ZooCube

Puzzle games … can’t live with them, can’t live without them. They are fun, they annoy, they challenge, and they can probably be the cause of at least 50% of broken controllers and handheld systems out there that have been thrown, stepped on, or smashed. No matter what type of gaming you’re primarily into, be it action, FPS, sports, or RPG’s … everyone has spent many hours of their life glued to a TV or GameBoy playing Tetris, Bust – A – Move, or one of the other hundreds of puzzle game titles out there. Zoocube is developed by Puzzlekings, who apparently are new to the gaming industry. Well, they have hit the hand held market with a solid but simple gaming title and one of the silliest plots I have heard of in a long, long time. Also, I didn’t see a single animal anywhere in the game except the one on the box cover … FYI for you animal lovers out there … so maybe they could have just called it “Shapecube” or something. Anyway …

The story behind the game goes like this … there is mad genius who had begun trapping animals of the world into various 3- D shapes. Why was he doing this? It doesn't say and I’m sure I don’t know. Anyway, the development of  “Arks”  was started, each of which would carry a box known as a Zoocube to various parts of the world. The Zoocubes would attract and transport the trapped animals to the ark for decontamination and rehabilitation back to their natural state. The mad genius was captured, and the project was stopped … but now 13 years later the animals are being trapped in these geometric shapes once again, and it’s up to you to save them and help return them to their natural state.

Now, after reading that, you are probably doing what I did when I looked at the instruction manual for the first time… sit there with a slightly visible question mark floating above your head. The game puts you in control of the six sided, fully rotating Zoocube floating around in the air as you visit one of 7 different oceans throughout the world, in one game mode which is “classic”. Three oceans are available in the beginning, and the other 4 get unlocked as you progress through the first three, as will two more game modes. The progression is similar to Tetris, and after a certain number of shapes are collected you move to the next stage, which gets a little faster and more challenging. The shapes of the imprisoned animals will float in from 6 different sides and latch onto the cube. Pairing two shapes of the same color (animals) together will result in both of them disappearing and transporting back to the Ark (That has “Noah” written all over it, eh?) freeing that side or area back up for more shapes to be collected. Once you have more than six shapes on one side of the cube, the game is over.

Zoocube is easy to pick up and get into, and anyone from grown up to youngster can figure out how to do it with no problem. The control pad rotates the cube, the L & R buttons together set off a bomb to destroy all of the shapes sitting on the cube, the A button speeds up the shape heading towards the cube, and the  B button shuffles the shapes around. For example if you have a circular shape sitting right on the cube, and a cube shape on top of it, then another circular shape of the same color comes out, you can shuffle the bottom one to the top to match them together. The game also includes a tutorial mode that can help you understand what the buttons do and what needs to be accomplished in the game to advance. The “options” selection in the beginning also will allow you to slow down or increase the speed of the shapes to make it a little easier to pick up and learn.

All this sounds like it would be extremely simple to just run through … but trust me, it’s not. In order to get points, you won’t just be able to sit still and catch the shapes as they come out. Each shape will release an item when it is accelerated, and then gives bonus points when the next shape runs into the item it drops. When one side of the cube gets cleared, it leaves a bubble behind which also adds points when a shape slams into it. Balancing all sides will also result in bonus points, which are higher depending on how many you are balancing. One on each side for example will give you less than three on each side. When the cube is completely cleared, six objects will come out, each of varying point totals which can also need to be hit by the next shape before they disappear. At first, in the beginning stage, it’s not that hard to do since you have four initial shapes only, which come out one at a time. As you progress, they get faster and then will soon begin coming out almost in twos and threes. They game also starts adding more shapes to latch onto the Zoocube, and it soon gets quite hectic trying to flip the cube, shuffle shapes, accelerate the one coming out, then quickly flip it again to catch the next one, and so on.

Graphically, the game is very low key. Each shape is one or two colors, and the backgrounds consist of gently moving clouds, metal pipes, a red sunset type of look, or a plaid pattern. The backgrounds will move gently back and forth, without being distracting. The graphics don’t necessarily detract from the title, but it doesn't have a whole lot of dazzle or flair to it and can make it seem a little bland. The background music is made up of your typical, high energy fighting or puzzle game music. Lots of fast drums and synthesized keyboard stuff. The sounds are made up of metallic whirring, whooshing, crashing, and exploding type noises. Again, just like the graphics, not a bad thing … but nothing too special either.

Simple … yet satisfying. The game doesn't sound like it has a whole lot to it, and when you sit down for the first time you may feel like it doesn't for about the first 10 minutes. Once things start getting a little more hectic, you will find yourself getting absorbed into it and really having a hard time putting it down. For example, I picked it up this morning before work “just for a few minutes” to check something I was going to put into the review, and wound up being late because I sat there for twenty minutes and couldn’t bring myself to switch off the power button. Basically, there’s nothing really overly special or anything that will razzle dazzle you, and it probably won’t get any game of the year awards, but it is reminiscent of puzzle games like Tetris or Bust A Move and once you pick it up … it is very difficult to put down.

Gameplay: 8.0
Very simple to pick up and play, very easy to learn and get into, but hard to put down. Anyone can learn how to play it. It’s very simple all around in every category. It would have been nice to have more than one game mode up front however to give some varying options starting out.  

Graphics: 6.0
Not a 6 from a bad standpoint, but just from a “there’s not much more to it than that” standpoint. Everything is very basic shapes and one or two color schemes.

Sound: 6.1
The background music during gameplay is typical high speed puzzle game music, with a high energy but generic sounding beat, and everything soundwise is metallic sounding bangs and whirring type things. Just like the graphics, it’s not a horrible thing, but it just doesn't have anything to it which stands out. 

Difficulty: Easy
Don’t take the “Easy” rating as a statement on how simple it is to go through the game. It gets very challenging as the levels increase, but is easy to pick up and learn. Kids to adults will be able to jump right in without a problem.

Concept: 8.5
A puzzle game which definitely does not only offer something different, but something pretty fun as well. Puzzle games have been around for a while, even before video gaming, but this is a new spin on an old genre.

Multiplayer: 7.5

Pits two friends or family members together and adds in some different items. The shapes will drop these to help mess up the person you are playing against or give you the advantage, rather than just giving points or creating a bomb to clear a row. Multiplayer requires two GBA’s and a link cable to play.  

Overall: 7.6
While it definitely isn’t going to start a new trend in the puzzle gaming industry, it is a nice new concept and will quickly have you sucked into the deceivingly addictive gameplay. Since there’s not a lot of variation to it overall, it may quickly get to the same point many other shape based puzzle games have gotten to … where it gets played periodically as a time killer or a rainy afternoon kind of thing. If you are a fan of puzzle games, you might want to pick this up and give it a try, as you may find it to be a good addition to your collection. If you aren’t a fan of puzzle games, you may want to give it a run anyway … this one may change your mind.