Game:

Cuboid (2009)

Category:

Let's Play

Duration: 15:00

4,352 views

28

Hey PS fans, Welcome back to another edition of PlayStation GameZown Mini Reviews, where we take a look into PlayStation 3s Multiplatform, and Exclusive games. We have seen quite a bit of shooters so far, so I want to change things up a bit and look at a Puzzle game that hit the PSN a little while ago. A neat little game titled Cuboid.

Cuboid is a puzzle game in where you simply move a rectangle block around the screen, and your goal is to get the block to fall down the hole into the next stage. It's incredibly simplistic, and has no real storyline other than "Your lighting up a cathedral" as you play the game. Strange but true.

You can choose between a few difficulty settings, and there are many puzzles to solve. There are also a few other things to look out for while playing the game, such as fragile wooden floors that break when you stand the block upright on them. Transporters that separate the cube into 2 smaller square cubes, and place you at certain spots on the map. And even switches that open and close bridges to get across.

The graphics are simple, but at the same time look great for a little puzzle game. I didn't expect much from the game in the graphics dept, but I was happily surprised when I saw that the game looked this good. The backgrounds are very nicely detailed, starting with flowing clouds and the ruins of an old cathedral, and as you descend down you get to see more and more of it, as you go around lighting it up.

The soundtrack for this game is remarkably relaxing, helping to keep ones nerves at ease . Which is really nice considering a few of the stages make you want to pull your hair out, and some stages seem impossible near the end. But the melody just plays right along all throughout the puzzling experience, making it fun. IMO this music is perfectly suitable for this game, and I'm quite pleased with how it all turned out. It's not really perfect, but it's damn close. I really like it!

The sound effects come across loud and clear,,but there arent many sounds in the game to be heard. All your really going to hear during the game are the movements of the block clomping on the ground, the sound of the wooden floors creaking/breaking, bridges opening/closing, and teleports shifting your cube around. Otherwise there is not much else to be said about the sound effects in this game. I suppose there couldn't be much else considering the action going on in the game.

The controls for Cuboid are extremely easy to figure out. You just use the d-pad to move the block around the screen, and that's it! It's easy to play, and fun to master. It will challenge your memorization skills, and before you know it you will be trying speed runs on each stage to get that certain Trophy. The controls work pretty damn great in this game, and it all comes down to how well you can maneuver the d-pad. I just wish there were more to the controls to give the player a few more options. I have 12 Buttons on the controller, and all that's used is the D-Pad. It feels a bit primitive to me. For some, that's part of Cuboids charm. But for me, it makes me wish for a little more.

About the video: I have had Cuboid on my PS3 for quite some time now, and I always have enjoyed the game. I just never had the time to do a video on it with my old hardware (PC and Monitor). However, due to the new upgrade to a 50" Plasma 3DTV, I now have a decent secondary monitor (42' Plasma) to capture videos with, so that made this video fun and easier to create. Also, this is the first of many videos that shall be longer than the normal 11 minutes that I had been allowed before on youtube. From this point forward, all my videos will be 15 minutes in length as youtube allows, and will be expanded in the future when you tube changes its policy again. This is also the first of my videos that contain my new Ratings system. I hope you like the changes made starting with this video! :D The new ratings system stats are displayed on my main channel if your interested in how it works.

Bottom line: Cuboid is a fun game that is very easy to learn, but can be frustratingly difficult in the latter stages. I love the atmosphere in the game with the soothing soundtrack playing in the background as you move the block around trying to solve the puzzle, twisting your mind in ways you never thought of before. I would suggest those who love Puzzle games to give this one a try. IMO it is worth the $9.99 price tag, has a few addons in the PSN Store, and quite honestly it is a blast to play! There is one catch however, Cuboid seems to be a souped up version of a flash game on the net called Bloxorz (http://www.bloxorzgame.com/). So if you try that game and you like it, chances are you'll like Cuboid also! Is it worth the $9.99 for the visual and audio upgrade? That's for you to decide, but it was worth it for me.

This game is in 1080p native, has Dual Shock 3 support, Trophy support, Custom Soundtracks, and PCM Stereo Sound.

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