Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo

"Good puzzle fun with a fighting twang thrown in - great game !!"

FOREWORD

When I first heard of this game I thought "uh-huh ?" and raised an eyebrow ... the concept of a Tetris-clone that included Streetfighters sounded ... gratuitous ... to me, but fair play I sat down and played the game and found that it's really really addictive !! HELLISHLY bl**dy addictive in fact ... and so here I am, writing this to you now ... read on ...

OVERVIEW AND OBJECTIVE OF THE GAME

Super Puzzle Fighter II: Turbo is, at its most basic level, a "variation" on Tetris. I won't call it a clone, that's unfair. The game has sought to boost the longevity of the regular Tetris-style of game by making it a -versus- style game, including characters from the Capcom fighting world (Street Fighter characters like Chun Li, and Darkstalkers characters like Morrigan). The aim is to destroy as many gems as you can that fall on your side, with greater combinations of gems being destroyed resulting in gems being added to those dropped on your opponent's side.

If your side becomes full from top to bottom of gems ? YOU LOSE !! If the same happens to your opponent ? YOU WIN, and you can move on to the next round !!

Simple, yet HIGHLY addictive ;)

GRAPHICS - 8/10

It's a puzzle game, so it's not designed to have you cacking yourself in awe of the graphics, but those that have been used have obviously had a lot of thought put into them ... from the character selection screen to the special moves your character pulls off to beat the cr@p out of your opponent when you get a good chain of gems going, the game feels smooth and polished ... the graphics are very good, but not earth-shatteringly amazing.

SOUND - 8/10

Good, and clear ... but very cheesy. The music on the character selection screen can get RATHER irritating after your 25th successive defeat *blush*, but the music during the game itself is kinda poppy, and you can get into the groove of the game through it ... all in all the music is well done, with cheesy intervals ;)

CONTROLS - 9/10

Actually REALLY really good ! Using the playstation standard controller you can get to whizzing those gems around and slamming them into each other in NO time, which is how a polished puzzle game SHOULD handle ... very very good I'd say.

PLOT - 0/10

It's a puzzle game ... there is no "plot" to speak of ... at least not one that I've ever become aware of ... but let's face it ... it'd be VERY difficult to weave a plot in around fighting game characters putting down their swords and sidearms to pick up ... gems ? ... and use those gems to ... play ... puzzles against each other ??

GAMEPLAY - 9/10

HELLISHLY ADDICTIVE. WARNING ... DO NOT PLAY FOR PROLONGED PERIODS OR ADDICTION IS HIGHLY LIKELY.

Most puzzle games are addictive, but this has the ADDED feature of you wanting to kick the CR@P out of whoever you're fighting ... so you "play" harder ...

As you break gems on your side, you can drop gems onto your opponent's side, those gems appearing on their side in a pre-set formation depending on your character (e.g. Dan drops all-red gems and so on). This means that depending on the CHARACTER you choose, it can be easier or harder to defeat your opponent.

For example, if Dan drops 30 gems onto your side ? They will ALL be red ... so with ONE red crash gem you can spin them aaaaaaaall back to him ... poor little love. This makes it considerably HARDER to beat the game with Dan than, say, with Morrigan, who's combination of colours when she drops gems onto her opponent is considerably more varied.

The choice of characters, the use of their special moves when you do good combinations, and the satisfaction of not only playing a really good puzzle game, but one where you get to GLOAT when you beat the computer ? Is MOST satisfying ...

REPLAY VALUE - 9/10

Once you've started it's hard to put down ... just like a great puzzle game should be !!

VALUE FOR MONEY - 9/10

Considering it's now available on the cheap, it's WELL worth checking out ... puzzle games challenge the mind, the reflexes and the staying power to the max, and this is no exception - I wholeheartedly recommend it.

OVERALL - 9/10 (This is NOT an average)

This is a very polished, slick, addictive puzzle game that will boast HOURS and hours of gameplay, and is WELL worth looking into ... I for one am certainly very glad that I bought it, and I would expect that most of you will be as well !! :)

MAIN GOOD POINTS

* Good graphics
* Hellishly addictive
* Boasts high replay value and good longevity because of the combination of puzzle and fighter genres.

MAIN BAD POINTS

* Irritating music after a while (thank GOD for the mute button on the character select screen - ESPECIALLY if you forget and leave it playing and go out the room and your mum is left in the same room - she'll do her NUT in five minutes).
* It's a puzzle game, so the SCOPE of the title is limited, but it DOES provide good, enjoyable, mindless fun.

SO SHOULD YOU GET IT ?

Yep, if you find a copy at a reasonable price I can think of NO reason not to recommend this title ... I give it two thumbs up !! :)

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/16/04