Picross - Review (Demo)

Picross
Nintendo DS
Rating: E for Everyone (6+)
Price: (MSRP) $19.99

Genre: Puzzle

Synopsis: You're given a blank, square grid and must figure out which squares are filled and which ones are blank by using logic and process of elimination. When you finish the puzzle, it forms a picture! How fun!

Overall: N/A. Only played a bit, so I can't give it an exact breakdown. However, from what I've played, it looks like a solid, fun and addicting game. Perfect for the puzzle addict, and those who enjoyed Brain Age games.

Difficulty: Pretty stinkin' hard, but you can chooose to get hints from the game at the beginning of any puzzle.

Learning curve: About 4-5 of the easier puzzles, so about 30 minutes?

Family Factor: Excellent. Perfectly harmless and fun game. It's a little frustrating at times, but if you take the time to think about the puzzle logically everything works out.


I did some digging around on the Internet, and found that Picross is not at all a new concept. The puzzle, which is also called a nonogram, griddler, Shchor Uftor, Logimage and many other names, has got quite a history (I know no self-respecting journalist should ever link to wikipedia, so here's another picross link that shows how the game works).

This isn't even the first nonogram/griddler/Maľované krížovky/picross puzzle game that has been published for a Nintendo handheld. In 1995, Nintendo created Mario's Picross for the GameBoy (that's right, the regular, old-school, brick-sized GameBoy).

I guess the games industry isn't too far off from the fashion industry... all you have to do is wait 10 years and then people are all, "OMG, look at this awesome new game/style of clothing! How'd they do that?"


Related Games: Polarium (DS), Touchmaster (DS), Brain Age (DS), Lumines (PS2/PSP)
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Play a Picross-like game online!