Reviews// Pullblox

Posted 26 Jan 2012 16:54 by
What does 3DS title Pullblox, have to do with the Rubik’s Cube? Well like that fiendish toy, it’s essentially a puzzle that demands the player sacrifice what they have created in order to finish it.

I’ve always found the Rubik’s Cube impossible to solve. In the 30 years since I first encountered one I have yet to get more than two sides completed on the blasted thing. Now I know I can go on the internets and read up on how to do so.

But I believe that to be cheating. Besides I know why I fail at solving them; I can’t sacrifice the elements of the puzzle I have already solved! Yet in order to solve a Rubik’s Cube, you must do that very thing.

So, with Pullblox the player is required to pull out blocks (hence the name) from a wall, which are then jumped onto in order to reach a certain point within the wall. This is normally at the very top of the wall and requires the player to adopt a very lateral approach in order to reach this point.

Pullblox takes place in a mythical adventure playground called ‘Pullblox Park’. Here there is a myriad of walls from which sections can be pulled and pushed allowing people to climb to the top.

In a strange and some would say predicable health and safety nightmare-like turn of events, a bunch of children have been trapped into these structures. Papa Blox is the creator of the Pullblox structures and caretaker of the park. He has requested the help of Mallo, the protagonist of Pullblox to free the trapped kiddies.

The game boasts a little over 250 levels, all of which consist of a wall broken into sections that can be pulled and pushed. That is providing the player has a platform to stand on. It is this key and very simple mechanic that drives the game, as the player navigates their way through the Pullblox structure in order to reach the child that is trapped within it.

Rules are Rules
The rules of play are simple, yet offer a significant array of puzzle possibilities as only the best puzzle games can. In summary:

a) Mallo can only jump one space but in any direction.
b) Blocks can be pulled and pushed up to three sections out of plane.
c) It is possible for Mallo to grab a block from its side and manipulate it.
d) Mallo cannot manipulate a block he is standing on.

As the game progresses the levels become more complex as the Pullblox structure becomes broken up into ever smaller chunks.

This forces the player to navigate through the structure in a more measured fashion as the timing and extent of manipulation of the blocks becomes critical in order to complete the level.

What you must always understand in Pullblox is that the primary goal is to reach the top of a pre-defined block by any means necessary. Sometimes this forces the player to retrace their steps in order to manipulate blocks higher up in the structure so that a platform is created to work from.

The key to Pullblox is accepting this fact and ignoring the work you have done previously in order to reach the place you are within the level at any given time.

Make a Complete Mess
There are times when it’s possible to make a complete mess of things, however, and become just as trapped as the child Mallo is trying to save! Thankfully there is a reset button at the base of the puzzle that can be activated to bring the level back to its original form.

Thankfully there is also a rewind time function that negates a failed action that would otherwise have forced the player to start again. Typically this happens when you attempt to make a jump, only to fall to the ground.

If the rewind function was not present, you could have found yourself with no path from the ground to the location you fell from, and forced to reset the level. So, the inclusion of the rewind is therefore most welcome, especially when navigating through the later levels of the game.

Level Headed Editor
Pullblox also boasts a level editor that allows players to create their own fiendish puzzles for others to solve. The method of sharing is via a rather ingenious use of QR Codes. These black and which square patterns have been appearing all over the place over the past couple of years and now Nintendo has found a way of using them to distribute player made content for Pullblox of all things!

The way it works is that once the level is created, a QR code is generated and saved onto the SD-Card within the 3DS console. This card can then be read on a computer and the QR code image extracted and then uploaded onto the internet. People can then use the 3DS built in camera to scan the QR codes from their computer screens. It’s a little clunky in that it requires people to download images from the SD Card, but despite this there is a vibrant community of people making and sharing levels for Pullblox.

Visually Pullblox is very bright and colourful. Its style is reminiscent of Tingle from the Zelda games. Mallo is a portly fellow who wears a red coloured hooded jump suit. All the children he saves are in similar attire and their parents are nowhere to be seen. So we have this grown man running around a theme park, wearing nothing but a jump-suit saving children from dangerous installations… I’m just sayin’! Now where was I? Ah yes, graphics and more importantly 3D.

Pullblox does much to demonstrate the use of the 3D capabilities of the 3DS as the increased depth of field it offers does much to assist the player in solving the puzzles. The fact that Mallo can jump in any direction means that he can jump in and out of the screen diagonally, and thus the use of 3D aids the player in making such a jump

The music score is suitably cheery but never annoying. It’s a traditional Nintendo score as it jangles away in the background while you try to decide if the puzzle you’re working through isn’t the product of a diseased mind. It does a good job of calming ones nerves as the game can veer into the turgid realms of frustration all too often.

The only gripe with it is that some of the levels are little more than pictures of things that the game describes as ‘murals’. Now while it’s fun to jump around a picture of Mario’s head, it doesn’t make for a very challenging or entertaining puzzle. This is sadly the case with many user made levels as they’re more about demonstrating their talents at pixel art than their ability to create engaging puzzles.

That aside I can safely say this is one the best games to grace the eShop and you’d be foolish to ignore it!

Pros:
+ Puzzles are very well thought out and can really tax even the brightest player.
+ Boasts the ‘one more go’ feel every good puzzle game should boasts.
+ Music score is suitably cheery but never annoying.

Cons:
- It can really tax even the brightest player!
- Some of the levels are little more than pictures of things that the game describes as ‘murals’

Conclusion
Pullblox is a real gem of a game that deserves the attention of any 3DS owner. You don’t have to track a copy down in a store as it’s only available via the eShop.

SPOnGscore: 9/10

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Comments

mrAnthony 27 Jan 2012 10:43
1/1
i've had this now for a week or so, on level 170 something, its really good. Its difficulty is odd though, as some levels will make you tear your hair out, then followed directly by 2 or 3 really easy puzzles. there isn't a curve as such. but thats ok. its sort of a respite i suppose.

def worth the £5.
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