Overall Rating: 7.9
Graphics: 6.5
Sound: 8
Control: 8
Fresh Factor: 5
Game Life: 8 The Skinny:
What we have here is a Charizard in Pikachu's clothing. Nintendo's latest Pokemon franchise milker is set against the new Puzzle League, where Trainers must now use their skills to out-puzzle the competition. This will involve lining up 3 blocks of the same color, in which case they'll then disappear. You'll have to keep moving till all the blocks are gone, or you've buried the competition underneath said pieces.
The gimmick here is that aside from the Pokemon theme, there's a lot more thinking involved that would require an adult or two to help the child players out. I'm not joking either; Dullmann, The Don, and I, all 23 years of age and up, sat here for an hour (literally) trying to solve 2 of the Basic level puzzles. The solutions can be sometimes so basic that they become extremely difficult. There's also some odd challenges presented. In the "Spa Service" area, Team Rocket presents you with a challenge, and after several rounds, you're up against an opponent who's speed it at least 30x faster then the current level your on. An ego can get slightly bruised when it's forced to watch itself lose, and you'll get it here, quite often. To make matters worse, there's an on-screen clock that keeps track of how long you've spent on the game. Several times I had a co-worker walk by and go "You've been on this thing for an hour already?" Granted, I couldn't care less, but to a child, this isn't exactly a moral booster.
Aside from the odd difficulty, the game itself is chock full of options and game variations. There are 6 different play modes, with the option to play in 2D or 3D. The 3D version is a little bit like Tetrisphere. The pieces are inside a glass tube, and as you move the cursor, the pieces spin inside. This adds yet another twist to the difficulty setting, but not by too much. The 2D is set up just like Kirby's Avalanche on the Super Nintendo, just with the different cursor. Here you must match up 3 colored blocks horizontally or vertically, but only by switching them left and right. Players can challenge themselves against the computer, a friend, the timer, or try and solve the puzzles in Puzzle University. All of your favorite Pokemon trainer characters are here, with several of the animals making guest appearances. Each trainer can use one of three Pokemon help aid them in the battle. While the help isn't much, it gives an excuse for the voice actors to toss in the familiar sound bites from the cartoon show.
Puzzle League is a strange little game. While it's difficulty in certain places will no doubt frustrate kids, for some reason it keeps bringing the player back to it, since you know the puzzle can be done. It'll break your brain, it'll get your blood pumping, but it still retains its fun. Even now, I find myself glancing over at the cart going "I can beat that level..." In fact, I think I will. Later.
  
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