TGS '07: Mawaskes Hands-On

One of the games that Irem was showing off at its TGS booth this year was Mawaskes, "Based on Canton-Kun," if that means anything to you. This engaging and simple PSP puzzle fighter is an odd kind of Tetris-y game where you rotate the blocks that fall after they hit the bottom of your screen.

Each block in Mawaskes is the same size, but each one will have a different shape imprinted on it. Most blocks will have anywhere from one to three of its sides open for linking; your goal is to make an enclosed shape by rotating blocks around so that the outline of the shape is linked all the way around. It's somewhat difficult to explain in words, and it even takes a bit of time to get used to when you play, but after a bit of playing around with it, you can get the hang of it. While there are only three shapes to work with, you're not limited in the size of the shapes that you can make, so if you have the time to do so, you can make a huge shape the size of your entire playing field.

Of course, you're rarely going to have much time to custom-make your shapes, as most of the game modes will constantly rain blocks down onto your pile. In addition, there are a number of versus modes available, such as the classic battle mode against another player (or the computer) where the blocks you create are sent to your opponent's side of the screen. These show up as skulls, which cannot be made part of shapes, but if you do manage to make a shape that borders a skull, it'll disappear.

Other multiplayer games include a unique mode where both players attempt to manipulate the same playing field, with the objective of being the player who manages to make the most and biggest shapes. Since you both manipulate the same shapes, though, you won't want to try to formulate elaborate shapes, as your opponent may disrupt you by flipping around blocks and stealing your own shapes away from you before you can complete them.

Although Mawaskes is difficult to describe, it's not so difficult to figure out after getting your hands on it. The game is apparently already out in Japan, but it's not clear if it'll be getting an overseas release; there certainly isn't much of a language barrier that would prevent it from happening, though. Stay tuned to GameSpot for more details!