than the AI would be that the AI don't use their memory a lot unless they are on a higher difficulty, which sometimes they won't even remember. The Multi-player in the game I actually find a lot more fun not just since you have a real person to talk to, and they're smarter. But the ranking system makes it more fun I find. If you lose, you're rank goes down which can make new players better than you in the ranking making which makes you have to work to get better.

Fun over time Rating: 7/10
The game is fun to play with AI when no one is on, which happens a lot. And is fun to play with some players. I find it may get a bit boring once you played a bunch of matches, but it's still a good game. It has pretty much everything you could ask for in a matching game, but after you play it for awhile, get inside the rankings. There is not much more for you to want to try to achieve and make you want to play the game a lot more. It's fun to play every once in awhile, just not addictive since players like a goal to reach.

Overall Rating: 7.5/10
The game is very fun for a bit of games, has graphics that suit the title. It could use some music, but the sounds that are used fit the game. There is three different AI levels to play against if you have no one to match with, and up to 10 players can be matching up cards at the same time within the 5 lobbies.