Crush
A Freudian slip between dimensions
Tags: Crush Categories: PSP Reviews, Reviews
Posted by Jake McNeill on Jul 13th, 2007
| Title | Players | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Crush (title page) | 1 | ||
| Developer | Publisher | Genre | Online |
| Platformer | No | ||
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Before it was even released, Crush had something going against it – it’s coming in the wake on Super Paper Mario on the Wii, which uses a very similar 2D-to-3D gimmick (for those unaware, both games allow players to transition between a 3D world and a 2D world). However, while Mario’s latest adventure seems to settle for using the gimmick mostly to hide items behind scenery, Crush takes the mechanic to the next level by making it an integral part of the gameplay.
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Of course, while these two games do share a signature mechanic, the comparisons pretty much end there. While Super Paper Mario is a platformer with RPG elements, Crush is a platform-puzzle game, where players must use the transition from 3D to 2D and back to gather orbs (and other doodads) and reach a level exit. In addition, unlike Super Paper Mario, Crush puts no time limit on one type of gameplay or another, making neither more important than the other.
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The idea is that platforms that are far apart in 3D may be right next to each other in 2D, an impassable wall in 2D may just be a different-colored walkway in 3D, and those markings on the wall in 3D may be solid platforms in 2D. The whole concept really has you twisting your notions of perspective and distance. At any time in the game, you can “crush” the 3D world to 2D from one of five perspectives (Basically, the views from the North, East, South and West, and the top-down bird’s-eye view), and then at any time you can change back. The trick is knowing where to change, and what perspective to change to.
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It’s almost a pity that this is a platform-puzzle game, because the kind of dimension-altering flexibility this game gives the player really begs to be played around with, but the game instead insists on presenting a series of brain-teasing puzzles to be solved, which makes for a slow-paced experience that may not quite be for everyone. If you’re looking for mind-warping dimension-altering puzzles, this game delivers in spades, but anyone wanting something more action-packed won’t find it here.
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The game’s graphics are solid albeit not especially impressive. They’re simple when they need to be, and do as good a job as can be expected of presenting the levels so you can see pretty clearly what’ll happen when you crush or uncrush a level. At the same time, the backgrounds are really artistically inspired, from a warped Tim Burton-esque cityscape to a brightly-lit amusement park. The characters are also infused with a great amount of personality too, including disgustingly creepy bugs, and Danny himself, who walks with a slouch all too appropriate for someone who hasn’t been getting any sleep. However, the game’s framerates do occasionally take a dip, such as some levels where it rains.
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All in all, this is a great game, and a wonderful entry in the PSP’s game library. Make no mistake, though – this is a puzzle game through and through, and by design a somewhat slow-paced one. There’s little doubt you’ll spend almost as much time puzzling over what to do next as you will actually doing it. However, if a dimension-twisting brain-scratcher sounds like something of interest to you, Crush should be perfect for you.
| What Works | Score |
|---|---|
|
+ Great concept + Solid presentation and decent graphics + Some truly great and unique puzzles |
8.5 |
| What Doesn't | |
|
- The slow pace and lack of action may not appeal to everyone - Framerates occasionally drop |
|
| Under the Shrink-wrap | |
| Don’t be fooled by comparisons to Super Paper Mario – Crush is its own unique animal, and a puzzle game through-and-through. However, if that’s what you’re looking for, Crush delivers with a fresh concept, a solid presentation and some truly enjoyable dimension-twisting puzzles. | |
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Tags: Crush
Posted by Jake McNeill on Jul 13th, 2007 and is filed under PSP Reviews, Reviews. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can post a comment, or trackback from your own site.
