Preview

Crush

By Mr. Marbles
April 09, 2007 13:43 PM PST
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Crush is the latest 2D/3D hybrid for the PSP and one of the handheld's most original games yet.

Highlights:

Unique 2D/3D hybrid gameplay
Opposite of Super Paper Mario, the standard mode of play in Crush is 3D, and switching to 2D makes certain puzzles solvable.
Over 50 unique stages

LocoRoco and Lumines spearheaded the originality campaign on the PSP, but games like Crush are pushing the trend. For a handheld that has so many mediocre console ports, it's so refreshing to see a game that actually does something new.

Guide Dan through complicated puzzles to get the poor guy some sleep.

Crushing the Competition

Crush is a hybrid of 2D and 3D play, and according to developer Kuju, the basic similarities it shares with Super Paper Mario-also a 2D/3D hybrid-are just plain coincidence. The main character, Dan, can't seem to get any shuteye due to some serious psychological demons in his closet. Rather than defer him to professional help, you'll need to guide Dan through a series of puzzles and brainteasers while the poor guy wades in a hypnotic trance.

What makes Crush special is the ability to switch to from the normal 3D world to a side-scrolling 2D one by "crushing" Dan's foot into the ground. The switch in perspective might reveal something useful-like a door or platform-that wasn't viewable from the 3D viewpoint. The first few stages of the game pretty much serve the purpose of getting you familiar with how to use the crush mechanic. From there, the puzzles get progressively harder to the point where you really have to use your noodle to reach the end of a level, of which there will be more than 50.

Crush won't literally crush the DS competition, but it should be another notch in the PSP must-have games list that is only a handful as it is. But ever so slowly, cool games are starting to sneak out onto the PSP and couple that with a substantial price drop, and we might have a handheld system that's actually desirable to the handheld audience.