Xbox 360
Game genres are a double-edged sword in that we now find it so easy to pigeon-hole games. It's got cars in it, so it must be a racing game, or it focuses on lots of gunplay, therefore it must be a shoot-em-up. Titles that transcend these borders often get slotted into the arty, abstract or 'definitely not going to sell over ten thousand unit' category, but these are the titles that get rave reviews and industry awards then fall into obscurity.
Block puzzlers however, are one genre that has tried countless times to re-invent the square. After all, how many times can you match up bricks before it becomes old news? When Tetris first came blipping and blopping it's way out of Russia in 1985, it was incredible to see such a simple concept become so engrossing. Creating rows of monochrome blocks sounds painfully dull on paper, but on the Gameboy, it captivated players in a major way.
Now look at some games available on current-gen systems today. All the aesthetics, special guest script writers, pages of dialogue and flashy cut scenes can't save some truly trite games from mediocrity. Why then does something so low-budget and basic as Tetris and subsequent puzzlers work where expensive cash cows and half-baked titles fail?
Studies conducted by medical specialists Dr. Michael Crane and Dr. Richard Haier, concluded that Tetris can lead to the brain becoming more efficient during play, something now referred to as the 'Tetris Effect'. This is when the game gets so burrowed into your subconscious that the brain continues to perceive those famous shapes long after you have stopped playing.
No, it's not a conspiracy or a clever subliminal marketing ploy on Nintendo's behalf, but it is telling. Next time you sit down to play a block puzzler, take note of how in the zone you get and ask yourself why that is. It's addictive any way you slice it, and gamers are still playing around with Tetraminoes to this day.
However, when you compare puzzlers from the 80's to early 90's with titles today, you can truly appreciate the lengths developers have gone to keep the genre fresh and interesting. Take Tetsuya Mizuguchi's Q Entertainment for example. In 2005, the developer released the superb music-based puzzler Lumines on PSP. The game uses a familiar block format, although this time using clusters of four blocks, each with varying patterns of two colours. The aim is to group together blocks of four of the same colour to proceed.
Relying on a combination of musical arrangements and visual flair, a beat line sweeps across each stage clearing any blocks it passed through. The aim is to build up clusters before the beat line rolls round again, with slower and faster tempos altering the speed of the beat line. It's superbly engrossing stuff, has an incredibly catchy soundtrack and has a great following on XBLA and PSP to this day.
Perhaps a nice spin on this is Ascaron's cult hit Audiosurf. Again, this game transcends genres in a massive way, keeping the block puzzle format fresh. Players load up any MP3 on their PC and the game turns this into a racing track based on the ferocity, pitch and tempo of the tune.
Players control one of several ships, cruising along the sound wave, picking up different colour blocks. These then cascade down to a lower grid and, much like Tetris, must be lined up to score points. It's almost like Klax meets Wipeout and is incredibly mesmerising.
Going one step further and you have the nifty Namco title Mr. Driller, where this time you don't control the blocks themselves, but rather play as a character using the blocks as their playing field. The game sees lead character Susumu Horimust drill his way down through brightly coloured blocks without being crushed by them or running out of air. Again, the game is very simple at its core but has a massive cult following in Japan.
Mr. Driller even harks back to the NES title Wario's Woods where plucky lad Toad must defeat Mario's tubby nemesis by running around stacking up rows of coloured enemies to advance to the next stage. Well worth seeking out on the Wii's Virtual Console store.
Where next for block puzzlers however? Lately, there has been a string of games that move far, far beyond the simple 'line-up rows of similarly coloured blocks to win' template. Yohoho! Puzzle Pirates from developer Three Rings Design is an MMORPG block puzzler with a great following of over 4 million players.
Potential seadogs can join virtual crews and sail the seas in search of booty and the occasional sword fight. Every action is completed by successfully completing a block puzzle game. Sword fighting in particular apes Capcom's highly-successful Super Puzzle Fighter Series, where pint-sized versions of your favourite brawlers duke it out by lining up coloured gems.
Finally, the recent release of Puzzle Quest Galactrix has proved a hit, incorporating all the hallmarks of a great puzzle game, within a deep and engrossing space RPG title. Players can roam the galaxy, mining asteroids for resources, playing the economy, hacking jumpgates and battling with space pirates. You can even level up your ship, enlist new crew members and purchase new upgrades from stores.
As long as developers continue this trend of trans-genre gaming, the block puzzler will never die. Perhaps it is the simplicity of titles such as Tetris and Columns that make them so easy to build upon with other elements such as fighting or role-playing systems. This all makes perfect sense of course; start with the core puzzle dynamic then branch it out with loads of extra features. Simple, entertaining and absolutely timeless. Who said it wasn't hip to be square?