New Software To Be Reviewed Review

Monarch: the Butterfly King - Cliched tile-matching game

Submitted by jerrymouse on Tue, 2010-01-19 19:42.
Author's Product Rating:
Ease of Use: 
Effectiveness: 
Help/Support: 
The lowest price: 0$
You can buy it at RegNow for that price.
Pros:
not too expensive, supporting storyline, the butterflies and flowers theme, locked pieces, potion vials/exploders
Cons:
not too different from other tile-matching games
Review:

Monarch: the Butterfly King is a tile-matching game from Reflexive Entertainment, where you swap flowers to match up at least 3 of the same type in a row or column to clear the board. You can't swap flowers if they don't make up a matching row/column. The goal is to remove 'metal' plates from the board, and when all of them are removed, you clear a level. There are more than a 100 levels of different types, and a relaxed or an action gameplay mode.

Some unique features are 'locked' flowers, which are locked to their positions and will not let flowers above move down to fill spaces. The way to remove them is the put them in a matching row or column. Potion vials appear as bonus items, which can be double-clicked or matched with flowers for explosion which clears the vicinity.

The flower-popper appears when it has recharged after a certain number of combination is cleared. It can be used to remove any flower, that may help you achieve a matching combination. You would probably have little use of it, unless you're stuck in a stalemate situation.

The game is supplemented with a storyline, where you help the Butterfly King rescue his 16 compatriots from the clutches of an evil wizard, who had kidnapped them. Throughout the levels, you also get to learn the names of the butterflies!

There is a Mouse Party multiplayer mode, and it requires you to connect multiple mice to allow your friends to play with you, either in a competitive mode or a cooperative mode. Unlock Secret Gardens to get more levels, or download levels from Reflexive Entertainment's website.

In my opinion, Monarch does very little to get the extra distinction from other tile-matching games that are abound on the internet. You might like the flower and butterfly themes, or might like the concepts of locked flowers and potion exploders. For $6.99 from Amazon Downloads, Monarch: The Butterfly King, is compatible with Windows XP or Vista.

Conclusion:

Monarch: The Butterfly King is a tile-matching game, with some new features, but it hasn't gone very far beyond the original concept.