Editor's Choice Game
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
Reviewed by Angie Kibiloski
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Retail $19.95), by Injoy Games, is a casual matching game, downloadable from www.injoygames.com. As you match the colorful gems into strands of 3 or more, you clear the board of yellow brick road blocks that are underneath the gems. You also free the munchkins that are trapped inside some of the gems. When you have cleared the board of the yellow brick road, you progress to the next level. Scoring depends on how many munchkins you release, how many matches you create, and how long it took you to clear the board.
There are 10 chapters with 5 levels per chapter, each level beginning with a short piece of the Wizard of Oz story, typed out inside a story book for you to read. The background screen for each level depends on how far along in the story you have progressed. It is fun to be able to follow along with the familiar plot as a reward for completing levels.
The munchkins are very cute when they fall out of the gems and scamper off to freedom. Each time you free 3 munchkins, you are able to use a Diagonal Move, which isn't usually allowed, to help make a difficult match. To further aid you in clearing the gems and brick road pieces, you have tools that occasionally come on the screen in place of a new gem. Some examples of these are axes that eliminate gems or brick squares, a lion that roars and destroys all the gems around him, fire balls that can clear entire rows, and many more. There are also more challenging road blocks as the levels progress, like locks on some of the gems, or vines growing across some squares, preventing you from clearing that square until you make an additional match either on it or next to it.
This is a simple game of matching and rearranging gems, but the added elements of the cute little munchkins and the story to follow along with, make it a fun casual game. It seems easy enough, but the further along you progress, the more challenging the game becomes. You can play one level at a time when you only have 5 minutes to spare, or sit down for hours and make your way all the way to the Emerald City and beyond. Either way, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, from Injoy Games, is a cute addition worth having in your gaming library.