Cublast HD

Review

Platformer is a genre of game that I really like to play. I also like games that are set in space. On top of that if there are puzzles that I must figure out as fast as I can, there is no doubt in my mind, I am going to have a blast!  And I guess you will too, when you play Cublast HD!

Cublast HD is a platformer game where you take control of a blue sphere and your goal is to collect all blast point cubes and get to the finish cube as fast as you can.

Cublast HD offers several modes of play; you can play in a single player mode (which has a total of 80 levels divided into 8 stages), the co-op mode (which has 30 levels within 3 stages), and a versus mode (which is basically playing with an online opponent). Personally, I could not test the versus mode since I could not connect to the online server. What gives Cublast HD great replay-ability is the Level editor where you can create your own levels, or play levels that other players have created for you to enjoy. Great stuff, I must say!

At the time of writing this review, I have played 3 of the 8 stages available in the single player, and the rest of the time I’ve been trying to create interesting levels with the level editor (I was not as creative as I thought I was)!

The game play and mechanisms are simple and each of the levels is progressively harder. The levels consist of cubes attached to each other to create a platform. What you have to do is to get your blue sphere to the finish point, which is a cube with a triangle indentation, as fast as you can and collect each of the blast points, which are cubes filled with a smaller white cube. They are easy to collect; all you have to do is to roll over them. It varies as to how many of these blast points you must collect per level. What you need to remember is that you must successfully collect a certain number of blast points per stage (one stage equals 10 levels) to unlock the next one. The only thing you need to be careful of while rolling over these blast points is when your sphere receives a small outburst of pressure. This can push your balls towards unwanted obstacles, such as spikes, which might be on the side of a cube, or even worse, cause you to fall out of the level into the abyss of space. The other thing you might find difficult to reach are these blast points that are located on platforms which are above you. By the way, you can zoom in and out in each of the levels (not fully) to see where all the blast points are located.  Roll over the gravity cubes and the entire level will switch upside down, and the platform that was above you is now the one to where you can move your sphere. There is the solution to reaching the evasive blast point! You might also get stuck as to how to access a specific platform, especially knowing that your sphere can only bounce once at any given time (no double jumps here). Search for the cubes which have switches on them. Then, push a moveable cube onto them in order to activate the switch. Beware of the cubes that have four small little cubes inside them; these ones will disappear within a few seconds after your sphere touches them. After all of that, the trick is to synchronize each of your moves to collect all the blast points and reach the finish cube as fast as possible, and let me tell you, it will become tricky as you progress! Expect to fall into the abyss of space frequently!

Graphically the game looks good and the soundtrack is cool too. In terms of the controls, I strongly recommend using a gamepad. However, you can play with the keyboard as well.  You will stuff up frequently and might become frustrated at times.