For those of us day-one 3DS owners especially, the build up to a solid library of games for the system hasn't been a particularly fast one. That said, we are getting there.
Despite Nintendo's comparatively lacking push for digital distribution in the past, I feel hopeful for what's to come with the eShop. Between Mighty Switch Force, VVVVVV, and Pushmo (Pullblox in Europe), there's reason to not only be optimistic on this front, but for the 3DS more generally.
Pushmo (3DS) Developer: Intelligent Systems Publisher: Nintendo Released: December 8, 2011 MSRP: $6.99
In Pushmo, you play an adorably plump character who likely moonlights as a sumo wrestler. Fitting, considering the whimsical world in which you inhabit. The neighborhood kids have gotten themselves trapped in vast climbing walls called Pushmo, and seemingly no one else is a bad enough dude to save them.
The concept of pulling and pushing blocks never seemed particularly complex, but that didn't stop the creators of Pushmo from making a laughably long set of tutorial levels. It's an unfortunate introduction to an otherwise great puzzle-platform game. You'll thank me later for sparing you the basic mechanics. Just know that blocks can come forward a maximum of three steps, and there are multiple ways to manipulate them.
While the pacing may not be quite right initially, the challenge builds steadily over hundreds of puzzles. And when a level is too tough to face on your first attempt, you're eventually allowed to skip it, making sure you aren't locked out of later content. Considering how easy it is to convince yourself to solve a challenge a certain way (i.e., the wrong way), this gesture was greatly appreciated.
As level designs grow to increasingly ambitious heights, you come to realize how bad Pushmo could have turned out with less-than-terrific platforming. It feels, well, right. Better yet, you automatically stick to edges that are high up, and even if you do make a mistake, you can rewind time a good 25 seconds. This has the added benefit of allowing you to experiment without having to fully restart a level.
Whereas I found Super Mario 3D Landto be a game that was made better with 3D turned on but didn't demand it, Pushmo goes a step further. Here, the tech is useful enough to feel like a requirement. Yes, you can play without 3D, but you won't be doing yourself any favors.
A good portion of the levels are murals, and some are even NES sprites. At first, this seems like a good idea -- unfortunately, though, the approach ends up being largely uninteresting. Generally speaking, the challenge levels favor smart puzzles over aesthetics. Completing murals, on the other hand, rarely results in a feeling of true accomplishment; the steps to victory can often come across as mindless.
As stated before, Pushmo can be quite lengthy. There are approximately 250 levels packed in here. Some will be completed in under thirty seconds, others ... let's not go there.
Even though you are eventually given access to two new mechanics -- color-coded ladders which act as portals, and buttons that send blocks of a certain color all the way toward the screen -- it's not enough. Either more game-changers should have been included, or there should not have been so many levels. Pushmo isn't a full-priced 3DS game, mind you, so I am willing to cut slack.
This also ties into Pushmo Studio, the game's level editor. The creation tools provided are highly intuitive, which is, of course, great. I am somewhat worried that, for the time being, the majority of user-created levels are merely going to be replicas of beloved videogame characters. As I noted before, these frequently end up being less engaging to play through.
It's disappointing, if predictable, that Intelligent Systems didn't incorporate any sort of voting system or easy access to fan submissions within Pushmo itself. Instead, a QR code is generated for each level which can then be transferred off of your SD card and shared using a computer. Moochers, however, will be pleased to know that getting others' creations into their game is quick and easy.
Although the push/pull mechanic of Pushmo is powerful enough to seep into your daydreams (see: the Tetris effect), I didn't find it to be sustainable across a game of this length. Don't go in expecting a deep experience, but do go in -- this is still a must download.
Pushmo is not remarkable enough to justify a 3DS purchase on its own, but it is certainly another in a growing group to chip away at apathetic feelings toward the system.
THE VERDICT
8.5 /10
Great: Impressive efforts with a few noticeable problems holding it back. Won't astound everyone, but is worth your time and cash. Check out more reviews or the Destructoid score guide.
8.5!? Jim Sterling, you are such a fa... Oh wait. Hi, Jordan.
I find the murals quite fun even if sometimes are less challenging. Pulling at the parts of a blocky T-Rex, then jumping all over it, is oddly satisfying and entertaining.
This game is great, those later stages are tough. I've been stumped on one of the levels for a while. It would have been cool if this had included a community posting feature where we voted on the best pusmo's like you said, but I prefer the QR codes. Sharing codes through forums is fun and makes weekly community Pushmo design contest easy to host and participate in. Also it makes things like the Daily Pusmo Twitter possible. It's also nice that my designs won't get completely lost in a sea of better stuff as I can just post a QR code and have some online friends play my stages.
This game is probably the best use of 3D so far, because like you said the game is actually a little more difficult to play.
I share the same feelings you have towards murals. At first I thought they were great, but then after I played a couple they felt mindless. Though their are a few murals that are really challenging and those are awesome.
It's a cute and fun little puzzle game, but not much more. Not sure I understand why people try to treat Pushmo like some amazing otherworldly title, but to each their own.
Pleased to hear the game gets better after the tutorial. Between the 3D eyestrain and the long, unskippable dialogue scenes (which are admittedly pretty charming despite that), I had to shut Pushmo off before I got to the content that presumably justified IGN's 9.5. I'm also pleased to hear that the levels get much larger. I bought the game on the strength of that review, and I had to check the score again and reread the text just to be sure the we were playing the same game. But if it gets better later, I'll give it another chance.
Much as I love Nintendo, their tutorials really have gotten unbearably long over the years, haven't they? I understand that they think it's important for kids to understand how to do stuff in their games, and the tutorials do tend to be pretty charming, but I was struck dumb by the time I spent watching Pushmo instead of playing it. I think there are like three stages set aside to introduce each concept, right? Each of which has a crawlingly slow cutscene attached? It made me want to scream "GUYS, I FUCKING GOT IT!" directly in Sakurai or Miyamoto or whoever's face. It was particularly aggravating when I had already figured out and used whatever amazing technique Old Puzzle Dude was trying to tell me.
Even the Mario Galaxy games have this problem, but at least you're usually doing something new that requires an explanation in them. Pushmo's concept is fairly self-explanatory, and it's not like you need to learn complex controls. Mario 3D Land has nary a text box in sight, and it's far more complex than Pushmo! And both games are for the same target audience! It is baffling.
I do see what you mean about the controls, though, and I thought it was actually fun when I got to play it. I'll give it another shot soon.
@Flint
For $7, it's a steal. You get a ton of content, and the premise, while simple, is extremely easy to pick up/put down (like a puzzle game should be). The level creator is the cherry on top.
On a side note - if you've tried the game out, stick with it. The tutorial is mind numbingly boring but the puzzles quickly get mind numbingly difficult.
@DJSima
PixelJunk Monsters honestly did it for one of my friends :p
For some, Radiant Silvergun XBLA.
I've done worse back in the day in terms of spending money on a few games than you can do now; buying a $150 used Xbox for an XBLA game. As Dale mentioned in the Sonic CD thread, it was a LOT harder to get rare games back then. We're crazy folk.
I originally bought a PSP for PJ Monsters as well, and as someone who owns probably 100+ XBLA games, you could easily make an argument there. I know people who bought the console for Shadow Complex.
Who gives a fuck? You obviously understood what it meant if you were able to correct it. This isn't English class, it's the comment section on a videogame blog. If you can at least understand what someone is saying, you shouldn't waste your time complaining. Jimmyx/Jimboxxx is someone you should complain to about grammar. His posts are very ADDICTING.
If you were to grab me by the ear and force me to come up with 5 nominees for my GOTY, Pushmo would be one of them. Incredibly fun game with an astounding amount of content. And that says nothing about the UGC which is endless. There are already tons of AMAZING puzzles to be scanned on the Internets.
By the way, the review sort-of implied that to get the QR codes out of your 3DS you have to remove the SD card and then dump them onto your computer -- not so. It's a relatively painless process to simply upload them to an image hosting site from the 3DS web browser. I've been using imgur and it works splendidly. Just a heads-up for future Pushmo-ers!
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very impressive efforts in their *genre* with a few noticeable problems holding them back. Won't astound the most discerning players, but is worth everyone's time and cash.
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I find the murals quite fun even if sometimes are less challenging. Pulling at the parts of a blocky T-Rex, then jumping all over it, is oddly satisfying and entertaining.
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