The Bottom Line
- Easy to learn, but not so easy to beat.
- Good camera control via shoulder buttons and analog nub.
- Autosaves after each stage.
- Cube doesn't always go where you want after you move the camera.
Description
- ESRB rated E10 -- published by D3 Publisher -- game profile -- screenshots
- Graphics: More variety might have been nice. The visuals are somewhat basic, but are bright and crisp and suit the game.
- Sound: Nothing really special, but the music makes a decent background, and the sound effects are suitable.
- Gameplay: Super-easy to learn, and controlled primarily with just the d-pad. Difficulty doesn't ramp up too quickly.
- Multiplayer: Has battle and co-op modes, plus you can share your own custom levels with others.
- Replay value: Medium. You may want to play until you get all gold times, or maybe only until you've finished all the levels.
- Recommendation: This is probably a good bet for fans of puzzle games. Others will want to try it before deciding.
Guide Review - Cube
This simple premise makes the game a snap to learn, and a series of tutorial levels makes it easy to get the hang of the different obstacles. It is these obstacles that add the element of strategy to the puzzles. Sometimes you simplly have to get around mines without getting blown up, or past spikes or sinkholes without getting stuck. Other times you may have to move or change arrows in order to direct moving bombs into explodable barriers, or you might have to reach a button to lower a blockade or move a moveable block to fill a gap.
Building on the basic idea of reaching the exit using different combinations of a few obstacles means that, though the puzzles get harder to solve, you always have some idea of how to approach them. This makes Cube the kind of game you can pick up for short bursts of play at any time. The autosave feature also means you don't have to think about saving each time you make it through a level.
Uncomplex Or Bland?
Cube's simplicity also means that some players will quickly become bored of it. Every level looks pretty much the same, though each has a different monochromatic color scheme. The graphics are not the least bit flashy, though the spare look is actually a bit of a relief compared to some of the graphically intense games out there.
Still, added to the adequate but not inspired music, and the similarity of the level designs, it makes Cube a little on the mediocre side. I like it well enough, but it didn't blow me away. At all.
