Games

Pullblox
Starting another new game?! Yeah, well, I considered playing something I already had underway, but this was what I fancied. Also, I’d intended to make it my next 3DS game before Pilotwings nabbed my attention, so fair’s fair. According to Metacritic it's the 6th best game on the 3DS (listed as Pushmo, there because that was the title in the US), behind only a couple of Zeldas, Fire Emblem: Awakening, Shovel Knight, and a 3D Mario — all of which I also own, but this sounded the most pick-up-and-play friendly, as it's a cute puzzle game with platforming elements.

And it's a lot of fun! The gameplay — which is based around pulling boxes in and out to create levels to jump up — works fantastically in 3D. I'm sure it would be playable in 2D, but it really works with the added sense of depth. I spent half-an-hour on it initally and got through the 18 training puzzles and first half-dozen Level 1 puzzles, then went back later for another 40 minutes and did the remaining dozen Level 1s. I can see how it would be great to just quickly do a puzzle or two — especially as they do get trickier, and sometimes involve more precise platforming skills — but it's also fun to play for a little while and get through a few. Once the hand-holding introduction is done, it's lightly challenging without being stressful... although, as I say, sometimes the platforming is a little tricker. I hope it doesn't get too bad, because precision platforming isn't really my thing.