Puyo Pop Fever E3 2004 Preshow Impressions

Though Sega and Sonic Team's latest addition to the Puyo Puyo series of puzzle games, Puyo Pop Fever, was released late last year for all three current-console platforms (as well as for the Dreamcast, incidentally), for the game's upcoming US release, only the GameCube version will be making the trip stateside. Fortunately, Sega will have the game on display at its booth this week at E3 2004.

Though Puyo Pop Fever will retain much of the same style and flavor of other recent entries in the series--requiring you to line up a series of colored blobs to make them pop--the game will contain multiple new elements, not the least of which is a brand-new "fever" mode. The fever mode is triggered by a meter that fills up over time and, once unleashed, provides some bizarre visual effects onscreen and also speeds up the game's action. Multiple new puzzle piece-types will be included in the game, like triple and quadruple sets, along with a giant Puyo. Thirteen new characters will also be introduced in the game, as well as a new story mode where you will play as Amitie. Additionally, up to two players can engage in combat with each other in the game's multiplayer mode.

Puyo Pop Fever is currently on track for a June release. We will have more coverage of the game soon.