Get ready for your next match-three app purchase. Are we serious? Aren’t there enough (too many) match-three games in the app store? While it is arguable that iTunes needs another match-three style game looking to ride the Bejeweled bandwagon, Groovin’ Blocks is not your common match-up app. As the name implies, Groovin’ Blocks has been placed by Zoo Games as more of a jam session experience than a traditional puzzler. And rather than riding the wave of me-toos in the App Store, Groovin’ Blocks rides off it’s own previous success in the Wiiware download store.
Memories of your favorite dance club will flash before your eyes while playing Groovin’ Blocks. Fans of pulsating lights and techno beats will find themselves at home with this app. Rhythm is its soul and puzzling is its heart. In Tetris fashion, players are challenged to align blocks according to color in an empty room. Matching three or more blocks of the same color eliminates them and frees up space for the onslaught of blocks dropping from above. Soon into gameplay, multipliers and power-ups are introduced into the mix. Multipliers are activated by lining up block placement with scrolling vibes entering from the sides of the iPhone screen. These remain in effect until a beat is missed. This process is enhanced when blocks the special markings enter the fray. Dropping these blocks into place with the beat grants a power-up that can increase the value of surrounding blocks.
50 levels are included in the game, all being arranged by songs. The goal to open locked levels is to reach certain scoring achievements through matches, powerups and multipliers. When entering the playing arena, the choice of difficulty is presented — either Casual, Experienced, or Hard. Each song is noticeably different from the last and all seem to have a happy, yet trippy, Nintendo feel to them. The UI is easy enough to navigate but we would like to see more flushed-out text box graphics. They seem too default gray looking. No online scoring system is available as of yet but we think Zoo Games will probably add one soon enough.
Certainly, Groovin’ Blocks is no off-the-shelf match three puzzle title. It truly has Tetris on the brain, but pulls off enough originality to set itself apart from the crowd. At its current selling price of $1.99, we highly recommend Groovin’ Blocks for anyone who wants to bust a move while solving a few puzzles along the way.
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