Safari Island Deluxe
Posted by Ruff on November 4th, 2008
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Mahjong will always be same old mahjong they say, and nothing can change that, but in Safari Island Deluxe, we get to see a new face in the same addictive mahjong gameplay. And yes, based from the name itself, this game features tons of wild animals and other safari-based stuff. But there’s more to tackle in this game besides the theme, and that’s what I aim to show you in this review.
Like what I had said earlier, Safari Island Deluxe actually plays like mahjong, but there’s an outstanding twist to the gameplay. Instead of matching two tiles of the same design, you have to match tiles that combine to form a picture. For example, two tiles will separately illustrate the head and tail of a snake. You have to combine both tiles to eliminate them from the game. Eliminate all tiles and you get to move on to the next level.
Your aim is to reach the end of the island while unlocking animal clouds along the way. Each level you finish will be ranked according to how well you did on that particular game. Removing all tiles will only rank you a bronze check mark, removing all tiles within the time limit is worth a silver check mark, and beating the target score set in each level will earn a whopping gold check mark. Now, while all of that sounds good, one complaint I have on this ranking system is how impossible it is to earn a gold mark on many of the levels. The target score is just too big and you have to be god-like fast in order to attain it.
The unique gameplay of Safari Island Deluxe opens up a great deal of innovation in terms of challenge. Many of the items and animals illustrated on later levels are just too big to contain in only two tiles. This means that you’ll have to contend with combining up to 5 tiles for just one picture, and if you’re a seasoned mahjong player, you know that unlocking tile parts can really be such a pain.
Other usual mahjong obstacles show themselves in the game too. Examples include locked tiles needing their corresponding keys to open, and tiles with overgrown vines which you have to free by eliminating all its adjacent tiles. And if you’re trying to earn silver check marks, this can really be a challenging game to beat.
Compensating these obstacles are power-ups scattered all around the game. Safari Island Deluxe will only introduce a power-up as you progress, but it seems that the timing is perfect as well while you use them during when they are already available. Power-ups include the time amulet which adds more juice to your time limit, the sun totem which shows you partner tiles of the tile you’re currently selecting, and many other useful ones helping you reach the elusive silver check mark.
The fun doesn’t stop there since you can also play timed hidden object mini-games during the bonus areas and learn many useful trivia about the many animals too. There’s nothing to brag about here though, because all the unique mahjong gameplay already got me rooting for this game. There are no special effects or eye-popping graphics, just plain, fun tile-combining, and the bottom line is that you just have to give this game a try.
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Playing the Mahjong Burger game made me reminisce about the last time I played games of this type, and from what I can remember, I had so much fun whenever I get to clean up those silly little tiles. But what I really liked about this game is the girl’s funny little actions during play which makes it very entertaining other than the typical mahjong action you’d expect. The challenge is also set within 3 levels, so you’ll have a chance to set your skill level too and “hard” is really quite hard in my point of view. 
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