Echochrome Updated Hands-On

Echochrome is the upcoming mind-breaking puzzle game from Sony that is like playing an M.C. Escher painting. The unique and stylish puzzle game has been in our sights since we first saw it at last year's E3 Media & Business Summit. Although we've had the chance to try out various demos of the game in the months that have followed, we haven't had a chance to get our hands on the whole game. Fortunately, hot on the heels of the game's recent Japanese release, Sony let us try out a work-in-progress version of the US game.

The game's core concept has you solve puzzles by leading a mannequin-like figure through different areas and collecting items called echos. To do this, you'll have to manipulate the game camera to cause your viewing angle to create paths or obscure obstacles and let your character through. Your mannequin's journey is a surprisingly complicated and nuanced one in light of all the crazy perspective changing and careful positioning of your view.

This may all sound pretty simple, but Echochrome's various modes get a lot of mileage out of the concept. The Freeform mode picks eight puzzles at random and challenges you to get through them. Atellier mode lays out the 56 premade puzzles in the game (the specific puzzles will differ between the PlayStation 3 and PSP) in seven groups of eight puzzles. Each puzzle group is given a letter from A to G that reflects the difficulty, with A representing the easiest puzzles and G representing the ones that will break your mind.

Echochrome will also feature a Canvas mode in which you can design your own levels using a very user-friendly editor that lets you create one from scratch or use one of the 56 premade puzzles as a starting template to trick out. The Portfolio mode houses the various puzzles that you've created or traded with friends. Due to the obvious disparities in processing power and memory, the PS3 will allow for larger, more intricate puzzles to be created, whereas the PSP's puzzles will be a bit smaller. The PS3 will also feature a more robust sharing feature than its portable cousin. On the PS3, you'll be able to create your own puzzles and send them to friends as well as post them to the Echochrome site, where the development team will review them and handpick the coolest ones to share with fans. The PSP will be able to share maps with other players only via ad hoc sharing.

In spending more time with the game, we have to say that we really like the out-of-the-box thinking that the puzzle-solving requires. The challenge is pretty rugged at first but, if you get into the game's bizarre yet refreshingly consistent logic, you'll find it to be very cool. Fans of conventional puzzle games may have a hard time with Echochrome, but we feel that there's a lot of appeal to be discovered here. The level editor is especially cool because it's easy to use and lets you make some stuff that's even crazier than what you played through. The simple control is easy to pick up, and the addition of Sixaxis support on the PS3 is interesting, although we're not totally sold on it yet. The other bit of good PS3 news? Rumble support for when the Dual Shock 3 hits.

Echochrome isn't pushing the hardware of either system too hard on the graphics or audio front, but the game offers a cool, consistent experience of sights and sounds. The visuals in the game are clean on both platforms, with the PS3 having a considerable leg up in terms of clarity. The simple art style scales nicely on both systems. There's a bit of aliasing on the PSP right now, which makes properly lining up elements in the background a little challenging, but aside from the resolution, the games are looking identical. Frame rate is smooth on both versions of the game, which helps when solving puzzles. Audio in the game is mellow and leans toward a whole lot of violins. Odd as that seems, it works well.

Based on what we played, Echochrome looks like it's living up to its promise and then some on both platforms. The game's offering of challenging puzzles is meaty, and the ability to create your own and share them with friends should give it some longevity. If you're looking for a unique puzzle game for your PS3 or PSP, then you'll want to keep an eye out for Echochrome when it ships in early May for both platforms. Look for more on the game in the coming months.