Agetec's Puzzle Guzzle tries to rejuvenate the familiar screen-based mind-bender that's been popular ever since Tetris invaded our screens, block-by-block, in the 1980's. The catch here is that instead of fitting blocks together, you use diagonal lines in angular shapes to create enclosed areas - which, when sealed off, disappear and are registered as points.
Of course, bigger shapes yield larger scores - and the ability to rotate the blocks, as ever, introduces a bit more freedom into your creations. The sides of the rectangular game area are serrated, and can be incorporated into your shapes, helpfully.
The gameplay, like the best puzzle titles, is refreshingly simplistic - ten minutes or less with Puzzle Guzzle will see you crafting simple shapes; grasping the concept is almost instantaneous. The visuals follow suit - prizing cute, simplistic imagery over fancy graphics.
A variety of game modes do their best to eke some longevity out of the simple concept. The basic single player game has no time limit or AI-controlled enemies, and so is the ideal place to practice your moves and become more proficient. Drop Puzzle mode is basically Tetris - blocks fall from the ceiling and need to be cleared. The comically-named Stuffit Puzzle keeps the board constantly rammed with pieces, requiring you to clear the screen in a limited time; and Quiz Puzzle tasks you with clearing pre-selected blocks in a pre-set number of turns.
All of these modes can be played alone or against an enemy foe, and their AI is generally decent - not that it had to be particularly complicated anyway. It's a good way of extending the game's life, while adding another degree of challenge when you know there's someone else to beat. One charming addition is what happens when you beat an enemy: you can choose a physical feature from their mascot, and attach is to yours. It's a bit like the bastard love-child of Mr. Potato Head and Pokémon.
Puzzle Guzzle is a relatively entertaining experience, but it's not without flaws. The game's aesthetic elements aren't particularly strong, and the gameplay just can't match up with the pace and near-flawless design of classic PSP titles like Lumines. Still, puzzle fans will certainly get some enjoyment out of Puzzle Guzzle.
I'm a 21 year old student of Creative Writing & English. I live in Wales and I graduate in a few months, so i'll be heading from the street on the seafront with the castle at one end to a house in a housing estate in an anonymous town with a good football team. I've been playing video games since I got a megadrive (with Sonic 1 and Road Rash, both classics!) when I was 4. I love games of every genre, but if I had to pick any preferences I'd have strategy, action, sports and simulation. I'm aspiring to be a journalist when I graduate - hopefully within games or music - but I'm well aware that this probably isn't going to go to plan, so I'm keeping an open mind for now.
