[Review] Cubixx HD (PS3)

What does HD mean now? It seems like that term is thrown around more even often than "recession," especially when I see HD in super markets. Though you think that HD might have more significance in the technological world of video games, but that clearly has not been the case. Usually all iPad games are given the term HD to distinguish them from their iPhone counterparts even though the iPhone has a better screen resolution. But I digress. Usually when I get a game that has the lovely branding of "HD," my first thought is to shrug it off. Now enter Cubixx HD. What can this game possibly have to justify the now cliche term of HD? Certainly nothing "high definition" as the acronym would originally imply, but it does bring some new gameplay elements that would merit the title some justification.

Cubixx HD is a reimagined form of the classic arcade game Qix. Though I'm not familiar with the original rendition of the game, I sure did play a similar game on my black and white pre-Sony Ericsson back in 2001. If you are not familiar with the basic premise, you control a dot that travels on along the lines a rectangle, where your enemy resides. As long as you stay on the lines, you're safe, but the objective is to enclose your enemy and capture a specified amount of the surface area. This may sound simple, but the challenge is that while you cross the surface, you are vulnerable and only are safe once you reach to the perimeter. This is how the primitive Qix played back in 1981 in arcades or on my equally primitive cell phone. To update the formula, Cubixx HD first transforms the environment to a cube rather than a square, with a different enemy on each of the six surfaces called...are you ready for this? Cubixx.

Tuning this game for a three dimensional environment really adds to the complexity of the gameplay. For one, you have to beware of surfaces that you can't even see the majority of the time. As you advance, the gameplay gets trickier with the introduction of other enemies. The first being mini-cubixx. Unlike the big daddy cubixx, mini-cubixx can be killed if you trap them. Line chasers are similar to your character because they travel on the edges as well but cannot travel on the surface of the cube. Their counterparts are the fuses, who can only travel on the create lines on the surface until it is completed and reaches the edge. With these four different enemies, the cube is already a delicate battlefield that'll have you second guessing your every move. But of course it doesn't stop there. As you continue to advance through the levels, other than the enemies getting faster, there are still more enemies to be introduced. Homers travel above the cube and do not actually kill you, but slow your movement; at times, there can be multiple homers targeting you at once. Certain levels are also plagued by asteroids. Targets appear on the cube and you must try to avoid them. Finally, there's the black hole enemy. Like homers, this also doesn't do direct damage but does affect your speed by either slowing you down or speeding you up by sucking you in depending on the direction that you are traveling. Also, making you the first thing that can successfully travel faster than the speed of light!

On the other side Cubixx HD also offers power ups on the surface of the cube that you earn by capturing the area around it. Power ups vary from: freeze, speed up, shield, extra life, kill, fast forward, slow down, etc. All of these are pretty self explanatory. As you can see, this isn't your average puzzle game. On top of all this, the game also provides six different game modes: Arcade, Time Attack, Score Attack, Line Attack, Challenges, and Death Match. Though I appreciate the variety in the game modes, that many is almost excessive because the differences in the modes is not enough to warrant its existence. Because of that the best modes are Line Attack, Challenges, and Death Match. What is even better is that all of these modes (except challenges) offers up to seven person co-op or versus multiplayer.

Cubixx HD is a rich puzzle game packed with gameplay to keep you entertained for hours. At $9.99, it's a steal. Though the 50 levels might seem redundant after extensive play, the difficulty does keep it interesting. For both casual puzzle fans and aficionados, this really is a must buy. If you aren't sure that this is the game for you, check out some free online versions of Qix and see if it tickles your fancy.

Available on: PS3; Publisher: Laughing Jackal; Developer: Laughing Jackal; Players: 1 - 7; Released: September 20, 2011; ESRB: Everyone; Official Site

Note: A promotional code was provided to Denkiphile for review purposes by the publisher.