The Superplexus is a 3D, spherical version of marble-rolling game “Labyrinth” – this incredibly geeky video explains the fundamentals of the device. Honestly, I love this thing. And guess what…Hammacher Schlemmer is selling one for the bargain-basement price of $30,000!
-via Metafilter
If you have an iPhone, at this point you’ve probably played a labyrinth-style game where you tilt your phone and roll a marble towards a goal while avoiding holes. The games are fun, but after a few minutes, I find myself getting extremely bored…until now. The new game “Dark Nebula Episode 1″, by 1337 Gamedesign, pushes this genre to a wild new level and blows every other similar game out of the water – it’s already found a place on my iPhone’s front screen, along with my other A-list applications.
The premise is deceptively simple – it’s basically “Marble Madness” on steroids. Your mission is to roll a floating disc through 10 futuristic and beautifully designed levels, while avoiding spikes, laser beams, deadly pits, moving platforms, and so much more. The accelerometer controls are wickedly precise and the best I’ve encountered on any iPhone game. The levels become progressively harder, and should take the average player between 2 and 3 minutes to complete each one. At the end of each level, you’re awarded 3 medals (gold, silver, or bronze) based on time elapsed, how many capsules you picked up, and how many lives you lost. This medal system adds a fairly high replay factor to the game…I’m still diligently (and frustratingly) trying to earn the 3 coveted gold medals on a few levels.
The only drawback I’ve found is that the game is fairly short – I beat it in about 50 minutes. But the developers have promised this is just the beginning – Episode 2 should arrive in the App Store in a few months. I can say with 100% confidence that this is absolutely worth the $0.99 price tag. Check out this trailer video to get a sense of what to expect – and then click here to download the game. Enjoy.
