For the uninitiated, The name Sudoku is the Japanese abbreviation of a longer phrase, "Suuji wa dokushin ni kagiru" meaning "the digits must remain single". .Sudoku is a number game that takes place on a 9x9 grid. The plane is divided into nine 3x3 sub-grids. In each of these sub-grids, you can use nine numbers (1 through 9) without repeating. However, they need to be arranged in such an order that no row or column has a repeating digit. It’s a game that requires a lot of patience and logic to go through with.
So what does a PC game have over a Sudoku book that can be bought in a newsagency for spare change? Well, firstly we should point out that Sudoku Unlimited is a budgeted title, that sets the bank balance back only a mere $19.95 (Australian). And while you’re Sudoku book is likely to run out puzzles eventually, Sudoku Unlimited is meant to house a virtually unlimited supply of puzzles. During our entire playtime, we found this to be the case.
Sudoku in its pure form
The aspect that helps set the game apart from non-gaming alternatives is the sheer variety of options that you have at your disposal. While traditional Sudoku is played on a 9x9 grid, the game offers nine grid sizes in total, these being 4x4, 6x6, 8x8, 9x9, 10x10, 12x12, 14x14, 15x15 and 16x16. Any grid size above nine starts adding letters into the mix and the smaller grids can replace letters for numbers. Obviously, the larger the grid, the more difficult and longer the puzzle will take to solve. On top of this you have five difficulty levels that are suitably varied.
Control over the grid is pretty good. As you can see in the screenshots, in the right hand menu, you’ll be able to pick the numbers that you want to use. When you’ve picked your number with the mouse, you simply click over the desired box to fill it in. Handily, if your mouse has a wheel, you can scroll it to choose whichever letters you want quickly. The keyboard can be used as well. Why would you want to be doing this quickly? That’s because you’re up against the clock and potentially against your own best times.
As you can also see on the side menu, there are a reasonable amount of controls and options. They’re all relatively self-explanatory, the options are fairly basic and it’s very easy set up and run a game. The “Auto Pencil” option allows you to draft in a number in case you don’t want to write it in immediately. The options such as “Show Solution” and “Show Mistakes” are handy for when you’re stuck but they will turn your current game into practice – meaning that the finish time won’t count. The “Help” option is particularly useful because there is an in-depth amount of information that allows you to peek into the intricacies of the game. The only option that is missing that would have been handy is an eraser. It would’ve been nice to clear some of our more glaring errors completely.
Variety is the spice of life
While the package is pure Sudoku, it does allow for a reasonable amount of options. There are a few options that will not seem obvious at first. With the “Undo” and “Redo” options, the entire history is kept, so you can trace all your steps backwards, than forwards again. One option that is particularly devious and enjoyable is the one where you can create you're own puzzles and you can print it out and pass it onto friends or relatives. The computer can tell you if it has a solution or not, so there are no porkies involved and it's very simple and intuitive. It’s aspects like these that make this game universally acceptable to everyone from kids to the elderly, from the inexperienced to the experts.
In terms of presentation, the package is very basic. It’s not technically demanding and it’s not going to blow anyone away. In the very least, the game comes with a few options of being able to change the background colours to your liking. Sound-wise, the game is even more limited, though you get applause when you solve the puzzle. In the very least, the action takes place in a window so that you’re able to go and pick some music from your own collection. Even though the game is not technically demanding, there were no real glitches, problems or hitch-ups.
Sudoku Unlimited is a difficult game to quantify with a score. On the surface, there is not much more offered than what you’d find in a book from a newsagency (or even on the net) and considering that Ubisoft only recently released a set of high-quality gaming budget titles. However, those people who would buy the Ubisoft games probably don’t realise that there are people out there who will accept this package and all that it offers. The game itself is addictive, challenging and a great cranial workout. While an erase button would’ve been nice and some sort of competitive mode (with other people) would’ve been interesting, Sudoku Unlimited pretty is successful in what it provides. A lot of Sudoku that can be played by anyone willing to get their head to turn a few gears.
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