Go! Puzzle review (PlayStation 3)

Games evolve in different ways. There can be no doubt that the console market generally receives different games to the PC market, and this does mean that while something may be a modern genre for consoles, it may be old hand to the PC. Guitar Hero seems all the rage at the moment, perhaps because of its unique control method and yet years ago on the PC (1995 to be exact), Quest For Fame came bundled with its own plectrum controller (to plug into your parallel port) that let you strum in time with the onscreen symbols to shred away with Aerosmith. Equally, portable game systems have a different level of evolution to console games, even as far down the line as the PSP, because of their limited power, and the intention of the game to be a short distraction rather than a lengthy absorbing colossus of an experience, necessitating short missions and regular saves to avoid the battery running out before you can reach the end of a dungeon.

It is only recently however that we have encountered an all new sub-market to our wonderful industry that is both repeating our nostalgic times of old and in some cases experimenting with reinventing game design itself. I am of course talking about the PlayStation Network, and Xbox Live. Providing a wide scope of users access to these smaller scale of games for download gives a low budget developer the chance to truly experiment how they like without a normal publisher’s control and demands screwing up their ideal project. At least that’s the idea; microtransactions allowing for the user to get a budget title, and the developer to get some revenue back from their work. Could Go! Puzzle have existed any other way in our modern gaming times?

3 for the price of … 2 and a half

The package of Go! Puzzle comprises three puzzle games that can be bought separately (currently at £1.99 each) or all together for the pound saving price of £4.99. Despite the potentially annoying repetitive music, the presentation is all rather jolly and as High Definition as you can expect from the PS3. Certainly the simplicity of the games is reflected in the graphics, but they are definitely not without the odd bit of graphical flair here and there.

The games are entitled Swizzleblocks, Aquatica and Skyscraper and all three are full of features, game modes and even online or offline multiplayer goodness. Each game has some kind of challenge mode, which allows you to beat the clock, and progress through the various difficulties on offer, a puzzle mode that gives you a non timed brain wracking time to work out the (best?) way of solving each puzzle based on the rules of the game, and normally rewards you only for being faster or using less ‘goes’ to finish it with a gold star and unlocking the next in the series. That said, it is hard to look at the games in general without seeing each one specifically first.

Swizzle Blocks

This game gives you a cursor, positioned in-between four blocks and requires you to swizzle them, i.e. spin them clockwise or anticlockwise in order to get four of the same colour together in a 2x2 square. Naturally moving your cursor around to specific places will make it easier to get the blocks together, and once those four are together, any other blocks of the same colour touching them will also be vaporised. Challenge mode keeps pumping more blocks into the area until you wipe out a colour, causing that colour to stop being added, and it is down to you to systematically remove the rest. Each difficulty is broken down into ten levels and completing the ten in one go unlocks the next setting. Battle mode adds a computer controlled cursor to the mix, with the objective of destroying a customisable number of blocks (normally 100) before the computer does. Unique to this mode, certain blocks have different effects on your opponent if you destroy them from reversing their controls to fogging up their cursor to make it tricky to see the blocks around them that they are trying to destroy. It all adds up to quite a frantic experience when you add more enemies to the mix.

The aforementioned puzzle mode has you clearing a set pattern of blocks with a limited number of ‘swizzles’, and works well as a lateral thinking exercise, but the online and offline multiplayer keeps the game replayable to the end. While it all does seem a little haphazard when it comes down to the battles, being able to play the game against or cooperatively in team battle with another human can’t be a bad feature, especially when drawing to the frantic conclusion and blocks are sliding around like a Rubik’s cube.

Aquatica

This underwater mine exploding game seems to me to be the weakest of the three. The intention is to blow up mines by laying them in a three in a row state, and seems rather similar to a host of other puzzle games available. (Of course there are a few similarities between Xbox Live’s Hexic HD and Swizzle Blocks.) You drop new mines in groups of three that can be flipped horizontally to be more advantageous to you. Again, the puzzle mode gives you a set number of mines to drop and the objective to clear all of the mines and provides my personal highlight of the game. Battle mode again provides spice by allowing players (human or AI) to attack each other at advantageous points by loading a layer of random mines on top, firing rockets and other ‘fun’ combinations.

Aquatica remains a game that is worth a quick blast now and then but in my humble opinion lacks the potential for hugely addictive sessions that the other two provide. That said, there are still plenty of options for modes and ways to play the game; admirable for a game that comprises a third of a package available for a fiver. The final game however remains my favourite for its pure puzzley uniqueness.

Skyscraper

The final game puts you in control of a physical character whose task it is to climb up a skyscraper, but instead of stairs and lifts aiding his assault, to ascend each level, the level’s abstract puzzle must be solved. Basically it involves moving from the left side of the multicoloured floor to the right side, while stepping on every tile of a certain colour only once, erasing the colour entirely. You can jump across a single tile, and do not have to touch all of the colours to proceed, but while the objective sounds rather simple, it is the execution that makes the game constantly fun.

A time limit is in place to keep the pace of the game up, and the gradual difficulty introduces you to the new tiles (some are larger, some convert other blocks to their colour, and others even teleport you between tiles) and coaxing you into thinking in the special Skyscraper way improves your playing and leads you into the multiplayer. Multiplayer allows two ascenders to compete in time and skill, trying to reach the top of a tower first. While special ability tiles can be stepped on and used against your opponent, sometimes they are deliberately placed on tiles that cannot be solved as part of the puzzle, giving you the choice of whether to sabotage your enemy, and have to restart the floor, or just zip on ahead to try and cement a lead. Tactically and indeed simply in terms of gameplay, the simplistic idea leads Skyscraper to being my must buy portion of Go! Puzzle. The puzzle mode even challenges you to clear all of the blocks in a level, sometimes giving you multiple crosses to achieve said feat, and sometimes merely providing white blocks that allow you to change colour mid crossing.

It’s all very cleverly designed and original, made clearer by playing the demo available as the Go! Puzzle Starter Pack on the PlayStation Store.

All or nothing… or some…

The games are provided in one package, and while you can buy them separately at £1.99 a pop, a crisp virtual fiver seems a small price to pay for three decent puzzle games with plenty of modes, options and even an online and offline multiplayer. I shant hesitate to recommend grabbing Skyscraper, and Swizzle Blocks definitely deserves a play for the price. The question remains whether for an extra pound you fancy Aquatica.

Because of the current PS3 drought, and the micro-transaction market seemingly booming for products such as Go! Puzzle, the game certainly appeals. I know I bought myself a PS3 for the next-gen HD stylings, but opening this new market, introduced by Xbox Live seems a worthy addition to the purchase. Assuming you’re bored of watching your photos in that snazzy PS3 slideshow by now?