Fourtex Jugo (PC) Review

Fourtex Jugo has the player combining numbers, trying to reach 15. Once one does so, the pieces turn to different coloured tiles, and mixing tiles of the same colour makes a white piece with black spheres in it. Combining different coloured tiles makes black tiles with white spheres in them, and combining different tiles at this point destroys part of the board. All of these actions give out points, which can be used for… well, nothing.

It all begins with the levels all unlocked, and scoring a certain amount of points just gives the player stars. These don't really matter, and the player can play any of the levels they want. There's absolutely nothing for the player to feel like they've won or accomplished. The target scores are listed in how they relate to the thousands, so for instant, two million is 2000k. It's a bit weird, though not enough to really hurt the overall fun.

Re-read the first paragraph of this review, and realize that's infinitely more detailed than the lacklustre tutorial involved. Players will have to figure out almost everything on their own, which would be fine; it would be fine if each target score weren't so absurdly high, but the game is difficult and deserves a bit more explanation than it gets. So much of what happens seems to be by chance, though it's clear there's a formula here. Unfortunately, that formula is so deceptively hidden it is ridiculous to expect from anyone to figure it out.

Once you clear spots on the board, there's a chance a hand will appear. It will steal tiles off the board, and fill in the space the player just cleared. It's a cool touch, but it doesn't manage to save the game from being incredibly lifeless. Truth be told, Fourtex Jugo feels so sterile, there's no adventure to be had. The theft of tiles is interesting, but it doesn't really carry any weight.

The one non-sterile part of the game is the music, which manages to cross the entire board of fun and enter into obnoxious territory. The music just thumps in the background, the same beat pretty much the entire time you play. It gets a bit of a mix up when the player successfully combines tiles, instead producing an annoying "wah" sound.