Reviewed: May 9, 2007
Reviewed by: Mark Smith
Publisher
D3Publisher
Developer
Metia Interactive
Released: April 24, 2007
Genre: Puzzle
Players: 1-2
ESRB: Everyone
7
5
6
8
7.1
Supported Features:
Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)
What is Cube? Science fiction adventure, supernatural thriller, fantasy RPG...the possibilities are endless, at least at first casual glance of the mysterious front cover. And even after studying the details on the back of the UMD case I still had plenty of questions about this new puzzle game from Metia Interactive and D3Publisher.
Cube is a visionary twist on those trendy 3D puzzle games like Mercury Meltdown, only instead of moving a blob of liquid around a maze this game has you moving a block (sometimes blocks) around 135 mind-bending mazes and constructs, also made up of blocks.
Cube is probably harder to describe than it is to play. The Training missions are very helpful in not only learning how to move but also learning about all the entities and rules in the world of Cube. You move in any of four directions using the D-pad while the left and right triggers pan the camera. The A-pad rotates the camera and the triangle and square buttons zoom in and out.
Finding the best view of the puzzle is paramount in solving them. Not only do you need to know where to go to end the level you also have to find and collect numerous keys, push buttons to activate special block-bridges, and avoid all sorts of evil entities bent on keeping you from your final goal.
You can play Cube at three skill settings selected from an interactive menu that is also a cube maze. Just roll your cube to the desired skill zone, go to training, or access secret bonus level you can unlock in the main game by earning Gold status.
Getting Gold is a challenging prospect, even on the easy skill setting. Not only do you have to finish the maze in a very stringent time limit, you also must collect all the Keys along the way. This usually mean replaying most levels several times to learn the optimum path from start to finish that also allows you to roll through numerous Keys.
Of course it's not merely a race to the finish. Several entities also inhabit these levels, usually on preset patrol patterns that you'll need to learn and then avoid. Some entities are static like the Direct cube that forces you to go a certain direction. Timer blocks are useful in that they stop the clock and let you plan ahead. Breakaway cubes crumble behind you, great for losing an enemy, but you can’t get back.
There are more than a dozen interactive objects you can use to get through these puzzles and defeat entities. These are often power-ups that charge your cube until you decide to activate with the X button. You can clone your cube, gain temporary invulnerability with a holo-projector, or push other cubes around the maze to fill in gaps.
There are barriers, bombs, AI cubes that attack, fans that blow, shooters, sinkers, restrictor squares, and spikes that hold you in place as the timer ticks away. Learning how to avoid or defeat these traps and entities requires a lot of tactics, reflexes, and the ability to instinctively think in three dimensions.
If you somehow manage to beat all 135 levels in the game there is a fairly intuitive level editor that allows you to create your own mazes and constructs then populate your designs with traps and entities of your own choosing. You can share your designs by swapping memory cards.
There is also support for two players via Ad Hoc. It would have been nice if there was some game sharing, at least a few sample levels and modes. Both players will need to have their own copy of Cube is you want to check out any of the four multiplayer games.
Collect is basically two players racing around the same maze trying to collect the most keys. Battle is a bit more clever and you must use bombs and guiders to destroy your opponent. Race is a straight-out sprint for the finish square, and the co-op mode has you working together as a team to defeat traps and entities and get to the end.
Visually, Cube doesn't impress, but how could it really? You have an entire game made of cubes. The levels are all constructed from cubes and even the player is a cube that tumbles around the levels.
To its credit, there is some nice use of colors and very subtle details to specific cube surfaces so you can quickly identify hazards ahead. AI's and bombs break away from the cube designs making them stand out on the playing field.
There is some nice, almost therapeutic music in Cube. It's pretty much what you expect from a puzzle game only slightly better. It never got annoying and in some instances it actually fueled the tension.
Sound effects are extremely limited by the game design. Everything makes an appropriate sound when it moves but most of that movement is just flipping blocks and some odd sounding entities and the occasional bomb exploding. The sound of breakaway cubes crumbling behind you creates a real sense of urgency.
It would be impossible to put a time frame on a game like Cube. There are 9 color-coded zones, three for each skill level, and each zone has 15 stages. Completing them all is a formidable challenge but getting Gold in all of them would take several months of dedicated gameplay.
Chances are you will either get bored with Cube or something else will steal your attentions before you ever fully master this game. But with speedy load times and game levels that last a minute or less, Cube is definitely a great game for impromptu bursts of gameplay on your PSP.
While puzzle games aren't necessarily my favorite genre I certainly don't mind taxing my brain from time to time and the PSP is quickly becoming the home of some of the more ingenious puzzle games of our time.
If you like 3D games in the same vein as Mercury Meltdown then you'll find plenty of challenging gameplay, strategy, and even a touch of reflexive action lurking in Cube, a game that proves it truly is hip to be square.