Mice scurry about their beautiful home freely, competing for magic feathers, gathering cheese, and generally having a wonderful time frolicking. The story is thus: all is not well in the goddess Elisah’s domain. Will this be a worthy follow-up to the excellent Transformice? Like the original Transformice, you can experience Transformice Adventures in the browser rather than using a digital storefront for it, which is welcome if you’re like us and you frequently multitask. Transformice Adventures is a more sedate and co-operative endeavor which revolves more around exploration and combat than its platforming-oriented sibling. It’s tremendous fun, so a follow-up should be eagerly anticipated. If you haven’t played it, Transformice is a frantic action-packed MMO browser game which involves mice racing one another to collect wedges of cheese. This is a studio that actively considered calling itself “Mice Studio” in honor of its most beloved and personal property, Transformice. French developer Atelier 801 is doing its best to redress the balance between human and mouse. If you feel the same way, rest assured you’re not alone. It’s fair to say the humble mouse is one of our most misunderstood animals. There’s also the whole “rats carried the plague” business, which might not actually be true but has taken hold in the public imagination nonetheless. ![]() It’s understandable to a certain extent mice move very quickly, and they’re quite unpredictable animals. Many people instinctively shy away from mice or rats when they encounter the little animals in their gardens or scurrying about the alleys of cities. I'm constantly telling myself that next time I play as the shaman I'll actually get it right and I am, invariably, disappointed.Mice get a pretty bad rap. ![]() There is no overall goal as such, which makes putting it down easy enough but I can’t help but keep plugging away at it. Transformice is a great way to kill a half hour or longer and if you're really into it you can create an account, buy various accoutrements for your rodent avatar and even level up. Maybe a practice shaman area could be provided though arguably the game would lose much of its appeal if nobody made any mistakes as the shaman. This means most players are unpractised as the shaman and while this can provide giggles when players get it wrong, it can be frustrating when you muck up your go. It's playing as the shaman that makes the game interesting after all and it’s unfortunate that you only rarely get the chance. Things get extra interesting when, from time to time, there are two shamans, each with its own hole that the other is trying to block. Expect to see hundreds of different variations of the word 'fail' during any five minute period. The chat box at the bottom of the screen makes an ideal platform for recriminations when things do go wrong. A misplaced cannon ball from a panicking shaman can send half a game's population of mice flying across the screen to their death. You only get two minutes after all, and it’s not uncommon for it to take 20 minutes or so before you get a chance at being the big man. ![]() The efforts of rushed shamans can also be amusing. The dynamic between the need to work together while remaining competitive means players often jump the gun, running across only a half made bridge in an effort to be first back with their cheese. Transformice seems to create a different memorable moment each time I play. Games are usually two minutes in length, meaning progress is swift and there's a minimum of waiting if a shaman absent-mindedly wanders off a ledge. It’s a neat mechanic that means everyone gets a chance at playing the shaman while the shaman player is encouraged to do their best to help the other players. The shaman then gets busted down to zero points after his round but he does regain a point for every mice rescued during his turn as shaman.
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