There's more than one way to bite a cow, so the old adage goes...or was it something like there's more than one way to feed a mosquito...? I dunno. Maybe the answer lies in Mosquito & Cow, a pretty and peculiar (and pretty peculiar) point-and-click game from Petums. Here you assume the role of a wily mosquito whose main ambition in life is to subdue a cow with whatever means are available with the ultimate goal of filling that mosquito belly with bovine blood.
To help the mosquito achieve its aims, use the mouse to point and click where you want the mosquito to go, then click on and interact with objects in each scene to manipulate the environs and ultimately the cow. It may take an overdose of apples, a pit trap, or even a snowdrift to subdue the cow. Working out the "whats" and "hows" and "wheres" is more than half the fun. Scroll through each scene by moving your mosquito to the far left or right of the screen.
There's so much more to this game than is immediately apparent. There may only be nine levels, but each level requires a decent amount of puzzle solving and a degree of timing to solve. You may have to restart a level more than once, as there are what could be called false leads in that gameplay is not entirely linear. In this game you can and probably will make mistakes, but that's half the fun of discovery and exploration. There is an in-game hint system in the form of minions (worms) showing you what you need to do to gain access to the cow for a meal, but actually achieving each level's goal is not as straightforward as it first seems. There are more in-depth clues made available by clicking on the help button, symoblised by a question mark in the top right corner, but you'll need to solve a mini-game first to be able to access them, though when some of the mini-games are frustrating to the point of hindrance, that it seems easier to try and work on finding the solution.
Mosquito & Cow is not a fast paced game by any means, and you may find yourself darting back and forth across each scene to check on the progress of the cow that ambles at the speed of, well, an ambling cow. Also, having to scroll from left to right to take in each scene can feel like a hindrance, as some of the action may be easily missed when it happens off-screen. Then again, maybe this is encouragement to dart back and forth in true mosquito-like fashion so as to really get the feel of life as a mosquito. Maybe.
Beautifully rustic artwork blended with the backing sounds of Spanish guitar really give this game its character, and you can't help but feel that mosquitoes work pretty hard to earn their daily blood, no matter how stupid cows apparently are. The game's not without its minor frustrations, but there's a richness of character and appealing quality to Mosquito & Cow that have piqued this reveiwer's interest in Petums' work. Let's hope there's more to come...
Walkthrough Guide
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Mosquito & Cow Walkthrough
Level 1
Click the first button on the list at the bottom to start level 1.
Scroll your mouse across the screen to pan to the right.
Click an area to move in that direction until you reach the sleeping cow.
Click Star #1 to the right of the sleeping cow.
Click the leaf to reveal the cow's back.
Click the cow to drink its blood.
Level 2
Click across the orange fruit on the treebranch to drop it to the ground.
Click the treebranch in the middle of the tree to knock it over the pit.
Drop all of the leaves on top of the branch on the ground to cover it.
Behind the green leaf is Star #2.
Knock over the fruit to lure the cow across the pit.
Click the cow to drink its blood.
Level 3
In the top left corner of the screen above the fruit is Star #3; do not touch the fruit just yet.
Pick up the string tied to the stick next to the water.
Attach the string to the edge of the treebranch just above the stick>
Fly across the water and click the branch with the snake on it three times to knock it down.
Fly back over the water and knock all the fruit out of the tree.
Wait for the cow to eat all the fruit and fall asleep, then click it to drink its blood.
Level 4
Click Star #4 on the right side of the tree.
Wait for the cow to be positioned under the fruit, then drop the fruit from the tree.
Click the cow to drink its blood.
Level 5
Fly all the way to the left of the screen until you find a yellow bug.
Click the string pullies to rotate the tubes within the circles.
All of the tubes should be connected so the yellow bug has a path to travel through.
Solution.
Go right to the next group of pullies.
Click the strings to move the attached round platforms to create a bridge for the yellow bug to walk across.
Solution.
Move all the way to the right near the starting area, then click the top ridged tube a few times to break off a piece, revealing Star #5.
Click the cow to drink its blood.
level 6
Attach the swinging string to loop on the right post of the watchman's tower, just to the right of the middle rung in the stairs.
Click the tether to swing it back and forth until the tower collapses.
Attach the string again to the treebranch to the left.
Wait for the cow to stand under the branch, then swing the tether again to drop the snow off the branch.
Fly all the way to the right edge of the screen to find Star #6.
Click the cow to drink its blood.
Level 7
Pick up the spider by clicking the end of its thread on the stalagmite with the brown tip.
Fly to the left and attach the the spider's thread to the stalagmite with the brown tip between the hanging balls.
In this order: drop the large ball, the medium ball on the left, and the medium ball on the right so that they all roll into their respective holes.
Drag the spider to the right stalagmite with the brown tip, just above the cow.
Drop the small ball into the hole.
Solution.
Pick the spider back up and lift it over the firefly.
Hang the spider with the firefly over the small platform over the water.
Drag the spider up to lure the butterfly to the top, causing the cow to break through the platform.
Click Star #7 in the bottom right corner of the starting screen.
Click the cow to drink its blood.
Level 8
Click the round objects to rotate them so that the water pours through all but one of the holes in the tree trunk.
The magnifying glass will focus on the first rope and burn through it, dropping the log so it blocks the passageway to the cave.
Solution.
Click Star #8 above the round object furthest from the right.
Click the caterpillar to drop it from the treebranch.
Cut off one stream of water supply to the tree to lower the magnifying glass over the small pile of branches.
Solution.
Wait for the cow to pass out from the smoke.
Connect all the streams of water to raise the magnifying glass over the second rope.
Solution.
Click the cow to drink its blood.
Level 9
To access level 9, you must complete all levels while the star in that level is still glowing.
Fly under the left button of the trolley, then fly directly through it going upwards to move the trolley three times to the left.
Fly under the right button of the trolley, then fly through it going upwards four times to aim the laser at the string above star.
Wait for the cow to be positioned under the star, then fire the laser.
Click the cow to drink its blood.
The End!
Posted by: Trinn
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June 28, 2011 6:26 PM