Trioncube Hands-On

Namco's upcoming Trioncube is a unique puzzler from its Japanese development studio that offers a wacky take on the traditional block-stacking puzzle game. You're cast as the captain of the Penko, a massive penguin-shaped space ship (of course, right?), and are on a mission to save a princess kidnapped by the evil Hell Metal. Your rescue mission sends you across a myriad of dimensions as you race to get to where Monsieur Metal is holding the fair maiden. Why Hell Metal snatched her is a bit of a hazy area, as the above setup plays out in a rather minimalist fashion--namely, as pictures in thought bubbles. We'll just say he's evil, and to maintain his membership in the evil club, he's got to abduct ladies.

So how does this work out in a puzzle game? Excellent question. Like all massive penguin-shaped space craft, the Penko needs fuel to get you where you need to go. As luck would have it, the ship uses the items and energy given off when you make 3x3 cubes. Thankfully, there appears to be ample opportunity to engage in just that kind of puzzle-solving activity as you zip through dimensions. We recently had the chance to try our hand at the quirky puzzler to see how it all works.

You'll find four different modes in the game: story, endless, arcade, and multiplayer. Story plays out the drama mentioned above, while the other modes focus on the puzzle-solving experience. Trioncube's gameplay is deceptively simple; you'll have to make 3x3 squares out of falling blocks. As you create the squares, you can build them up to be bigger and wider. The larger your cube, the more fuel it provides for your ship and the more points it coughs up. When you're unable to continue building on it because of a misplaced block, the cube you've made disappears in a flurry of coins and other objects. The pace picks up considerably as your block grows, and the crux of success lies in balancing risk and reward. It's entirely possible to create a block the size of the playfield. However, if there are too many blocks, you'll lose.

The visuals in the game have a simple charm that leans toward a sparse presentation. The playing field takes the shape of your ship's view screen, which fills with blocks. You'll see some flashy effects as your cube breaks into coins and is absorbed by the Penko. You'll eventually be able to open up new items and backgrounds that all share the same goofy sensibility.

Trioncube's whimsical attitude infuses its audio, which serves up bouncy tunes and bouncy sound effects. The sound in the game is punctuated with clean, albeit awesomely random, voice samples, which go with the various backgrounds and item themes. For example, you'll hear "good morning" when your cube brakes on one background, which, while a bit off, suits the action.

Based on what we played, Trioncube is a quirky puzzler that's got a good amount of addictive qualities. We're anxious to see what the multiplayer will shape up to be, but the core mechanics seem like they'll lend themselves to a fun multiplayer experience. Still, anyone who's a fan of puzzle games will want to keep an eye out for Trioncube when it hits the Nintendo DS in February of next year.