Pretty Good MahJongg Review

I don't think Goodsol Development would have been able to come up with a more fitting name for this game if they tried. It's packed with features, and shows signs of greatness, but it suffers from a few problems that keep it out of the "great" category and square it firmly into the "pretty good" one.

I've played a few different MahJongg games in the past, and I have to say that I was impressed with the vast number of options in this game. Not only does it include the traditional layouts that other MahJongg games include, but it also has a host of others - 335 games total, with help and documentation for each one of them. And they're not just variations of layout - many of these are completely unique games - some based on card games, others brand new.

The game also includes a feature that ensures all of its puzzles are guaranteed to be solvable, as well as a "shuffle" command that can be used to move all of the tiles within the current layout, in the hopes of finishing a game for which you've run out of moves.

The visual and aural aesthetics of the game, however, are lacking at best. The game icons all share the same exact shape and background, and seem to be done in no more than 32 colors. The interface itself also has a very primitive feel to it, and is simply not visually stunning in the least.

The tile set used in the games is equally poor - but trust me when I tell you that it's FAR better than the included alternatives, which amount to either plain white tiles with large, brightly-colored numbers or letters on them, or a set of "International Marine Signal Flags," done in the same 32 color bitmap as the game icons. The graphics simply aren't of a professional quality.

And if you think the game looks bad, wait till you hear how it sounds. The choice of sounds for tile selection and elimination sound like they come from a bad science-fiction game back in the earliest days of Console gaming – think NES. It's a huge distraction that ruins an otherwise good game.