Motley Blocks Preview

Motley Blocks puts a unique “spin” on puzzle games

You’ll have to think fast and move fast if you want to win at Motley Blocks, an upcoming 3D puzzle game for iOS devices that’s easier to play than it is to explain.

Imagine a field of blocks, if you will, arranged in a random jumble along the outside of a cylinder. Now imagine that cylinder slowly turning, and while it moves you must draw lines between same-colored blocks to send them into the center of the cylinder, where they’ll slowly coalesce into a three-dimensional object. But there are a couple of catches: If your line passes through a block of a different color, you lose it, and you only have three rotations of the cylinder to get the job done.

That, in a nutshell, is Motley Blocks, a new puzzle game from Square Enix, and if it’s a bit difficult to visualize, just check out the E3 trailer above. It only shows off about ten seconds of gameplay, but it’s enough to get the point across, and it actually looks like a lot of fun, too. It looks to be very much in the “simple to play, difficult to master” vein, with various power-ups that will add a few twists to the action, slowing or even stopping the rotation, clearing entire sections of blocks off the screen and more.

Motley Blocks will also include a level editor, so gamers can create their own blocky puzzles and then share them with friends, and of course download and play other people’s creations for a near-limitless variety of gameplay.

I’m really looking forward to giving this one a try, and it won’t be long before I can: Motley Blocks is due out this summer for the iPad and iPhone.

Andy Chalk

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Long-time PC gamer and shorter-time freelance writer, with work at Gamezebo, The Escapist, PC Gamer, Joystiq and parts unknown. Owner of many cats, drinker of fine beers, eater of too much. A steadfast javelin in a flaccid world.