If you are looking for a challenging, highly playable, adaptation of an old-school puzzle classic, then Pipe Mania is for you. Pipe Mania is a great fit for the PSP in the way that the game is highly portable, not story intensive and easy to pick up when you need a quick fix. The gameplay is easy, but the game is not. With quickly increasing difficulty and classic puzzle appeal, this game is a good pick up for puzzle/strategy fans.

The gameplay is what you might expect, you lay out pipes to guide the liquid “flooze” from the Start Pipe to the End Pipe under a time limit. You are given pipe pieces in a random order and need to fit them together as fast as you can to get the most points and avoid leaking too much flooze out and filling the leak meter and failing the level. There are various piece types (bends, straights, bridges, reservoirs, pumps, splitters, etc.) that give you opportunity to lay down bigger chains of pipes and earn the most points for that stage.

There are many different modes and myriad levels to keep you occupied for a long time. Story mode is one of the newer modes to this edition of Pipe Mania. You play either the son or daughter of the Alfonso Senior trying to take over the family business and go up against the big cowboy plumbers like Buffalo Bonzo. The story itself isn’t that elaborate, but the level variety that Story Mode provides is great. You are taken through 7 different locations that need different types of plumbing help and given 8 levels in each location to plumb your way through.

The locations vary greatly and each present different challenges towards your plumbing skills ... and they get hard very quickly. In one location, you are laying down railroad track and guiding multiple engines through growers that will make your flooze (train) long enough to meet the level minimum; in another location, you are laying out electrical grids to guide your flooze (electricity) from one reservoir piece to another because the flooze moves so fast. Each different style of flooze has its own animation and each location has its own boss that you are trying to win over and move on. At the end of each location you battle the boss and try to guide the flooze while they are constantly sabotaging your lines with leaks and switching pieces that you’ve already laid.

There is also the Classic Game available in both normal and hard with more than 150 levels available. The difference in the classic is that there isn’t a leak meter available; if the flooze gets loose, you lose. Bonus mode is a “fill in the blanks” puzzle mode where you place pieces in the gaps of pre-laid pipe to complete the level as fast as you can. Bonus is also available in normal and hard difficulty. Arcade mode is included with two difficulties as well. In arcade mode, the screen itself moves up, down, left, or right and you have to keep your flooze on the current screen and guide it to the end to beat the level.

There are also four Versus modes available to the gamer and a friend via Ad-Hoc Game Sharing, where only one PSP has to have the UMD of the game to play on two screens. This is a great feature that will allow users to challenge their friends, or let their friends test out the game without having to purchase it. The versus game modes are fun and range from timed rounds to “Charge N Blast” rounds where you build an attack meter and launch attacks at your friends the way bosses launch attacks at you in Single Player World Mode.

The graphics on this title are basic, not too flashy, but adequate for the puzzle/strategy genre. The level designs and different flooze styles are a great addition to this reworked title and add dimension to what can be a flat game. Mastering each type of flooze is challenging and a great new dimension to a good title.

The playability of this game is its strongest aspect. At a budget price point, this is a great pickup for both kids and adults. The player can pick up this title in short bursts but it would also be good for long car rides or plane trips. The difficulty gets very tough and could easily detract from repeat plays; however, for the puzzle-loving gamer, the difficulty will only be a challenge that brings them back for more and more pipe-laying fun. This was a fun title for what it was: a good remake of a classic puzzle/strategy game that is well-suited for the PSP.

Gameplay: 7.5
The game is fun to play and very easy to learn. There isn’t anything overly difficult; gameplay and laying out the pipes is fairly straight forward.

Graphics: 7.3
This title looks really good on the portable screen of the PSP, and the level designs and flooze designs are very creative.

Sound: 6.5
I found the sound a tad repetitive in nature but not so annoying I needed to mute it.

Difficulty: Hard
This title gets hard quick. There are a variety of modes available for gameplay, but the challenge rating goes up fast as you progress through.

Concept: 7.0
The new styles of flooze that you have to guide are a nice addition to this basic puzzler that has been a staple for a while.

Multiplayer: 7.3
Multiplayer modes are enjoyable, and the ability to Game Share is a great touch to add appeal to a budget title. 

Overall: 7.3
With increasing difficulty and tons of levels to play through, this title is a great addition to your PSP library, especially if you enjoy puzzle games or have played this classic title before. The graphics look good on the PSP and being able to Game Share the experience with friends is great. The repeat playability of this title is why I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys puzzlers.