GravBlocks+ is a new 1 player match 3 game, developed and published by ‘From Nothing Game Studios’. It’s not your typical match 3 game but if I had to compare it to one, it’s a lot like ‘Pokemon Puzzle Challenge’ for the GBC but with an intergalactic twist. The game begins with you waking up on an operating table, bright lights are shining in your face and to the right you can make out an unfamiliar oddly shaped creature. Then it all suddenly clicks, you’ve been abducted by aliens! Cue dramatic sci-fi music!

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As for a tutorial or explanation there really isn’t one. The alien tells you instead of doing the usual probing he will be testing your brain and thus begins level one of the games story mode. Of course, common sense tells you to simply match 3 or more of the same colored block, but GravBlocks+ is a bit more complicated than that. Instead of just rushing around or having a set number of moves each level you are given 3 objectives to accomplish, when you complete them you can then move onto the next level.

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There are also 80 accomplishments for your to complete as your playing the game.

 

 

For example, you may have to match 4 blocks of a certain color, or use a special block when creating a match. Some of the objectives also include changing gravity or making your blocks fall into hazard spots. This is something that was not explained to me at all so I had to mess around until I figured out what I was suppose to do. Some of the blocks that you can match have arrows on them, you can match 3 arrows regardless of which direction they’re facing to get points but If you want to change gravity you must match 3 arrows all of which are facing the same direction.

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Lets say you match 3 arrows that are pointing upwards, then all of your blocks will gravitate towards the top of the screen. Hazards (mentioned before) are holes in the walls that your blocks can fall through, this will reset your score multiplier, which nobody likes. To get past these little buggers you must match a wild block, this will trigger a force field type wall that seals the holes for a short period of time. It all sounds pretty complicated right? Actually I found it pretty easy to figure out, but I still think it needs some sort of tutorial or something.

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The gameplay itself was a tad addicting, I kept telling myself I would stop after the next level but we all know how that goes. The controls are pretty easy to figure out, You can use the D-pad or the control stick to move your cursor around, the Y button speeds up the falling blocks and the A button switches whichever 2 blocks you have highlighted (Just like Pokemon Puzzle Challenge). I recommend using the D-pad when moving around, I thought the control stick was a bit inaccurate and frustrating when playing. The music in GravBlocks+ isn’t half bad, I liked some of the background tunes but its not a game I’ll be buying the soundtrack to.

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Graphics wise, Id probably say its in the mediocre range but then again some parts of it were kind of neat to look at. The menu for instance, its very simple but it somehow made me feel like I was in outer space. The TV and the WiiU gamepad both display the same picture so you can play off-screen as well. You can change the background and icons for your blocks as you progress through the game and beat more levels, this adds a bit of customization which is always fun. Also besides the main story mode there are 4 other game modes for you to play through. This includes Challenge, Puzzle, Zen and Destruction, all of which have different game types and objectives.

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Even though theres a ton of these match 3 games on every system or handheld electronic available some of them are actually worth playing and wont ask you to pay 99 cents each time you want to get ahead. While GravBlocks+ isn’t an amazing game its something different that I enjoyed playing and will actually go back to again. So if your looking for a cheap game ($4.99) with plenty of content to keep you busy checkout GravBlocks+, available on the WiiU Eshop.