cube posts (Subscribe to this feed)

While it doesn't quite fulfill our wish list of PSP games we'd most want to purchase by download and run from a single Memory Stick, D3 Publisher's "classic" catalog is coming to PlayStation Store (the PC one) this September. Props for being ahead of the curve. Up for digital delivery will be:

• Cube ($9.99)
• Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords ($14.99)
• WTF: work time fun ($9.99)
• PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient ($9.99)
• PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 ($14.99)
• Dead Head Fred ($14.99)

Once a true PSP Store is in place, we'd love to see all publishers follow suit. Now tell us that wouldn't send a chill up your spine GameStop!

Finally! D3 Publisher, we applaud your decision to bring your PSP catalog to the PLAYSTATION Store. You're not bringing just one obscure game onto the Store -- you're making available a number of games, from big-budget releases to obscure cult classics. Best of all, you're making them available for cheap! Here are the releases:

September 18, 2008

• Cube - $9.99
• Puzzle Quest: Challenge of the Warlords - $14.99

October 2, 2008

• WTF: Work Time Fun - $9.99
• PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient - $9.99

October 16, 2008

• PQ2: Practical Intelligence Quotient 2 - $14.99
• Dead Head Fred - $14.99

To find out more about each of these titles, simply click on their names. You'll find all our news, previews and reviews of these games.

Some of us prefer to hide our geekiness, fearing a loss of social status and reduced favor with the opposite sex. Others know that such things are mere trifles, and display their dorkdom with honor and pride. For those of the latter, we would point you to a step-by-step walkthrough of how to make your very own tetromino ice cubes. Yes, it must be Tetris craft week all around the intertron.

The steps are clearly written and easy to follow, but some woodwork and silicone supplies are required. If you're a handyman (or woman), go make yourself some cubes: they'll go wonderfully with that Russian vodka. Just kidding. We mean pop.

(Punch Out!! reference FTW)

This question mark block has extended its form into the fabled third dimension! This mysterious realm of depth is unexplored by either 8-bit explorers or Perler bead artists. This bold scientific discovery promises to usher a new age for Super Mario Bros. crafts!

Shown above, an artifact from the third dimension, looking very much like one of our own question mark blocks, but somehow composed of many two-dimensional blocks working in tandem to form a strange array of squares. These squares exist simultaneously in the normal two dimensions and in the newly-discovered third! This is a hypersquare.

[Via Wonderland]

Cube asks players to do one simple thing: get from point A to point B. Of course, it wouldn't be much of a game if it was as easy as it sounds. This action-puzzle game from D3 Publisher has players navigating the titular cube around a three dimensional grid, also made of cubes. Along the way, players will stumble upon a variety of challenges to overcome: gaps in the course that must be mended, paths that must be opened, etc. To do so, there may be blocks for the player to push, or buttons to press. There are also other obstacles that can even destroy the player's cube.

The challenges in Cube provide an interesting excursion. As the player progresses, more puzzles are unlocked, and the difficulty slowly rises. Some of the later levels can become truly terrifying pieces of work, layered with complexities. Trying to solve the various puzzles does become quite involving, as players must try to push blocks in a particular way, and pay attention to the movement of other blocks. There's replay value added thanks to additional keys that are scattered throughout a level: by collecting these keys within a certain time limit, the player will be awarded a medal. Obviously, perfectionists will want to get a Gold as often as possible.

D3 wants Cube to be the next puzzle sensation on PSP. Our initial impressions of the budget title are quite favorable, and one tool we're looking forward to using is the game's extensive level creator. The editor comes unlocked from the very beginning of the game, so fiendish designers can cook some devious designs from the get-go.

Unfortunately, my puny brain can't seem to understand the seeming complexity of the feature. A PDF file on Cube's official website attempts to detail the process, but my limited brain capacity is proving to be quite meddlesome. Hopefully, I'll be able to construct a few of my own puzzle creations. Until then, feel free to read GameZone's interview with Maru Nihoniho, Game Designer of Cube to get more details on this upcoming game.

We've spent a lot of time with D3 Publisher's upcoming action puzzle game, Cube. The basic premise of the game is quite simple: get your cube to the exit. Of course, as is the case with all puzzle games, it's not going to be that easy: you'll have to avoid various traps along the way, lest you meet a blocky death. There are a few elements that spice things up along the way. Firstly, your cube can stick onto any side of the platforms. The game encourages you to traverse through levels any way you want: upside-down, on its side, right-side up. The three dimensionality of the game is interesting, and it opens up a lot of gameplay possibilities.

There are quite a large number of puzzles to tackle in the game, which is a huge plus. Also, there's a level editor so that you can create and share your own puzzles. Our early build doesn't have it, but the final retail version will also have Game Sharing, so you can play with other PSP owners that don't have the game. Considering its budget price ($20), there's a great amount of content, making Cube easily one of PSP's greatest values. However, we're a little concerned about a few presentation issues. It feels like everything is a bit too sluggish: the controls feel a little too slow, and the load times seem a bit too long for a game with such minimalistic graphics. Most annoyingly, you must reload the entire level when replaying it--this will prove to be quite frustrating in the more difficult levels.

Hopefully, these quirks will be ironed out before the game's official release on April 24th. Expect more coverage on PSP Fanboy closer to the game's release.

While searching the webbed world for info on the D3's PSP puzzler Cube I came across another game called Cube. Now this other Cube may not be available on PSP yet, but perhaps the fact that there's D3's Cube coming to PSP might keep this more advanced Cube with it's blazingly advanced graphics off the system. Not to mention the fact that I doubt the copyright police would allow there to be two games named Cube on the PSP. So I say to you reader; if both games lived in a world of Highlander where there could be only one, which Cube would you like to see on PSP? D3's Cube or Monotech Power Game Unit's Cube?

Video evidence after the jump ...

If a custom Rubik's Cube depicting Mario and Luigi wasn't enough for you, then you might want to check out this. It's some of the best Rubik's Cube art we've ever seen, with tons of cubes being used together to depict a jumping Mario. The amount of time it would take to solve all of these cubes in the correct way, as well as attaching them together to create the desired image, must be a long and painstaking process. We commend such effort and wonder what kind of price an artist would put on such a project.

If you're anything like us, you've been breathlessly following the development of CUBE for more than a decade now. Designed for the now-aging Monotech Game Unit, early press for the game boasted that it would "take you to a whole new dimension in computer games" and make "calculators look like a cotton gin." Then the PR went into Duke Nukem Forever levels of silence throughout the game's long development cycle. That is, until now.

The new trailer for the game (embedded below the jump) shows the developers' bold decision not to update the game engine after all these years, sticking with a stark, minimalist look that distills the gameplay into its pure essence. Sure, the simple, textureless shapes on stark, single colored background might not stand up to the likes of Gears of War, but who needs fancy graphics when using the control switch to guide the "defender of the poly-verse" around the things which it can not go through looks like so much fun. The trailer even features some brief footage of the long-rumored "level red" and the battle with the dreaded cone (yes, he does exist!).

We've been looking forward to this game for so long that, frankly, we were a little worried it wouldn't live up to our expectations once it finally showed up. Now that we've seen it in action, though, we can say with relative certainty that CUBE will be a contender for game of the year honors, no matter what year it eventually comes out.

When I first saw an update for a new PSP game called Cube, I got scared. Was it a game adaptation of the film "Cube," one of the worst films I have ever seen? Thankfully, no. It's a new puzzle game from D3 Publisher. While the PSP is certainly not lacking in the puzzle genre, Cube deserves a bit of attention due to it being of the few games to take advantage of PSP's unique capabilities. Firstly, the game includes a level editor, allowing you to upload and download new content from other Cube owners. More excitingly, the game also features Game Sharing multiplayer, allowing gamers with just one copy of the game to go head to head. The lack of complexity in the graphics and presentation probably makes it possible for Game Sharing to work, and to be honest, I'm excited that it does. It's hard enough to find a PSP owner to play against; Game Sharing will make it infinitely easier to go head-to-head with a person next to you. Expect more updates as the game's February release gets closer.

[Via IGN]

Using a variety of exploits, the homebrew community has finally struck gold and figured out how to get it all going on the Wii. With a SD card, Action Replay for the GameCube and SD card adapter for the GameCube, one can plug in their card into a computer, use some of that homebrew magic and get GameCube homebrew running on the console. Of course, this could very well be a problem for Nintendo if folks use this exploit to run emulators (they will and, more than likely, are), bypassing the Virtual Console to play any ROM they wish.

[Thanks Pieter!]

The first Intelligent License (known as PQ in the US) was the "BEST GAME ON THE PSP," according to enthusiastic PSP Fanboy reader hotcarl. The game has you trapped in a terrifying world where you must construct elaborate paths with various boxes to find an exit... an exit that only leads to yet another terrifying room of death. It's a lot like the "classic" film, Cube. The sequel throws even more puzzles at you, and they seem even more intricate than last time. Surely, your brain will shatter due to the complexity of this game, leaving you to simply wallow in your own filth, while contemplating how truly unintelligent you are.

Check out this video, and be prepared to be shamed. The game assaults Japanese audiences in November. Americans are spared from the brain-drain... for now.

While American gamers can enjoy the likes of Killzone next October, Japanese gamers will be able to experience Heaven's Will. You play Nameless (Nes for short... somehow), and you must escape a dangerous labyrinth, filled with traps and evil robots that, for one reason or another, want to kill you. It shares a similar concept as the movie Cube: let's hope it's not as awful.