Classic take on a classic take
Mahjonng is a true classic board game, similar to Chess in its complexity and depth and if you enjoy the stimulation offered by such games, then Lin Wu's Challenge is sure to prove equally fascinating. It's a sort of cross between Shanghai and Solitaire Mahjonng, with the player taking on opponents from around the world in a series of challenge-style contests. The goal as ever is to remove matching tiles from the board and while this might not sound the most enthralling of activities, in practice once you are attuned to the game's sensibilities, it really does become quite engrossing. There's little else to discuss to be honest, with the usual array of options to be tinkered with to your heart's content, although the list isn't extensive. There is a very welcome two player mode, which allows you to take on another human opponent in hot seat style, and the game does become even more addictive and competitive when played in this fashion, elevating it to something other than a mere pastime. Graphics are of course fairly straightforward, as there are only so many ways you can make mahjonng visually appealing but what's on display here is certainly serviceable enough, with some nicely atmospheric map scenes in between games to give things a bit more in the way of aesthetic appeal. A nice touch is the addition of some inventive character profiles when you take on the computer which, while not entirely necessary, does add a bit of much appreciated colour to proceedings and helps elevate things somewhat. As far as mahjonng goes, this can't really be beaten so if you fancy picking up something new then check this out.
