Ive got
Denki fever. No, not the deadly Carribbean virus dengue fever,
but similarly there seems to be no immunization for this disease. This
is Denki fever, caused by repeated, uncontrollable playing of Majescos
latest Game Boy Advance puzzle game, Denki Blocks. It seems like such an
ordinary game, what with its brightly colored box art and friendly
presentation, but it is actually an insidious device designed to take
over your life and wear down your batteries. Puzzle game fans should run
out and buy Denki Blocks before reading any more of this review youll
be glad you got the head start. For the rest of you, we may continue.
Denki Island
is a land of puzzles. All of the inhabitants play and create puzzles.
All of the inhabitants are also cute little critters and beings rendered
in a likeable cartoony style. It is up to you to roll into Denki Island
and take out all of these puzzle loving suckers. Of course, you dont
use a gun or violence to do this you must beat them at their own
games, which is pretty tough.
Featuring
over 270 puzzles, Denki Blocks will keep you busy for quite awhile.
Theres a plethora of different modes including Workout, Tournament,
Perfecto, Special Puzzles, Battle, and more. These modes are pretty self
explanatory. Workout allows you to practice your skills; Tournament is
the main single-player mode where you try to beat the residents of Denki
Island at their own game. Perfecto and Special Puzzles are solo modes
where you get to either perfect your technique of solving certain
puzzles or try out super tough and tricky puzzles. Multiplayer modes
like Battle and Race are pretty obvious, too. These are not easy puzzles
the difficulty ranges from way simple to incredibly, mind blowingly,
keep you up all night long difficult. Needless to say, youll be here
for awhile if you want to clear out Denki Blocks.
So what are
these puzzles like? Well, like any good puzzle game, the explanation
sounds really complicated, but the execution is very natural. The
Training mode in Denki Blocks is exceptional, and definitely a must-try
for new Denki initiates. Basically, you are presented with a grid. On
this grid are different colored blocks. You slide around the blocks to
connect blocks of the same color together. This activity is complicated
by unmovable blockers, specialty blocks that can change color and what
not, and various goals such as creating different shapes. Your execution
of the puzzles is timed and ranked, and youll be surprised at how
compelling it is to retry a puzzle for a better ranking once youve
figured it out.
Like I
said, a written explanation just cant do this game justice. Everyone
talks about how a Tetris took over their life at some point in time, and
I definitely believe that Denki Blocks has the potential for that kind
of success. Puzzle games are tough because they must be simple enough to
grasp, but robust enough to keep you coming back. Often, puzzle games
suffer from repetition or a flawed main concept. Denki Blocks succeeds
in both of these areas and offers us another wonderful gameplaying
experience. Puzzle fans should definitely make Denki Blocks a purchase.
And all other GBA owners should at least give it a spin. It might just
take over your life.