GAME
Push! is a puzzle game based on the Japanese Hanjie puzzles, but it has a (strange) story behind it.  There is an epidemic in town.  The mysterious Tenkei virus has caused all the female cats to become pregnant.  Now, two months later, they are ready to give birth.  However, the cats in this town have rather a strange way of giving birth.  The Witch Doctor - Lez Whan - has to create a special puzzle for each delivery.  You must solve each of these puzzles correctly, so that the cats can give birth safely. 

As I said earlier, this game is based on the Japanese Hanjie puzzles.  This means that you have to create a picture by placing blocks in the correct place on each grid.  You will see numbers at the top of each column, and at the side of each row.  Use these numbers to work out where each block should be placed.  For example, if you see 5, 5, you should place a group of 5 blocks together, then at least one space, then another group of 5 blocks together.  I should point out that you may not be able to place all the blocks at once.  You may have to work on another section of the puzzle, and then come back to this row to complete it.  This is easier that it sounds, and if you work things through logically, you should not have too much trouble. 

GAMEPLAY

When you start the game, you are shown a cut-scene telling how Doctor Ein Yo Phantz has come to town to deliver all the births.  You are then taken to the main menu.  Here, you can select a level to play, or change the options to your preference.  Use the Arrow keys to navigate this screen, and Space to select. 

There are 5 basic levels in this game, and each level consists of 10 puzzles.  For each puzzle, you must create a picture by placing blocks on the grid.  Use the arrow keys to move your hammer & chisel, and use 'Enter' or 'Space' to place a block.  If you think a certain square should not have a block on it, you can mark that square to remind yourself.  Just press 'Esc', and an 'X' will appear in that square.  You can easily remove your marker if you want by pressing Space or Enter.  It all sounds a lot more complicated than it really is, and you will soon get the hang of how this game works. 

You are given 30 minutes to complete each puzzle.  If you place a block wrongly, then 8 minutes are taken away, so you have to plan things carefully.  When you have successfully completed a puzzle, you can return to the puzzle selection screen and press 'Shift' to save your progress.  This is especially useful in later levels, as the puzzles get progressively harder.  You cannot progress to the next level until you have completed all 10 puzzles in the current level.  If you complete levels within a certain time limit, then you can unlock hidden bonus levels. 

      Move hammer & chisel  - Arrow keys
      Placing a block   - Space or Enter
      Mark a square with 'X'  - Esc
      Remove block or 'X'  - Space or Enter again
      Save progress after puzzle - Shift on the puzzle selection screen.

GRAPHICS

The graphics are very cartoony, and have that unique Japanese style to them.  I thought the hammer & chisel used to solve the puzzles was brilliant.  When you place a block, you see a quick animation of the hammer hitting the chisel to mark that square.  If you want to remove a block or an 'X', you see a hand quickly wiping it away.  When a puzzle is completed, it turns into a full colour picture. 

MUSIC & SOUND EFFECTS
The sound effects were really cute.  You can hear a satisfying 'clunk' when you place a square, and a nice 'squeak' as you remove a marker.  I wasn't so impressed with the music.  I can only describe it as Elevator Music, and it gets very repetitive after a while.  There is an option to turn off the music, so you can listen to your own music if you want to.  Unfortunately, you will lose all the sound effects as well.

TECHNICAL NOTE

Please copy the file 'msgothi0.tcc' into your font folder in Windows.  This allows the game to display the correct font.  It doesn't really matter if you do not want to do this, the writing just looks a bit funny.

SUMMERY

The story may be slightly unusual, but this is still a very unique puzzle game.  Using the hammer & chisel to place blocks was a lovely touch.  There are a total of 50 puzzles, and I liked how they got progressively harder.  I enjoyed seeing each puzzle turn into a full colour picture when completed.  The only niggle I have is the repetitive music.  Overall, this is an addictive game that I can recommend.