Having fun just playin' with my doodle.
If there's one thing I like in the world of gaming, it's value. That's right: maximum bang for your buck. All the current generation consoles have this. Nintendo has its WiiWare, DSiWare, and 3DS eShop; Microsoft has the Xbox Live Arcade and Indie Games arenas; and Sony has it in the form of PlayStation Minis. Who doesn't love paying under five dollars for a video game? I'll tell you who: evildoers! Briefly in 2011, I went on a bit of a shopping spree, picking up a whole bunch of PS Minis for rather low prices, among which was a straddler known as Doodle Fit, a game that appeared to be a simple puzzler, one I'd probably enjoy. And I was right.
The concept of Doodle Fit is extremely simple: every level gives you a specific set of blocks (reminiscent of Tetris blocks), and you have to fit them all nice and neatly within the outline of a shape, leaving no empty space. Basically consider it as a modified jigsaw puzzle. Sounds easy, right? Think again. Though the puzzles provided in each pack (typically bordering a central theme) sometimes boast multiple solutions, it's difficult enough to figure out one, causing the average brain to smoke out the ears. Perhaps my biggest fault was playing this too late at night when my own brain began its shutdown process. Early puzzles within a pack are generally quite easy, but as you progress through the puzzles, their complexity suddenly hits you like a freight train. As you advance, the number of available pieces can even exceed the screen width, so that's even more to keep track of. Luckily, as you progress, you can build up a bank of free hints, usable at any time but are limited in number (plus you can only reveal up to half of the solution of any given puzzle), so you're not completely left in the dark on those tough ones.
Now here's the challenge: where does that last piece go?
For most puzzle games, the graphics are functional -- the focus is narrowed almost entirely on gameplay -- and Doodle Fit is no exception. The overall style of the background and the patterns on the individual playing pieces, however, changes based on the specific puzzle pack at play, which is a cute touch. Additionally, because of its "doodle" signification, As for audio, there are only two songs in the entire game, one of which plays for about 90% of the experience and is quite short (the other one being a special track developed solely for the Halloween puzzle pack, included in the standard copy of Doodle Fit). For some reason, the music blips while the game is recording your success on a puzzle. A very minor point, but one that consistently bothered me... slightly.
There are well over 250 puzzles available with multitudes of solutions, and to add to the fun, every pack has its own personality; I was especially moved by the Space theme, which featured such knock-offs as "Matroid" and "I.T.". That's classic. And all this for only 2 bucks; it's practically a steal. If you like tickling your brain in quick interludes on the bus or while watching brides cry while selecting dresses on TV, make the effort to try this one out, playable on both PlayStation 3 and PSP. (And yes, it's also available via DSiWare, iOS, and Android, but they each have their own differences that I have yet to verify.)
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