Kurushi returns in the form of App XP1728

XP1728 : PSX Puzzle game returns

Are you a puzzle game specialist or do you have an affinity for original Playstation Puzzle games. In fact while I'm asking these PS One orientated Puzzle questions (don't worry this is leading to an iPad/iPhone game review!), you might even remember Intelligent Qube AKA Kurushi Final in a very fond and nostalgic light.

Well, guess what: Kurushi Final has returned in an iOS remake. We delved deep into the game archives to find an original 1997 review of this iOS Block based spacial orientation puzzler and to quote: " Could prove to be the most popular puzzler on PSX ". Now thanks to some technical wizardry XP1728 has been created to revivify the PSX puzzler for your Apple device. Now the nature of a puzzle game is that if the actual gameplay is groundbreaking enough and the UI doesn't interfere with the playability then it should stand the test of time. XP1728 does. And to be honest even if you were only a pixel in someone's eye in '97 the game doesn't need to be looked at nostalgically to make it a good game. It stands by itself as a very addictive platform type puzzler and doesn't need to rely on its predecessors accolades to make XP1728 a great game by itself.

A lot of thought has gone into the mechanics
of this iOS puzzler

We won't go into the mechanics of the Kurushi iOS  remake here as they can be obtained from a handy tutorial that accompanies the app. What we will say though is that the puzzle game harks back to a time when games were actually created by teams of programmers sat sweating over monitors and virtual consoles for months at a time. Yes, this was the day before multi million pound AAA titles but you couldn't just knock up a game in your spare time like so many app developers can do now. And that is the fundamental difference I find between XP1728 and rival puzzle games on the Apppstore, it's not only got thought and class behind it but is actually a gaming product that in it's original form took it's creators months to program. Not only that but by buying into these values you'll be getting a compelling and well crafted puzzle game that in it's original PSX form won an Excellence Award for Interactive Art at Japan Media Arts Festival in 1997 .How many other fly by night puzzle apps can claim that?
As a side note we've again delved into the dustiest gaming tombs to find copies of Intelligent Qube; it seems that the Playstation Disc is quite rare and can be bought at it's cheapest for 67 Dollars more than the apps asking price! And if that's not a comment on App gaming value for money I don't know what is!
Download XP1728 from the Appstore

Intelligent Qube: $43 – $60 2008 Value: $68 – $86 Rarity =  IQ is very unique and addicting puzzle game that received an Excellence Award for Interactive Art at the 1997 Japan Media Arts Festival and sold quite well in Japan as a result. It was a initially a relative unknown in the US, but those that gave it a try found it especially compelling. Most fans of the game have been holding onto it, keeping supply low and prices high. Check for Intelligent Qube on eBay Check for Intelligent Qube on Amazon.com