Echochrome Review

I don't usually play too many puzzle games, but when I downloaded the demo for Sony's new puzzler, Echochrome on the psp, I was hooked. The game drops you into an M.C. Escher type of puzzle making you walk around and collect "echoes" of other figures in the environment.

You must manipulate the world around you by turning the camera to change the perspective of the puzzle. You may be on a low platform all by itself, and you have to get to a higher platform above you, but they are not connected. Simply rotate the camera vertically and horizontally until it looks, to you, like both platforms are on the same plane. Once that is accomplished your character will simply walk from one to the other. However the puzzle looks to you, from your angle, is how your character will walk about it. There may be a hole in the floor that you need to get around. Just swing the camera around and make it looks like another piece of the level is blocking that hole, so you can't see it. Your character will act like the hole is not there and walk right over it. It's concepts like this that make Echochrome very enjoyable, and very unique.

The game is downloadable both on PSP and PS3, each with their own set of 56 levels. Every level is open to you from the start, you don't have to unlock anything. This is helpful when one puzzle seems too frustrating and you just want to skip to the next. Along with progressing through each puzzle is a level creator. You can modify any of the 56 puzzles in the game, or just create your own from scratch. Sony will make a new user created puzzle available for download each week.

Echochrome: 8/10

Echochrome is a unique puzzle game that really makes you think about perspective. If you don't want your character to hit that launch pad in front of him, just make it appear as if it's not even there. If takes a few tries to fully understand the concepts of the game, and that whatever you can see is what's going to happen. Once you get the hang of it, the game can be very rewarding. Often times you character will get launched off of the puzzle, by swinging the camera around 360 degrees you can catch him on the other side. Because the game takes place on a white background, there is no sense of depth. Once he is off the screen on one side, just swing the camera and you'll see him still falling. It is possible for him to fall and be gone, causing him to re appear on the puzzle, but it is very fun to think you've lost him only to whip the camera around and catch him on the exact section of the puzzle you needed him to be.

Labels: Reviews, Sony