Puzzlers are most dependable of the genres. You know that at least a few of the hundreds of re-hashed titles, one will capture imaginations and feel entirely original. Despite being the vaguest genre in our awards, they turned out surprisingly competitive. Here’s our picks for 2009.
I first came across Peggle a few months prior to the XBLA release and I was thoroughly hooked. My girlfriend took one look at it and bought it herself, resulting in her Dad buying it that same night. The premise is simple, clear 25 orange pegs from a board of blue pegs by shooting a ball down through the level. Combine this with brilliant level design, an addictive scoring system and ten special abilities then you have the puzzle equivalent of WoW.
Everyone has a favourite power up with mine being magic hat – when you hit two greens in one shot and get a magic hat ghost-ball, well, it’s something special. The XBLA version is a brilliant port that only suffers slightly from the lack of mouse control. However it makes up for this thanks to the online/offline multiplayer and the leaderboards.
Peg Party is perfect for a comedown after a hard nights slog on Halo and a competent enough game mode to even steal your attention from the bigger titles. Four players play on their own boards to set the biggest scores, the real plus point is being able to watch your opponents shots and even get featured as shot of the match. If you have managed to avoid Peggle thus far then well done, but get yourself out there and buy it, it is just that damn good.
Peggle
Shatter
Block-breaking at its best. Physics, interesting levels and boss battles make this the most original take on Breakout in years. What we can’t figure out, is why this hasn’t been made before.
A Boy and His Blob
Granted, it doesn’t look like a puzzler but neither did Braid. While it might not be as poignant as Jonathan Blow’s now classic Arcade release, A Boy and His Blob is just as charming and beautiful.
Boom Blox Bash Party
While it was far from a reinvention of the wheel, Bash Party developed on the foundations laid down in last year’s best puzzle release. However, the art direction is still misleading and that will confine this underrated puzzle game to ‘just another Wii release’.
Eliss
Our favourite iPhone game of 2009 was the artistically wonderful, Eliss. Backed up by a beautiful soundtrack, Eliss used simplistic touch controls that relied on your instincts to figure out specific stages. If you haven’t got this game it’s under £2, you have no excuse.
Stay tuned to Nidzumi all week for more Best of 2009 Awards as we celebrate the past 12 months in gaming
Leave a Reply