Game Review: Rich Mine 2

Rich Mine 2 is a physics-based puzzle game published in Flash and is a casual player-style game.
As is stated in the game's credits, it was programmed by Buagaga, with level design by Dmitry Obrazcov, art by Maxim Yurchenko, music by Statilko Nikolay, and which uses the Box2D physics engine.
The game's objectives are (primary) to help Mr. Gnome collect jewels and (secondary) to gather coins and avoid or eliminate enemies, who would break the jewels.

Summary of analysis
Good new player experience, simple mechanics with score and optional objectives, non-clutter interface with mouse-based control scheme, appropriate music and sound.

Tutorial/New player experienceA good balance of teaching the basic concepts while jumping right into the action and letting the player learn on their own rather than spelling out how to do everything. With a little trial and error, the game's skill set is easily developed.

Gameplay Experience
As a scored game with optional objectives, it has an encouraging replay value, whether a player is trying to improve their skills or beat their prior score. It also features a submit score function which is bound to appeal to more competitive players. While it technically lacks an stated achievement system, the three-star level objectives can fill this role for those looking to prove themselves by completing all optional objectives. For anyone interested in such, the game is linked to a video walkthrough. Finally, the game manages a background auto-save feature, ideal for casual players or anyone with time constraints.

Interface & Controls
A small number of user-interface elements, some self-explanatory text others easily interpreted icons, and a cursor in the shape of scissors effectively illustrates everything a player has as options for interaction. While there are a few handy keyboard controls, nearly all controls are mouse-driven.

Graphics
The game features: cartoon-style cute characters, no blood/gore, dynamic objects, and is very colorful. All these elements contribute to a wider player audience appeal and a seeming attitude of 'just have fun.' Getting to see Mr. Gnome dance gleefully upon each level's completion is a welcome reward, possibly more than the score summary.

Music & Sound
The music is upbeat and relaxed, furthering the 'for fun' feel. Sound effects are timely and as expected.

Commentary
A definite improvement over Rich Mine, choosing to simplify mechanics and teach the concepts during gameplay rather than a menu-driven help. Plus having to only manage one asset and letting the game's mechanics do the work for the player is a credit to the casual themes as there's a lot less guess-work.
It's always a good idea to try and meet player expectations and customize all elements of the experience into a single goal. Also, there is a lot of benefit to having a dedicated level designer in the project who can help plan and test things without having a comprehensive knowledge of the underlying mechanics.
Also, having the player learn as they play and having optional goals are signatures of good game design principles.