Pocket: Ultimate Puzzle Games
Our Take
Telegames continues its "Ultimate" series with Ultimate Puzzle Games, a collection of crossword puzzles, codebreakers, cryptics, and other puzzle types for your Game Boy Advance. This isn't the usual type of game to be released for the handheld systems (although it makes sense if you think about it), and although there are some minor interface problems, if these are the types of puzzles you are looking for on the go, definitely pick this release up.
There isn't much to say about the graphics as the entire collection consists of static word and number based puzzles. However, all of the letters are clear and easy to distinguish from one another, and it is also easy to see on word searches when a word has been found. I have to give Telegames credit simply for the fact that they have included 1001 different puzzles within one game pack, providing for a lot of replay.One of the most boasted about features in UPG would be the Game Copy feature. Using this, you can share puzzles with your friends by downloading them to other GBA's. This is a very nice feature to have if you happen to have buddies who are looking for puzzles such as these to do in their spare time. I can definitely see this being one of those titles that attracts non-gamers to steal your handheld device in order to invest some time in.
Telegames managed to pack a ton of puzzles in while keeping a nice and clean interface. However, there are still a few issues I have with Ultimate Puzzle Games. First, there should be just a little bit more music included in the game. While the included tracks are nice, they are relatively short, and by the time you have finished one or two crossword puzzles it is possible that every music track in the game will have already finished playing. Secondly, the save feature is extremely limiting. It is only possible to save two unfinished puzzles at one time. This means that if you've started two different puzzles (no matter whatever the category is), if you've saved them then you will have to overwrite them if you want to start and save another. Although this isn't a big issue if you put in the time to complete a puzzle once you start it, people who like to start a lot of different things and then continue later will have problems with it.
Ultimate Puzzle Games is well done for what it is, although some people may be disappointed by the limited saving system. Nevertheless though, Telegames has made a real effort to jam pack this cart full of puzzles, and players will get a lot of play time because of that. Thanks to a smooth navigation system and plenty of content, if this is the type of thing you're looking for, definitely go buy it. But if you're not big on crosswords or other word based puzzles, skip it and move on to another handheld title.
Overall Rating: 7.00
Chris Dahlberg
January 17, 2006
