In the flash puzzle game 1000 Amps players are dropped into a world of darkness. An intruder in the Amp-Tree-System has shut down the power in order to keep out Auto. Auto appears to just be holographic representation of the Amp-Tree-System so it needs the help of Plug, a little light bulb-looking character. Plug’s job is to run around and restore power to each of the four branches of the system so that Auto can then get rid of the intruder.
The way 1000 Amps works is that there is one huge map of interconnected rooms. Each room when entered will be completely black expect for the outline of the room. In order to light the room white blocks or nodes have to be found. Finding the nodes is as simple as touching them, but having no idea where anything is until it’s touched is what makes this game so hard. Just one step in the wrong direction could lead to falling into another black room.
Each room has a battery meter in the upper right corner, which fills as more nodes are lit. Plug will also be able to jump higher as it lights up more nodes. Once the battery meter is full the room will completely light up and will stay lit. However, if all the nodes aren’t found before leaving a room then all the lights will go back out.
As rooms are traversed there will be things encountered that help or hinder progress. One of the things that will help are seeds. Seeds are little white orbs which can be used to fully power a room once five are collected. Then there are beacons; when stood on they start pinging and will show what the room looks like — but they only work when they are stood on. Lastly, there are the upgrades that are found at the end of branches.
The first upgrade received is teleportation, one of the most useful upgrades in the game. Once this upgrade is acquired as long as there is power in the battery meter anywhere in the room can be clicked to have Plug teleport there. It has to be used carefully, however, because it consumes the power left in the battery meter unless the room is fully powered. For example, if Plug is on or near a power node and then teleports, the node it was near will shut off.
Eventually, Plug gains the ability to ping in any room whenever desired, as well as being able to glow. With these upgrade things get a lot easier. Once a couple of nodes are found in a room Plug will start to light up. Once Plus is lit up it no longer has to directly touch a block or node for it to stay lit.
But let’s not forget the parts that will slow progress down. First there are directional blockers, which allow Plug to only pass through from one direction. Then there are conveyer belts which, unless nodes are lit up, are almost impossible to jump out of. Lastly, the most frustrating obstacle is one I call the “moving bombs.” These little things will pop up in some rooms once a node has been turned on. They then will seek out the node and explode when they get next to it and turn it off. It is these rooms I recommended saving seeds for.
The graphics are very simple black and white blocks, but they fit the game well. I also never thought I would be saying that a light bulb was cute, but I am: Plug is cute. Music is a big part of this game. Each room has its own musical note and slight variations in the tune that plays so it’s fun to run between rooms that are fully powered. Also, the nodes also make different sounds when lit up so things don’t get boring as far as what is heard.
Overall 1000 Amps is an enjoyable and challenging puzzle game. There are some frustrating parts, such as trying to jump to a block but then falling into another room and having to start over. However, once a couple of the upgrades are obtained it really does make things easier. The controls are easy to understand and the game really only explains things when absolutely necessary. There are no hints in this game, leaving it all up to a player’s own brain power to figure it out. Will you be able to turn all the lights back on?
