Polycubes Review
A new twist on the gameplay provided by Tetris, Polycubes features a 3 dimensional take to the popular classic. In this game a random sequence of polycubes (3-D pieces composed of cubes) are falling on a 3-D gamefield. The goal of Polycubes is to create complete layers of blocks without any gaps. When one of these layers are created, it disappears, and any blocks above the completed layer will drop down a step. As time goes on, the pieces start falling faster and faster to increase the difficulty.
Gameplay is just like that other 2-D game we all know about, except this is quite a bit harder to wrap your brain around. Controls are simple, with buttons f
or the 3 ways to rotate the pieces, a drop button, and a simple directional pad to move the pieces around. The top down view works well, it’s not difficult to view the pieces at all, and the color coding makes it simple to see which layers are presently filled. At first it’s confusing on how to rotate the blocks, but after a few minutes with Polycubes, rotating then dropping them will be no trouble at all! The commands are carried out instantly, and the touch controls are spot on, so there’s no lag to adjust to, or guessing if your finger actually hit the icon.
The graphics are not bad, giving a retro, yet futuristic feel at the same time. The blocks are transparent so it’s easier to see what pieces are being placed and their orientation, and when placed, each layer is a separate color which is easily identifiable. The playing field is a solid black and white grid, and the other icons and images are all smooth and well done. However, sounds are completely missing from Polycubes. There’s no music, no sound effects at all to speak of. While not a huge factor, as it’s better than having horrible sounds, it would be nice if they were implemented somehow.
There are a few options to fiddle around with. The width and depth of the field can be adjusted, making the game a little more varied, and the level that is started at can also be changed. This changes the speed that the blocks fall down. The last option is the ability to choose what the pieces are. The simple pieces are the basic Tetris shapes you all know of, just in 3-D, but once the bar is set to complex, all sorts of crazy shapes come into play which make for very challenging games. In the middle is a medium option, for players who have moved past the simple pieces, but aren’t quite ready for the complex ones.
It would be nice if statistics were kept track of, and if maybe there were different game modes such as a timed mode, or strategy mode where layers have to be cleared in the fastest way possible, other than just the normal marathon mode. Regardless, Polycubes is certainly well done, and should be considered a hidden gem. It’s well polished, gameplay is extremely engaging, and at just 99 cents, you might as well go for it now! Anyone wanting to fill that need for a good puzzler should certainly go ahead and check this out.
The Good
New twist to a classic
Evident that time was taken in making this
Well presented gameThe Bad
Sounds are nonexistent
More game modes would be nice
Addendum
The Devleoper is working on adding sounds to a patched version as well as improving the gameplay modes.
Related posts:
Category: Games
Congratulations to “laygoli” You have been selected as the winner of the free application contest from appVersity.com
For those of you not familiar with the free Premium code give away contests we have here please visit this url and start winning free apps today! You would be crazy not to!
http://www.appversity.com/featured-articles/appversity-gives-away-free-apps/
i like that it was well thought out and well done. Seems like a great take on a classic.
Ooh. Complexity + Tetris offshoot = instant love.
Though this would definitely drive me insane.
Glenn, how about features/mini-awards from time to time? I.e., “Best of Tetris Spin-offs,” “Best Word Game Feature,” “Best Color-Matching Game,” “Best Remake,” etc.? Just a thought.
oooh! very complicated, me like
im not sure about this game. Its a cool idea turning tetris 3d but ive always been a sucker for classics. And tetris is definetely a classic.
im a pretty big fan of Tetris. i think that this wont be better than Tetris, but i do think that it will be a fun, and interesting game.
yeah, i’d like sound. but it looks really cool…i’ve been dithering about this one for a while. it looks great but maybe a bit hard for me…and definitely a black hole as far as free time goes.
This looks really unique. This looks like one of the better puzzle games in the app store.
I can’t help but feel that I’ve seen something like this before. In any event, at least you don’t also have to match up colors…
but its really cool
great game
this game is really wierd. I like the idea but its so different. No sound doesnt really bug me that much because if there isnt any sound, i can just listen to my own music or turn off sound completely.
polycubes would take some getting used to since i play tetris and its a 2D game.
Not really, I play Tetris on my phone all the time and this wasn’t that hard to wrap your mind around.
thats good, then polycubes will be a pretty good pick up and play game!
Crazy. I can’t help but feel that I’ve seen something like this before. In any event, at least you don’t also have to match up colors…although that might make an interesting complication for after you’ve mastered what’s there. But they’ve got to add sound effects first and music (ipod access FTW).
very cool looking…i have to have it
Even without the sound, Polycubes is good little puzzler. I’ve been playing it for a few days, and the controls are smooth and the framerate is nice.
Looks like a good buy for puzzle fans but the inclusion of sound and more modes would likely cause this to sell a lot more.