Cube: Chip’s Challenge gone square and 3-D

 

Do you remember an old and adorable productivity killer called Chip’s Challenge? That’s what this writer was reminded of when a preview copy of D3Publisher‘s Cube dropped on his lap. Both are maze-based puzzle games wherein the objective is to collect items and navigate hazards to get to a goal. The only difference is, besides Cube‘s blocky theme, is that while Chip’s is flat (as in the playing field, not its presentation and play), Cube goes 3-D.

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Do you remember an old and adorable productivity killer called Chip’s Challenge? That’s what this writer was reminded of when a preview copy of D3Publisher‘s Cube dropped on his lap. Both are maze-based puzzle games wherein the objective is to collect items and navigate hazards to get to a goal. The only difference is, besides Cube‘s blocky theme, is that while Chip’s is flat (as in the playing field, not its presentation and play), Cube goes 3-D.

The maze is a three-dimensional navigation challenge. Solutions are often not “on top” of the playing field, meaning you have to get used to running along walls and “going under.” While the camera can be adjusted to view the field, movement (with the D-pad) can only be done from one perspective, which might confuse some players unable to orient themselves accordingly.

The tied perspective might be the game’s drawback for some, being unable to change the viewpoint at will while moving (it will always reset before you can move). Others may take this as part of the game’s challenge: it really does depend on one’s perspective. The good news here is that there are tutorials and difficulty levels to ease the player into the game. Because of the 3-D navigational nature of the mazes, people not used to the idea may need the hand-holding to get a hang of the puzzles.

Just like Chip’s, Cube‘s world is filled with an assortment of tools and hazards between you and the goal. While Cube doesn’t have Chip‘s‘ medievalectronica bestiary of spiderbots and gooey globs, its bombs and traps and AI killers still demonstrate absolute one-hit lethality to your cube. That they also are scattered around and roam the 3-D space adds to the puzzle-solving challenge.

Cube‘s cubic and iconic presentation is simple, clean, nothing too outstanding, but it gets the job done. The colored themes do add a bit of visual variety, but it’s all still within the Tron-esque, cubical theme of the game. The game’s synth soundtrack suits the presentation as well.

Now not everyone will take to puzzle games, and even in that genre, Cube‘s visual and gameplay minimalism may not make it stand out in the crowd. But it is quite the challenge for those willing to embrace it, and with up to 135 levels of single-player gameplay, plus multiplayer and level creation features, there’s more than enough head-scratching for a barrel of monkeys.

Nostalgia bonus points for reminding me of Chip’s Challenge. Sure, Cube doesn’t have Chip‘s’ adorable quirkiness, but it does have its heart in the right place.