Rubik’s Puzzle Galaxy: RUSH (WiiWare)
The Wii is a puzzle game magnet, mainly because of the wonderful range of interface options; especially the pointer which makes for a nice mouse analogue. This was originally one of several puzzle games included in the disc release Rubik’s Puzzle Galaxy, however Two Tribes have wisely decided to enhance each of the offerings from that title and release them separately on WiiWare (do doubt to compensate for the lack of exposure afforded to niche releases on crowded Wii shelves).
In RUSH individual Rubik’s cube bits spawn from designated areas on a floating structure with the object being to guide them to exit portals elsewhere lest they roll off into space or hit each other. There are a variety of tools available to redirect the cubes on their journey and dozens of puzzles grouped according to difficulty.
The presentation is excellent with crisp, minimalist visuals and an engaging electronic soundtrack. The controls are centred around the remote pointer. You simply click on the tools with A and then move the pointer around the platform to place them as you see fit. You can click B to remove tools if you change your mind about placement and clicking A and B together will “grab” the platform, allowing you to change the camera angle as you see fit by holding the buttons and moving the pointer around.
As a nice bonus there’s a virtual Rubik’s Cube you can manipulate with the remote using button press and motion and a tutorial on how to solve it (my old method of taking it apart worked pretty well, but it’s cool that there’s a way to do it “for reals”).
A great package and well worth picking up for fans of puzzle games, cheers guys!