Puzzle gaming has always been a part of your average gamer’s digital diet. Puzzle games often feature spinning blocks, word searches, or matching colors. But whatever the mechanic involved, puzzle games have survived for decades within the very competitive video gaming market. But can this trend persist? Industry experts continually attempt to gauge the life-span of the typical puzzle game, in the face of blockbuster titles like Bungie’s Halo 3—a game that was seen by more people than any movie released this year.
But what do these “Super” games have that a game like Tetris does not. Graphics? - Oh yeah Top of the line graphics have become almost commonplace in the world of gaming. Two years ago, a game like F.E.A.R. was bandied about by many experts to be “Beautiful” and “Amazing” in terms of graphical prowess when it was released on the PC. But now, the game seems to be found lacking in contrast to titles such as Unreal Tournament 3, or Bioshock. Even games that were released as little as six months ago are already looking “old” compared to the latest titles being released by the industry’s top developers.
But, so far, the puzzle game genre has flourished. –How can that be true?
Well, in a word, Gameplay.
Even though everyone loves nice graphics and pixel filled explosions, solid gameplay beats the tar out of shiny polygons almost every time. Many games have amazing graphics, but more often than not, these games are beaten and tossed aside within just a few hours of gaming. How many hours of gaming do you think Tetris gave to the average gamer? Try over a hundred. But that’s Tetris—and all games can’t be Tetris. So what other games are out there?
A recent release from Jenkatgames.com named “Discombobulated” leaps to mind. Discombobulated is a really amazing game that shares more than a little with the previously mentioned classic, Tetris. Players are provided balloons that quickly pile up to the ceiling, while they try to pop them as fast as possible with a typical straight pin. It sounds really easy. (Like Tetris did the first time you saw it.) But after a while you’ll find it not only challenging, but absolutely addicting.
But where’s the catch? Games like this cost a lot of cash right? I mean, gameplay that is on par with the top tier releases from big gaming companies must cost fifty or sixty dollars at least. –Well, in reality; no. Discombobulated is free. –Absolutely free. And just like most online games at places like Bigfish.com or Jenkatgames.com, they’re just a good, if not better than their expensive console competitors.
Puzzle gaming may not have as much flash as Halo 3, but don’t start planning funeral arrangements just yet. If anything, puzzle gaming getting stronger. Even the mega-huge gaming consoles like the Xbox 360 and the Playstation 3 have began to release puzzle gaming downloads for their online subscribers. But these games usually come with a six to ten dollar price tag, offering, more often than not, the same game that would be free on the world-wide-web. So before you invest in your next high dollar video game purchase, take a good hard look at what these online games are offering. Because, at the end of the day, it’s all about gameplay.
