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elbeato's Picross (DS)
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| [February 8, 2008 07:18:42 AM]
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Gameplay 2
After several puzzles, I think I have become addicted to this damned game. How can something so simple be so fun? The music is infectious, even with only 3 tracks. The sense of accomplishment is what really seems to drive me to continue playing this simple game. There are 10 levels with 15 puzzles on each level, making a total of 150 puzzles. I have done only 5 in the span of an hour because I keep trying to get the lowest possible time on each one that I do. The replay value on this game is phenomenal.
Sometimes, the puzzles can be extremely challenging, while other times you can almost solve them with your eyes closed. The puzzles with a ton of empty space, such as the flowers, can be very frustrating. Because of the fact that there are many empty spaces, it becomes hard to determine what the pattern is. You can sit there and just stare at the puzzle for minutes, trying to figure out your next move. When you finally decide to make that move that has been in your head for 3 minutes and it turns out you were wrong, you scowl and wag your finger at the DS, thinking “you tricky bastard”. I may be here all night. Don’t leave the light on.
Design
The puzzle is draws a very heavy influence from “Minesweeper”, a game everybody knows and loves. The mechanics are very similar in the way that the goal is to determine where the filled in blocks are. You must try to avoid making a wrong guess or else time will be added to your upward counting timer, which you are aiming to keep as low as possible. The only way in which you can deduce the locations of the filled squares is to follow the numbers listed on the outer edges of each side on the grid. For example, if a line had the sequence “3,4,1”, there would be a sequence of 3 filled squares, 4 filled squares, and 1 filled square, separated by at least 1 blank square. The only thing that is not outright described is how many blank squares are in between each sequence. Only by looking at the sequence of the perpendicular lines and by using logic can that be determined.
The game’s levels are divided into difficulties, separated into categories of picture types. Each set of levels has a theme, such as birds, flowers, sea creatures, and safari wildlife. The reward system of the game is to find out what the pictures are of at the end of each successful puzzle. Easier puzzles are on 5x5 grids, but the harder the difficulty, the larger the grid sizes. Some of the hardest puzzles are on 20x20 grids.
The use of the DS touch screen is very helpful in play a puzzle game such as this. You simply point the stylus at the spot you want to fill in, making it very efficient and interactive, instead of the other option of manipulating a directional pad. There is also a zoom in/zoom out function for larger grid puzzles, in case you want to focus on a specific set of grids within the big puzzles.
There are several extra functions on the menu screen, such as Daily Picross, which selects a random puzzle once a day for the player to solve. This can satisfy the daily fix for a Picross junky, in case he/she has some place to go and can only manage to play once. There is also a custom level creation option, where the player can make their own pixilated pictures and turn them into puzzles to be uploaded online via wi-fi. You can also go online to download other people’s custom puzzles for new content. There are even puzzles where you do not have to complete a picture, but rather test you ability to quickly touch upon a disappearing dot flashing across the screen, or recreate an image shown on the top screen.
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| [February 8, 2008 06:08:28 AM]
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Summary
Picross DS is an innovative puzzle game designed for the handheld Nintendo DS, where the player must mark where filled spaces and empty spaces are located on a grid by logically following the numerical clues listed on the edges of the grid. When the puzzle is completed, the filled spaces juxtapose the empty spaces to make an animated pixelated image.
Gameplay 1
When you first turn the game on, a very delightfully stylized menu pops up and is very approachable. Navigating on it is straightforward and easy; there are only a few choices, but it seems pretty intuitive that you should choose the blinking bar that says “Picross” to play a game of Picross. The tutorial is well structured and offers many options. I learned the basics of the game in about 5 minutes, allowing me to play the first few puzzles with relative ease. They start you off with only a 5x5 grid puzzle to simplify the concepts. The use of the top screen is well implemented, as the puzzle remains on the bottom while all the important text is situated at the top. The lines are divided into a monochromatic color palette to make it easy for the player to differentiate between lines. The game itself is timed, but it counts up instead of down, so there is no feeling of pressure.
One of the best aspects of playing so far is the whimsical music that sets the mood of each puzzle. I found myself humming the main theme more than once while playing the game. The blue colored theme of the menus and puzzles are also very soothing. The puzzles themselves are somewhat challenging, but at the same time very simple. You have to think for a moment, but when that spark appears in your head, you know you have it solved.
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elbeato's Picross (DS)
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Current Status: Playing
GameLog started on: Friday 8 February, 2008
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