I have to admit. I generally do not like puzzle games. They’re enjoyable for a certain amount of time then that’s it. Once you’ve passed that threshold, they become boring and repetitive. You get the jist of the puzzles and you can do all of them. Not Crush3D.
Crush3D isn’t boring. Crush3D isn’t predictable. Crush3D is not easy. And most importantly: Crush3D is fun.
The game starts with a humorous introduction scene between Dr. Doccerson, his best friend Danny, and the sentient computer C.R.U.S.H, which stands for Cognitive Regression Utilising pSychiatric Heuristics. The Doctor constructed C.R.U.S.H to allow people who use this machine to investigate their dreams and their fears. Danny, being the Doc’s best friend, willingly takes the position of Guinea Pig. However, not everything proceeds as planned. C.R.U.S.H. has started to develop her own opinions and feelings and she decides to take the test run to a whole new level, which can only spell trouble for Danny.
Much like the PSP version, the game revolves around moving about the environment, collecting marbles and progressing to the next level. Sounds easy? Think again. You need to manoeuvre Danny through the stages, manipulating the environment to achieve your goals.
What do I mean by manipulating? Initially you start off in a 3D stage, but you discover that Danny can “Crush” which squishes the screen from 3D to 2D. That doesn’t sound too bad, but, you crush in the direction of the camera. This means that you’ve got five different directions in which you can crush and alter the environment. You use the D-pad to change the camera direction, which rotates the view 90 degrees. In addition to being able to rotate the camera around Danny, you can also take a birds-eye view, looking down upon our protagonist. You can also Crush from this angle adding a whole new dimension to gameplay.
Don’t expect to Crush whenever you want – there are rules to Crushing! For instance, if you crush while you stand in front of a brick wall, expect to be pushed off the platform you’re standing on. Fear not; C.R.U.S.H. won’t let you die, you’ll reappear at the last checkpoint completely unharmed! There are many rules which you’ll be introduced to, and all of these rules add a new challenge to the game.
As if that’s not enough, you also need to collect marbles in order to proceed through the game. There are three colours of marbles and each colour is worth a different number of points. A Blue marble is worth one point, a Purple marble is worth three points, and the Red marbles are worth ten points. Blue marbles are dotted about the stage, generally speaking so are the Purple ones, but you need to search in both 3D and 2D to find the Red marbles. The catch? You can only proceed to the next level if you collect half of the total number of points available on the current stage. If character customisation is a must for your gaming, you should aim to collect every marble in the stage, as doing so enables you to unlock a new dressing gown for Danny to wear.
Marbles aren’t the only thing you collect in this game; you also can collect Memories (in the form of a floating photo album) and Trophies (which are… trophy shaped!). There is one Memory and one Trophy to be found in every level, except the tutorial stages, and you need to apply everything you learn to collect them! If you’re like me and you don’t like playing puzzle games, I urge you to try playing Crush3D; it takes puzzle games to a whole new dimension!
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