Pipemania, the original game that inspired the popular Pipe Dream game in 1991, will make a long-overdue encore performance this year on the Nintendo Wii, DS, PSP (PlayStation Portable), PS2 and PC.
Because the game is technically 19 years old, the classic puzzler has been updated with gameplay mechanics that are appropriate for today’s gamers — including motion-sensitve controls on the Wii and touch-sensitive controls on the DS.
Pipemania tests players’ puzzle-solving skills in five different game modes: World, Arcade, Bonus, Multiplayer, Classic and the Original Pipemania Game. Players will navigate more than 70 levels with seven different themes in order to build their Island World.
For those who weren’t around for the first Pipemania, here’s the skinny: Pipemania is like the lock-picking minigame in BioShock in which players lay down a pre-ordained set of pipes on a tiled grid in order to keep the Flooze (a constant flowing substance) moving through the pipes without overflowing.
This core gameplay has been updated with enhanced visuals, new play mechanics, multiple attacks and damages, various Floozes and an army of characters for players to help and hinder along the way. The entire game can be also played in single-player mode, in co-op mode or in a competitive mode between two players.
The original version of Pipemania was released in 1989, followed by Pipe Dreams in 1991.