Rubik's World Preview
Who has not played with a Rubik's cube in their life? The attractive colors and the challenge of trying to solve the popular puzzle game has brought joy and frustration to many generations since its invention in 1973. Thanks to the folks over at The Game Factory and Two Tribes, the popular puzzle has been digitized and brought to life on the Nintendo DS, along with an array of mini-games involving the individual blocks of the cube called "Cubies".
The main game is a simulator that allows you to try to solve the Rubik's cube puzzle. There are various modes you can select from in the simulator, including one where you are given a series of hints that will guide you in your attempt to solve the cube. The hints are similar to a book that I had in my childhood that outlined a similar set of hints on how to beat the puzzle. The simulator allows you to view the cube from an array of angles and with a flick of your stylus you can move a row of cubes any legal way you want. There are a couple of mini-games within this section also. You are given a solved cube and you need to match the unsolved version they have presented on the screen. If you need more or less of a challenge, you can attempt larger (4x4x4) or smaller (2x2x2) cubes instead of instead of the standard 3x3x3.
There are 7 mini-games that you can play outside of the main game which deals with the aforementioned Cubies. Each mini-game has a brief help section that explains how the game will work before you attempt it. I would recommend that you spend a moment to review these as some of the games are not self-explanatory. Here a list of games offerings that are included:
Overall these mini-games were quiet enjoyable and I recommend you try each of them out on the medium level as you will grow bored quickly on the easy level.
The controls were a bit shaky when I was trying to move the cubes by fingers alone so I was forced to move over to the stylus to a gain better sense of control. Being the first game I have used the stylus on that I can remember, I felt the stylus itself was a bit smaller then what I would have preferred it to be. This did not cause me any problems during gameplay though after I got used to it but I hope the stylus controls are cleaned up a bit when the final release of the game comes out.
During the Rubik's puzzle cube solving, I turned the music off. I need to concentrate when I am trying to solve a puzzle. For the rest of the mini-games, however, I left the music on. The music was of a snappy set of tunes which added an extra dimension to the game.
Since the game is based on the Rubik's cube, famous for being a rather bland cube of six different colors, don't expect thrilling, amazing graphics. If you've seen a Rubik's cube, you should have a good idea of what you would expect to see on the screen.
Instead of having to carry around the bulky Rubik's cube, you are now given the opportunity to enjoy the challenge of the cube on your Nintendo DS. The variety of mini-games that are included on the cartridge give some variety to people who might get frustrated with trying to solve the cube itself and add a dimension of fun that you might not have expected.
