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Game Review: Containment

    Hello, everyone, and welcome to another exciting night from the 'too old to party' crowd at the green retreat. This morning I sat on the porch and drank coffee while I watched 18 robins hopping around our yard. They would run a few steps and stop, standing with their regal, erect posture, much like an actress on the red carpet. Then they'd peck the ground, unlike an actress.
     Later, I painted a bit. Not a portrait, nor a landscape, but window frames. Then I downloaded and played a new game called Containment.
    This is an odd one. It is not a shooter, nor an action game, but is in fact a puzzler. Here's the recipe.
     In a future time there is a zombie problem. With your puzzle skills you must contain the epidemic by surrounding the unfortunate creatures with your people. These resources are cops, people in contamination suits and others. Once the zombies are surrounded, your assets kill the zombies. Unfortunately, there are strict time constraints because the zombies will infect your guys within about 30 seconds. You tap and drag people to blockade the undead in a way that is oddly like chess. Then the cops shoot the bad guys, unlike chess.
    I couldn't figure out why my moves weren't working at times. Carley comes in, glances at it and immediately says, "You can't mix the people in the surrounding forces; they have to be all cops or all green, whatever." I guess puzzlers are born, not made.
    I have no doubt that many will like this game. I have no doubt that it is pretty deep and cool. Yet, I hate time constraints in a game, and I loathe (not love) puzzles. I paid 99 cents for it, so no big deal. I found out later that it has a free version. If you are a puzzle person, why not give the free version a try? Then, if you love it (not loathe it) you can roll the dice and spend a buck. Ha, ha.
    Hey. I watched a cool movie with Charlie Sheen tonight. It is an old one called Terminal Velocity, in which Charlie plays a skydiver. 5 stars out of 5, in my opinion. I may tell you about it tomorrow night, even though many of you have seen it. The younger folks among you may not know about it, but thanks to Blockbuster, it is within your grasp. Also, I have a book review or two that I feel like I need to impart to y'all. Alas, these things must wait until we return to ... the author's green retreat.
   I'm CE Wills.

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