One day I woke up and said, “Man, I feel really stupid. I should change that.” So, instead of going to college, reading a book, or even browsing through Wikipedia, I decided to play a puzzle game. This is, of course, the best way to stimulate the thinking blob. The puzzler (and that is all this game is, plain and simple) which began my intellectual journey was RUSH, by Two Tribes.
Despite the hardcore promises of its capitalized name, RUSH is actually rather relaxing. There are no time limits on any of the 66 puzzles, failing a puzzle means nothing, and there are an unlimited number of hints to tailor the difficulty to anyone’s level. Of course, this also means that hints can be continuously used to solve the entire puzzle. Which, I must admit, I did on an occasion or two.
However, before you call my 100% of the game more spurious than San Antonio, perhaps I should explain my actions. Despite the blockish nature of the “characters” in this Chu Chu Rocket/Lemmings/Marble Madness mash-up, the graphics are rather appealing. But, since this game is in 3D, there is, necessarily, a moveable camera. However, sometimes you just can’t position the camera in the right spot. For me, this meant a lot of frustration on certain puzzles.
Since I’m a very visual (read: lazy) guy, I would normally just run the puzzle a few times to see how the blocks should move. Then, I would add a few pieces, run the puzzle again, see what needed to be changed, and repeat. However, this is impossible to do if you can’t see where the blocks are hitting each other or where they are falling off the world.
Still, the puzzles do scale well. Lessons learned on earlier puzzles are adapted rather than monotonously reapplied. The easy levels are easy, the mediums are medium, and the hards range from hard to time-consuming. Nevertheless, this game has perfect potential for what I call “The Career Choice Puzzle.” As in, at first it seems easy (I want to be an astronaut). But, after a more realistic look at the problem, you’re stuck for forever trying to come up with a new solution (I don’t know, I guess I’ll work in HR? Maybe? I don’t really like people, though.).
Anyway, at the end of the day, RUSH has some good puzzles, and for such a low starting price, $4.99, it delivers more than its value. Ideally, all indie games would strive to bring the smooth, impressive gameplay and design of RUSH for the same cost/fun ratio.
Is it worth shelling out the $4.99? Yes, if you like puzzlers.
Is it a unique enough experience to warrant interest for $1.99? Absolutely.
Money-Down Run Down: $4.99
· Non-gamer Interest (interesting, easy enough, short)
· 66 Puzzles With a Short Run Time (~5-7 hours)
· Steam Support- 24 Achievements, Potato Pack, Summer Camp
· Low-endish Computer Compatible
· Chu Chu Rocket/Lemmings Style Game Play
· Developed by Two Tribes
kianamaiart
pixelskylines
gummygunk
annaxmalina
kaledo-art