Puzzle Dimension
Chase Slaton
Video Game Review: Puzzle Dimension
There's something missing from "Puzzle Dimension" and the absence of that mysterious element is all that keeps it from being a perfect puzzle game.
Perhaps, though, it isn't actually any missing gameplay element, but a discrepancy in what I expected from "Puzzle Dimension" and what I got when I started playing. What I expected from the screenshots was a rolling-ball, maze-style game like "Super Monkey Ball."
What I found when I started playing was something far more cerebral.
"Puzzle Dimension" is a beautiful, 3-D puzzle game with platforming elements mixed in. At first glance, gamers might be reminded of aesthetically similar puzzle games such as "Super Monkey Ball." The graphics are bright, beautifully rendered, and gameplay is accompanied by a lighthearted 8-bit style techno soundtrack.
In "Puzzle Dimension," the player controls a gold filigree-covered ball as it rolls around levels that generally look like something
The maps are composed of individual tiles whose properties only complicate matters. Ice tiles cause the ball to roll out of control, crumbling tiles fall away after being touched, spiked tiles shatter the ball, and launcher tiles fling the ball a good distance. While maps are initially rather simple affairs, they quickly become chaotic nightmares as new types of tiles are introduced and the paths begin to twist in on themselves.
Where "Puzzle Dimension" differs from the likes of "Super Monkey Ball" is that rather than trying to keep control of a swiftly rolling ball as it careens across a level, "Puzzle Dimension's" ball only moves one tile at a time and unless directed it stops immediately on whatever space it is in.
This has two significant impacts upon gameplay.
First, you get the feeling that there really is no reason for the player's avatar to be a golden ball as the thing doesn't really roll about (unless it lands on an ice tile). It moves one space at a time in a slow deliberate manner, and can easily hop over simple obstacles. The ball could have been replaced by a magical rabbit or frog just as easily.
The second way that the ball's movement influences gameplay is that it turns "Puzzle Dimension" into a slow, contemplative puzzle game. It's less like a game of air hockey or foosball and more like a game of chess.
In "Puzzle Dimension," you generally have two goals on each map.
The first goal is to collect all of the 8-bit flowers on that map in order to open the door to exit the map. Generally these flowers a placed in tricky spots, and they require a specific pattern of moves in order to reach them. Some maps allow you to move back to a neutral area of the map, while other, more difficult maps, and require you to discover the path from one flower to the next with no going back. Death in "Puzzle Dimension" occurs when your ball lands on a deadly tile or (more likely) when you fall over the side of the track and fall into the abyss below. This never really bothered me, as on the PS3 version of the game, the load times were fairly short. Completing a map opens up the next one, and by collecting enough flowers you can unlock new map types.
The second goal in "Puzzle Dimension" is there completionists. Each tile on a map starts out grayed out and pixelated. When the ball lands on or right next to a grayed-out tile, it springs into brilliant, beautiful focus. To get a perfect score on map, you need to both collect all of the flowers on the map, but also bring every tile into focus. This can prove a pain in the tuchus as the easiest path to a map's flowers won't necessarily take the ball past every tile on a map. It's not a huge addition, but it gives the maps a nice edge and will keep some players coming back.
"Puzzle Dimension" happens to be the first release by Swedish game studio
"Puzzlement Dimension" has been released on PC, Mac and PS3, and will generally cost you around
Twitter: @ihavenet
Videogaming & Video Game Reviews
- Puzzle Dimension
- A Rage Like No Other
- MMO EVE Online Expands Into the FPS Market
- Fallen Enchantress Is Set to Rise: Part 2
- A Gamer's Education
- Future for Slates, Tablets and iPads
- 'Terraria' and 'Universe Sandbox'
- 'MotorStorm: Apocalypse'
- Cakewalk Case Studies: Sean Murray and Tim Wynn
- Thought Leaders: Bonnie Nardi
- Chatting With John Martin of Reallusion
- 'Galaga 30th Collection'
- The Way of the Samurai: Chatting With James Russell of The Creative Assembly
- Audio for Games Reimagined: SONAR X1
- 'Hunted: The Demon's Forge'
- Baseball Simulation in MLB 2K11: Part 2
- Video Game Thought Leaders: Matt Ployhar
- Daggerdale - Talking With Tim Ernst of Bedlam Studios
- Fallen Enchantress Is Set to Rise
- 'Mortal Kombat' and the First Amendment
- 'Infamous 2'
- 'Fable III'
- E3 2011 Showcases a Big Year for PC Gaming
- Happiness Is a Warm Gun: Chatting With Emotional Robots
- 'Fate of the World'
- 'The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings'
- 'L.A. Noire'
- PlayStation Network: After the Fall
- Value Proposition - PC or Console Games?
- Complexity in 'Civilization'
- 'Dragon Age II'
- Creating the Baseball Simulation in MLB 2K11
- Hear That Knocking Sound? It's PC Gaming!
- 'Portal 2'
- Saving the Universe One LEGO Brick at a Time
- Synchronization Between Threads in the Infernal Engine
- Thought Leaders: Eleanor Wynn
- The Art of War: Shogun 2
- Solid-state Drives Revolutionize Gaming
- War Production: Chatting With Frank Pearce of Blizzard
- 'Ghostbusters: Sanctum of Slime'
- Darkspore Creatures Come to Life
- Finding the Next Challenge in Visual Computing
- 'The Sims: Medieval'
- The Future of PC Gaming? A Personal Viewpoint
- Explosion of Creativity: Power of Online Communities
- 'Homefront'
- Game Optimization for Modern Hardware
- 'PixelJunk Shooter 2: The Belly of the Beast'
- Pixels and Sand
- Sneak Peek at DC Universe Online With Chris Cao
- Thought Leaders: Orion Granatir
- Combat Duality in Puzzle Dimension
- 'Jikandia: The Timeless Land'
- Exclusive Look at Homefront
- GDC 2011: Sneak Peek of Battlefield 3
- Talking Dragon Age II With Valve Software's Erik Wolpaw
- Nathan Camarillo of Crytek Talks Crysis 2 and CryEngine 3
- 'Two Worlds II'
- 'Dungeons'
- Peter Molyneux Talks Fable III and Commitment to PC Gaming
- There's an App for That Game
- Talking Tech Tactics With Football Manager 2011
- 'Kingdom Hearts Re:coded'
- 'Dead Space 2'
- 2K Sports Announces 'NHL 2K11' for Apple iPad
- 'Dead Space' for iOS
- Why are Video Games for Girls so Lame?
- The Muddy Beauty of DiRT 2
- The Reality of Indie Game Development
- Using Artificial Intelligence in Game Development
- Top 10 Most Anticipated Video Games of 2011
- Need for Speed Drives Back to Roots
- Developing and Optimizing Games for Netbooks
- 'Bejeweled 3'
- Rolling Thunder, Analytics and Performance Drive Need for Speed World
- Who You Gonna Call? Ghostbusters Challenges
- Dude! Who Killed My First-person Shooter?
- Racing to the Finish Line: Chris Southall Talks Total War and Sonic
- The Force Remains Strong with LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars
- Unreal Engine 3 Brings Chadam to Life on Web Video
- 'Pac-Man Championship Edition DX'
- 'Infinity Blade'
- TRON: Evolution -- Game Developers Go Hollywood
- EA Sports Moves Graphics-rich Gaming Online
- Humble Opinions: From The Sims to Indie Games
- Meet Mr. Industrial: Justin Lassen's Music Machine
- 'Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood'
- 'Mario Vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem'
- 'Time Crisis Razing Storm'
- 'Arcania: Gothic 4'
- 'Disney Epic Mickey'
- 'Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light'
- 'Ace Combat: Air Assault'
- 'Game Dev. Story'
- Epic Games Unveils 'Gears of War 3' Multiplayer Details
- 'Castlevania: Lords of Shadow'
- 'Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode 1'
- 'Amnesia: The Dark Descent'
- 'Enslaved: Odyssey to the West'
- 'Valkyria Chronicles II'
- 'Dead Rising 2'
- 'Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep'
- 'Halo: Reach'
- 'Mafia II'
- 'Scott Pilgrim' vs. Its Video Game References
Video Games: Puzzle Dimension
Copyright © 2011 CRISPY GAMER. All rights reserved.
Your Favorite Comic Strips Online
Daily Comics & Your Favorite Comic Strips Online
Your favorite comics strips Animal Crackers, Annie, Bound & Gagged, Brenda Starr, Brewster Rockit: Space Guy, Broom-Hilda, Dick Tracy, Gasoline Alley, Gil Thorp, Housebroken, Loose Parts, The Middletons, Pink Panther, Raising Hector, Sylvia, 9 to 5, Bliss, Bottom Liners, Love Is..., Pluggers all online at ComicStripNation.com