Review: Crush (PSP)

Crush (PSP) is a novel concept and ingenious puzzle game but can become quite frustrating

For: Clever “crush” mechanic; loads of puzzles; funky art style

Against: Can sometime make your brain hurt; hints are next to useless

Describing Crush is quite difficult. It is a bit like a cross between Marble Blast, Prince of Persia and Bolderdash. You play Danny, an incurable insomniac, who has entered into a trace inducing machine that will repair his damaged brain - …with me so far?

Gamespot described Crush thus: “The levels in Crush generally look like somewhat abstract 3D platforming levels, and your primary objective in every level is to collect a number of Danny's lost marbles, which will then unlock the level exit. Make your way to the exit, and you're on to the next level. As simple as this sounds, you'll quickly find that Danny's basic jumping ability won't be enough to get you very far, even in the very first level, which is where Danny's ability to crush the level comes into play. By tapping L1, you'll effectively flatten all of the level geometry, turning the action from 3D to 2D.”

Sounds simple doesn’t it? But the change from 3D to 2D is very complex. You can flatten the map from any 3D direction (six axis) and some of the landscape blocks don’t flatten. This can make some of the later puzzles exceedingly difficult to fathom. The actual crush mechanic looks really cool, and the “nutty professor” art style, voice acting and presentation are a nice touch.

The designers have provided a “hints” mechanism but, to be honest, the information is so cryptic that it offers little help. On harder maps you are often left taking a trial and error approach to solve the puzzle, which results in high levels of frustration.

The number of puzzles and variety of maps, not to mention the difficulty, provide crush with a decent longevity. The PSP is starting to build up a nice collection of puzzle games of which Crush is a welcome addition. There are rumours of an XBLA version in the near future too.

3/5