VentureBeat » Crashmo

GamesBeat weekly roundup: Humble THQ Bundle, sexism, and The Walking Dead Episode 5

Jasmine Maleficent Rea — Fri, 30 Nov 2012 20:55:17 +0000

If you follow VentureBeat but don’t regularly check our GamesBeat site, here’s a list of the best video game stories we ran over the last seven days that you may have missed.

This week, THQ releases Saints Row: The Third and more of its popular games in the first non-indie Humble Bundle, women in the games industry talk about about the sexism they face in the workplace, and Atari celebrates Pong’s 40th anniversary.

You’ll also find reviews for Portal 2 In Motion, Crashmo, The Walking Dead Episode 5, King’s Bounty: Warriors of the North, Adventure Time, and Call of Duty: Black Ops Declassified.

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Crashmo shows smartphone puzzle games who’s boss (review)

Jeffrey Grubb — Thu, 29 Nov 2012 22:47:31 +0000

I enjoy Angry Birds, but it only takes a half hour with Nintendo’s latest 3DS puzzle game Crashmo (known as Fallblox in other territories) to realize how flawed Rovio’s feathered physics-based title is.

Both games have a three-star-based system that indicates difficulty. Only Angry Birds rewards players with stars for completing every level in the most difficult way. Where as Crashmo tells the player before the level starts whether it is a one-, two-, or three-star challenge.

This difference might as well be a chasm that separates the style of game you’ll find in the Apple iOS App Store versus something you’ll find in the Nintendo 3DS’s eShop — and Crashmo is the best example of why it’s wonderful that we have the eShop.

Crashmo is a 3D puzzle game where players push, pull, and move blocks in a thoughtful manner with the purpose of ascending said blocks to capture a bird that sits at the top of the level. Unlike this title’s predecessor, Pushmo, the blocks support each other in this installment and therefore come crashing down if nothing holds them up. Developer Intelligent Systems developed dozens of these levels, and players can create their own and share them using QR codes.

What you’ll like

The challenge and the reward

Crashmo is a challenging experience. After a lengthy tutorial, the difficulty ramps up at a rocket’s pace. That, however, is where the delight lies. You can spend a minute or 20 in one of these stages depending on whether you can figure out the required trick to solve the obstacle that is stumping you.

As with any great puzzle game — or anything really — once I learned a trick, it remained learned. I quickly built up an arsenal of ideas and possible solutions that I could throw at just about any of the game’s many structures. Of course, nothing beats that moment when the game incepts your brain with a new helpful thought while making you feel like it was your idea all along.

You’ve made a mistake, but the title won’t punish you

Crashmo is essentially Pushmo, only more fully realized as a puzzle game. That means it brought along its best feature: the ability to rewind a mistake with the push of a button.

Holding down the L button will rewind the in-game action in a TV-DVR-like manner. It only works for a finite amount of time, but it’s usually long enough to fix the last few moves. Don’t worry about missed jumps or an accidental pull that makes your structure unscalable. Nothing is irreversible. Just punch that L button and put everything back as it was, and try your next best idea.

It’s an agreeable mechanic that allows the player to focus on solving puzzles. You’re never fighting the game beyond where it’s fun to fight it.

What you won’t like

The learning curve

I’m hesitant to put this in the “what you won’t like” section, but I think it’s possible that the first round of obtuse challenges could scare off some players. Things get difficult fast. I found this enjoyable, but many people won’t.

If you prefer twitch-based puzzles like Tetris or something where you stumble upon the answer like Angry Birds, then perhaps you should hold on to your nine bucks.

Conclusion

Crashmo is a fine example of what a talented developer can do with a solid gameplay mechanic. It’s also a great argument for separating business from play.

The reason Angry Birds wants you playing the levels again and again — at least on Android — is because it is ad-supported. You struggle to get three-stars and every time you reload a level, they rack up another ad impression. For me, it sucks the fun out of the experience, and you can see the business model seeping through the mechanics in most smartphone games.

With Crashmo, the business is in the past. You’ve paid the price of admission, now Nintendo and Intelligent Systems want to make sure you have fun. They don’t have to obsess with squeezing that next dollar out of you and instead can feed you supremely designed puzzles.

Maybe others aren’t so sensitive to these issues — but I am. And for that, I’m ecstatic that a game as expertly crafted as Crashmo is available and that a market for more expensive downloadable games, like the 3DS eShop, exists for it to thrive in.

Score: 89/100

Crashmo is available now for the 3DS in the eShop for $8.99. The publisher provided GamesBeat with a 3DS eShop download code for the purpose of this review.

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This week in the Nintendo Download: Wii U, Crashmo, and Zelda II

Sam Barsanti — Thu, 22 Nov 2012 17:39:08 +0000

You may be sleeping off a tryptophan-induced coma later, but Nintendo isn’t taking a break from updating its various digital download services. This week, it’s even getting into the Thanksgiving spirit by offering something new for everyone. Well, everyone who owns a 3DS, DSi, Wii, or Wii U at least.

First off is the Wii U, since literally everything on its eShop is new this week. Most of the system’s launch games are available digitally, like ZombiU, New Super Mario Bros. U, and Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed, but you could also download the Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Instant Video, or ESPN Sports Connection apps if you need to entertain any family members that haven’t left yet. Here’s the full list of Wii U eShop items:

Amazon Instant Video
Chasing Aurora
Disney Epic Mickey 2: The Power of Two
ESPN Sports Connection
Hulu Plus
Little Inferno
Mighty Switch Force! Hyper Drive Edition
NBA 2K13
New Super Mario Bros. U
Nintendo Land
Scribblenauts Unlimited
Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed
Trine 2: Director’s Cut
Your Shape: Fitness Evolved 2013
Assassin’s Creed III
Darksiders II
FIFA Soccer 2013
Game Party Champions
Just Dance 4
Madden NFL 2013
Nano Assault NEO
Netflix
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor’s Edge
Rabbids Land
Sing Party
Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Wii U Edition
Warriors Orochi 3
ZombiU

The 3DS is hosting a few new titles as well. The big names this week are Crashmo and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link. The former is the sequel to Pushmo, which our own Jeff Grubb referred to as “the secret best 3DS eShop game,” while the latter is best remembered as one of the few times Nintendo did anything radically different with the Zelda franchise. Both are available now, Crashmo for $8.99 and Zelda II for $4.99. Also new today is 3D Mahjongg, which is pretty self-descriptive, and a new episode of the Meat or Die video series.

The DSi brings a pair of new titles this week as well, though they’re technically just different versions of the same one: Spirit Hunters Inc., which comes in Light and Shadow variants, is a Pokémon-style augmented-reality game in which you capture and battle hidden spirits. Both types have a few exclusive monsters that you can’t find in the other, so you could buy both if you’re a completionist, but keep in mind that they are $7.99 each.

Finally, the Wii refuses to die, as yet another old SNK game comes to the Virtual Console. This week, it’s a Neo Geo fighter called Ninja Master’s, which includes an oddly placed apostrophe and a special move called the “Super Death Blow,” which sounds awesome.

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GamesBeat weekly roundup: Cliff Bleszinski, Skylanders Giants, and alleged racism at Kixeye

Jasmine Maleficent Rea — Fri, 05 Oct 2012 17:30:02 +0000

If you follow VentureBeat but don’t regularly check our GamesBeat site, here’s a list of the best video game stories we ran over the last seven days that you may have missed.

This week, Cliff Bleszinski leaves Epic Games, online developer Kixeye comes under fire after a former employee blogs about alleged racism in the workplace, and Zynga pre-announces weak third quarter earnings.

You’ll also find reviews for Resident Evil 6, FIFA 13, and Bad Piggies, as well was previews for Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, Skylanders Giants, and Medal of Honor: Warfighter.

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Mists of Pandaria sales fall short of previous two World of Warcraft expansions

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The 3DS eShop’s best game, Pushmo, gets a sequel in Crashmo

Jeffrey Grubb — Thu, 04 Oct 2012 19:26:36 +0000

First-party Nintendo developer Intelligent Systems unleashed Pushmo, the secret best 3DS eShop game, in December 2011. Now the devilish little puzzler is getting a sequel.

Crashmo should hit your 3DS’s digital-download service on Nov. 22, and it won’t just be a “Pushmo 2.” In Pushmo, players save village children by pushing and pulling blocks to ascend a structure. Crashmo features new gravity-based mechanics and new gameplay gadgets like floating blocks.

Of course, Crashmo will also include the beloved puzzle-creation tool that was so popular in the original game. A quick Google Image search for “Pushmo” reveals endless creative puzzles based on other games and popular-culture icons.

Players created all kinds of crazy levels and used the game’s QR-code feature to share them across the web.

Intelligent Systems is the Nintendo team responsible for a number of the publisher’s most critically acclaimed titles. It’s best known for developing the Advance Wars and Fire Emblem franchises across the company’s multiple handheld and home consoles. Nintendo is releasing Paper Mario Sticker Star, the studio’s next role-playing game, on Nov. 11 for the 3DS.

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