Game Classification

1000 Amps is a monochrome puzzle game played as a platformer. The player controls Plug and has to restore the energy in the Amp-Tree-System. It has been disabled by an intruder and Plug needs to find a way to bring the power back to the four branches.

The game is presented as a 2D platformer but without enemies or ways to die; the focus is entirely on solving puzzles based on various gameplay mechanisms. A main one is that most rooms are dark and they light up when Plug is nearby or bumps into the different tiles it comprises. That way, platforms, usually made out of tiles, become visible until the room is left. There are also antennas that lighten up all tiles for a short time. This can be used to plan a course of action. The energy in a room (and visibility of everything) can be restored permanently by activating energy nodes. Rooms usually consist out of multiple nodes and they all need to be activated to "clear" a room. Leaving a room without finding them all returns everything to the initial situation. An additional use of the energy nodes is that they each provide a charge to Plug's internal energy system. By activating a node he can jump higher and consequently reaches higher areas. To find all nodes, they often have to be found in a logical way through the improved abilities. The jumping system is disabled when a new room is entered, unless all energy has been previously restored there.

Added in the mix is a variety of tiles that can only be crossed in a single way, tiles that push Plug in a certain direction like an escalator, and tiles that appear automatically. Many rooms have tiles with a small border to the edge of a room that can be used to access a new room. Further in the game puzzles often exist of sequences spanning multiple rooms that can be approached from different directions. During the game Plug can find five seeds. When all of them are found, all energy rooms can be enabled instantly when a room is accessed.

A final mechanism introduced early on in the game is teleportation. Plug is controlled through the keyboards keys, but once the teleportation technique has been mastered, the mouse can be used to select an area anywhere in the room for Plug to teleport to. It can also be done in mid-air while jumping. This drains the collected charge in the room however and teleportation can only be done in empty spaces, which are not always visible when the room has not been fully explored. There are 150 rooms in total. [source:mobygames]

Distribution : Retail - Commercial
Platform(s) : Macintosh - PC (Windows)

Links

• http://www.mobygames.com/game/1000-amps/