GamesRelay

Name: Mole Control

Mole Control is a throwback to the timeless distraction that adorned most Windows PCs for decades: Minesweeper. The game of chance and logic gave many people both hours of entertainment, and intense pain, and this is one homage that emulates its source material to the bone. With its own unique additions to the formula, how does this title rise above the two-dimensional, built-in Windows game all these years in the future?

The story is an intentionally shallow and minor part of Mole Control. Set amidst the village of Molar Creek while it is under siege by moles that explode when stepped upon, you take control of an inventor's apprentice controlling a buggy dubbed the Im-Mole-isher, designed to dig up these creatures from the ground. Equipped with the tools to deal with them, you travel to different places around the village, assisting the townsfolk with their vermin troubles. Scant dialogue intersperses these scenes, but it's very simple and somewhat inane – presumably designed for a young audience. The gameplay however, is certainly not for the faint of heart.

Just like Minesweeper, your goal is to discover the threat without becoming a victim to it. As you move through each area in a grid, one square at a time, the buggy will flash with certain numbers that indicate how many moles are in the eight squares surrounding the vehicle. As you move past the squares, it'll lay that number onto the terrain, and via setting down these numbers, you can try and reason out the likely locations of the moles. Once you've made a decision then you can move next to the chosen hex and press the right mouse button to suck the creature from the ground. Failure, either by choosing an incorrect square or moving on top of a mole, will damage the buggy, requiring you to use one of your repair kits to continue. These are frighteningly limited however, with only two being carried with you into the grid, and a variable number dotting areas of the map. If you happen to make enough mistakes, you have to start all the way back at the beginning of a level, harsh if you only have a handful of critters remaining. Mistakes are very easy to make too, such as clicking one too many times while moving through an area and trodding on a mole unexpectedly. Patience and caution are essential, but can come in limited supply against the harsh odds you encounter.

The number of moles in each area can either multiply geometrically or can be placed tightly in areas with multiple obstructions as you progress through the levels. The problem with the obstructions is that it is more difficult to get an indication that there is a mole in the region when you can only scout out a limited part of the vicinity. This is punctuated by the holes that remain when a mole is extracted, and how they act in the same way. The flaw in this is that the moles are placed randomly at the start of each level, never remaining consistent, and this impacts your ability to reconnoitre. There are cases when these holes can be placed at key locations that are meant to help you decide where a nearby mole is situated. This can lead to circumstances where it's impossible to make a logical decision, forcing you to take a chance and wishing for the best. The game isn't very forgiving of this with the limited repair kits available, compared to the vast number of moles. There can sometimes be upwards of fifty creatures and more to discover with these limitations, demanding nothing more than near-perfection to get through them. Thankfully, there are different types of moles that act as special attacks once they are found, and these can help you in some of the situations where you can't make an informed decision. One example is a bomb mole, which can be fired at a nine-square area, destroying any mole within reach. These can be limited also, but do inject many of the levels with a prospect of possibility.

Aside from an Adventure Mode, setting you through multiple levels in six zones tied together with the loose narrative, there is also a Time Attack mode. Pitted against the clock, you have to find all the moles in the area before the timer runs out. Instead of relying on repair kits, any failure is met with a penalty to the timer. In many ways, this is just as brutal as the repair kits and the mode is simply a more frantic form of the other mode. Unfortunately however there are no multiplayer options available in Mole Control, something which could have been an excellent addition.

Overall, Mole Control is a mixed case. While, just like Minesweeper, it's enjoyable when it's all going well, the harsh punishments can suck much of the pleasure from the experience unless you're a sucker for punishment. The inconsistency of the mole locations can lead to some trouble, and the paper-thin story does little to raise your enthusiasm if you aren't already a fan of the game. If you're an old dog at Minesweeper, then this could very well be a favourite, but for the rest, it would be wise downloading the demo before making a purchasing decision.