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Overview
Cubis is a new take on the traditional “tile-matching” game, bringing in a 3D element to both the design and the interaction. The basic premise of the game is to eliminate cubes from the playing surface by combining 3 or more of the same color onto adjacent squares. Levels are completed by eliminating either a preset number of cubes, or eliminating “special” cubes, depending on the game mode. Cubis breaks the mold by allowing you too slide cubes onto 2 sides of the playing surface and stack them vertically, giving an isometric quality to the game.
The Good
One feature that jumps out at you as soon as you load up Cubis is the quality of the visual design. This is a graphically pleasing game, with obvious attention given to the small details from the optional backdrops (3 in total) to the small cracks visible on special cubes that can be destroyed during game play.
Along with destructible cubes, there are wedge pieces to raise up columns to create vertical game play, “osmosis” cubes which alter the color of another cube and again create a column, unmovable pieces to create obstacles, and finally “laser” cubes which can eliminate any of the above cubes to open up the board. All of these, combined with the standard 6 color cubes, make for entertaining approaches to the game.
Another notable feature is the 2 axis interaction with the game board. Instead of the typical one adding blocks from one direction, pieces can be slid onto the playing surface from two adjoining sides, which is what really exemplifies the 3D aspect of the game.
This is as you would expect a timed-game, and you definitely cannot ignore the counter. While the game gives enough time to complete the levels, it is not overly generous, and downright stingy on the higher levels. A keen mind is needed to finish any given level with an excess of time remaining.
Finally, one of the best features of this game has nothing to do with the game play at all. The auto-save feature will save your progress as soon as you exit, saving you both the trouble of doing it yourself and having to work your way up through the game again. This is a great feature to have and should be included on virtually all games.
The Bad
Of course, no game is perfect, there is always room for improvement, and Cubis is not exempt from this unwritten rule.
The biggest flaw in this reviewers opinion is the repetitious nature of the levels. While there are some challenging and creative layouts provided as you level up, if you find yourself re-starting frequently, Cubis could become repetitive. The levels are “locked” in that they are all pre-determined layouts for you too try to beat. Level 1 is always level 1, which could limit re-playability if you find yourself starting over. Which will occur, as you are booted back to level 1 if you are beaten.
To a lesser extent, the other sticking point would be the two game modes and the minor difference in both. There is Arcade mode, where the goal is too eliminate a set number of cubes (20, 30, etc), and there is Puzzle mode, where the objective is too eliminate a number of special “star” cubes (2, 3, 4 etc). Both Arcade and Puzzle mode share levels, with simply the goals altered, even to the point that the special “star” blocks are present on the Arcade levels. It would have been a better approach to change up the modes a bit more, perhaps making the puzzle levels require more strategy.
Special Features
As with many tile matching games, there is a bonus if a move you make starts a chain. Eliminating a carefully chosen set of blocks, can allow other blocks to fall into place, meeting up with similarly colored blocks, and eliminating those as well. If you can trigger this type o event, you get awarded with a “Cubis”, a point bonus for taking out multiple sets of blocks at once.
System Requirements
1 meg of storage, slightly heavy for a puzzle game, but the high quality graphics are definitely worth the little extra storage space.
Overall
Overall, Cubis is an entertaining game, visually very well designed, brings a new dimension to a game concept that needed some updating. Check out the trial at http://www.astraware.com/all/puzzle/cubis/
Linear Mode
