Everyone Has Secrets

Deep down, everybody has their secrets, even the Gods. Of course, there's no actual story to Secrets of Olympus, but the title would imply that Zeus is keeping a little something on the down low.

I've mentioned this before (at least I think I have), but it warrants mentioning again. Not only am I A-ok with the lack of a story, I'm rather pleased. As someone who plays computer games quite often - like, "unhealthy" often - I grow sick and tired of weak and lackluster excuses for stories being shoehorned into my fun gameplay experience. Sure, there are game out there with halfway decent stories, but most of the time it's the same old swill with nothing more than a fresh paint coat. That is why it's such a relief to see a developer completely abandon that aspect of the game altogether. I really doubt that there are that many people out there who read these stories, let alone would complain if a game were missing one.

I applaud code Turbine for having the guts to make a game without a story. Secrets of Olympus delivers on the fun gameplay, so let's skip all of this pointless text and just let me get back to it, alright?

Fun Enough For Gods

One of the coolest and most innovative things about this product is that, at heart, it's two games in one. There are a total of three hundred match-three levels and each one can be played one of two ways: either with the swap method or the click method. Not sure what I'm talking about? Allow me to clear things up!

When I say the "swap" method, I mean the game mechanic in which you swap two game pieces in order to match three or more same-colored pieces. For example, click on the blue piece and the orange piece and they will swap places. If you form a match, those tiles will be destroyed. Matches only count if all the pieces are touching. The best thing about this method is that if matches are made from falling tiles, they'll automatically be eliminated and you'll get the points for just sitting there!

The click method is my favorite and is actually quite a bit different. Using this technique, you simply click a match to eliminate it. What this means is that matches won't actually count until you click them. Even if five of the same colored tiles were to fall into place and form a match, nothing would actually happen until you claim that match. This method can be a bit more challenging and it's for that reason alone that I like it so much.

This variation in gameplay really increases the game's replay value, but it doesn't just end there. You'll also encounter mini-games such as hangman and fun bonus levels!

Trim the Fat, Keep the Fun

Secrets of Olympus is a very fun game and is perfect for someone looking for just that. With all the variations in gameplay and some really cool spells to use, I can see myself playing this one for a long time to come.