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10000000 (PC) artwork

10000000 (PC) review


"It's hard to tell whether you'll reach a score of ten million or disappointment first..."

10000000 (PC) image


10000000 ("ten million") is your standard mixture of match-three puzzler and RPG. I'm sure you've seen or played plenty of similar games. They feature conventional match-three mechanics, except that matching particular symbols yields specific results in addition to the expected boost in points. For instance, putting together three or more blue spheres in Puzzle & Dragons prompts any blue creatures in your possession to attack. 10000000 functions similarly, except that it places a greater emphasis on speed, survival, character growth and old school presentation.

Visually and aurally speaking, 10000000 is not a jaw-dropping marvel. Its graphics and sounds exude a rustic quality that only lovers of ancient games will appreciate. The instant you fire up the campaign, its Pitfall-ish presentation greets you. An adventurer type (who could be mistaken for Pitfall Harry's brother) leaps out of a bed with an obnoxious BOING! A lovable 8-bit era theme plays while you voyage into the dungeon. Once you arrive, 10000000 loads one of two songs: either a catchy BGM with snazzy beats and adventurous tones, or a track that's reminiscent of mystic cave levels from various NES games. Both cuts are pleasant, but the lack of a fully fleshed out soundtrack is disappointing. Before long, you'll grow tired of the same three cuts playing in an endless loop.

For a while, 10000000's lack of musical tracks won't bother you, though, especially since the game offers plenty of activities to keep you busy and addicted. When you enter the dungeon, our hero automatically runs towards the right and encounters monsters, locked doors and treasure chests. By matching wands or swords, you execute either magical or physical attacks, respectively. These allow you to vanquish any critters that stymie you, including zombies, ogres and dragons. Each foe requires more than a single match to fell, though. You need to continuously combine tiles while the dungeon screen continues to scroll. Also, your adversaries attack periodically, bumping you slightly to the left.

10000000 (PC) image

The process when you encounter treasure and locked doors is fairly similar, except that these obstacles don't damage you. Instead of weapons, you need to match keys to advance beyond them. Opening chests also occasionally hooks you up with a special item. Some of them automatically deal damage to your current opponent or unlock a chest or door. Others, such as food items, allow you to gain ground. Scrolls are among the most useful items, since they change some of your tiles into wands, swords or keys.

As you might have gathered, if you reach the left side of the dungeon, you're doomed. On the other hand, if you survive long enough to earn ten-million points, you win. During your first excursion, that might seem like an unattainable goal. Fear not, because there are plenty of ways to improve your chances of survival in the dungeon. For one thing, matching wood or stones in-game nets you materials that you can use to build and upgrade several facilities in the hub. You can spend earned gold and experience on new weapons for added damage, fresh armor to reduce knock-back and skills that serve as perks (e.g. added damage to a monster type, reduced knock-back from projectiles, etc.). Perhaps the most intriguing and useful of these is potions, which come with advantages and disadvantages. One potion, for instance, cancels long ranged attacks against you, but increases melee damage you incur by thirty percent.

As you strengthen the protagonist, you live longer. An increased lifespan takes you deeper into the dungeon, where you gain advanced point multipliers. Plus the longer you live, the likelier you are to complete one of the game's laundry list of objectives, including slaying X number of monsters without dying, or earning a certain amount of gold in a single session. These goals in turn provide you with extra resources, while also bringing you closer to a permanent upsurge in difficulty rating. Such spikes pit you against meaner creatures who hit harder and absorb more damage, but pay out meatier chunks of points. Additionally, further difficulty boosts also come with larger points multipliers, bringing you ever closer to that fabled ten million.

10000000 (PC) image

For a while, 10000000 remains addictive. You'll play nonstop just to see if you can complete every objective, while constantly telling yourself you have time for "just one more game." The next thing you know, you're about to be late for work or you're going to bed at some ungodly hour. Eventually, that "while" slows to a halt, and you're left with a bare bones puzzler...

10000000 offers only so many objectives. After a few hours, you run out of shops to upgrade and potions to mix. You're at max level, on the most difficult stage and struggling to earn that ten million because the game is overly reliant on luck. During some sessions, you steamroll everything and endure for eons. You come within a stone's throw of your ultimate goal and fall short because the game didn't spawn enough swords, wands or keys. During other situations, you encounter multiple locks and scattered keys, preventing you from matching them. No matter how many tiles you eliminate, the game doesn't generate any further keys and you perish because you end up getting crushed by a chest.

10000000 (PC) image

It's during this phase that you realize 10000000 is a bland title without its objectives. You hear the same music constantly, glimpse familiar backgrounds and run afoul of enemies you've battled for ages. Soon enough, 10000000 becomes just another repetitive match-three product with dated visuals. This isn't to say that it's a terrible game, though, because it provides just enough simple entertainment to while away a few hours. However, it doesn't offer enough stellar content to push you all the way to completion.

Don't get me wrong, though; I'm not saying you shouldn't experience 10000000. If you dig match-three RPGs, this one should easily satisfy you for a few hours. Sadly, it's hard to tell whether you'll reach a score of ten million or disappointment first...



JoeTheDestroyer's avatar
Staff review by Joseph Shaffer (February 08, 2018)

Rumor has it that Joe is not actually a man, but a machine that likes video games, horror movies, and long walks on the beach. His/Its first contribution to HonestGamers was a review of Breath of Fire III.

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