The second in the DSiWare Art Style collection, PiCTOBiTS is an extremely fun, 18-bit style puzzle game. For 500 Nintendo Points (5 US dollars), this game is way worth it. The title scenn consists of 5 options: Play, Music, Hand, Tutorial, and Help.
1.Play
Play is the main part of the game. The bottom screen consists of STAGE (number), Start (starts the stage), 2 arrows to scroll through stages, Dark (a much, much harder version of the stage), and Back (brings you back to the main screen). The top screen shows the stage name, your stage high score, your stage best time, and your number of coins (you use coins to buy dark stages and music tracks). The main gameplay is basic Match Three style. You start out with colored blocks at the bottom of the screen. You must use those blocks to stop larger groups of blocks falling from the sky. To do that, you use your stylus to suck up the bottom blocks and arrange them in the air to match three of the same color. You can see the blocks you sucked up in a bar on either the right or left side of the touch screen. You start with 3 colors, then as the stages increase, you have more colors to worry about. There are som blocks with Xs in them. If you match them up, you get 1 coin (the only other way to get coins is to completely match up a falling shape). But, if they hit bottom, you cant suck them up, making them a permanent barrier. To win, simply match up enough blocks to create an old Nintendo character on the top screen out of the colored blocks you match up. You lose if blocks become stacked up to the top of the touch screen. A neat little trick is POW. POW will rid a couple lines of the blocks at the bottom. But, POW costs a spot in your tube of blocks to be sucked up. You can buy back the POWed spots for 5 coins that you earned in that stage already. The POW button is at the bottom of your block tube.
2.Music
Music is the second option in the main menu. On the touch screen, you see SHUFFLE (shuffles your songs), a play button, 2 arrows to scroll through your songs, BUY+ (add an EQ to your song), and back. The top screen displays the song title, the track number (number/17), an EQ, the song length, and your number of coins. PiCTOBiTS revived many of the old Nintendo songs, like Ice Climbers. To buy a track, press to BUY button in the bottom left corner of the touch screen. You use the coins you earn to buy tracks and their EQs. These songs go along with stages.
3. Hand
Hand simply switches the controls from left-handed to right-handed, and vice-versa. The only thing I've found that the hand effects is which side the block tube is on in gameplay.
4. Tutorial
Tutorial is a tutorial. It simply covers how to play the game in 6 sub-sections: BASIC RULES, CHAINS, PERMABITS, POW, CLEAR, and COINS. The back button is in the same spot.
5.Help
Its in every game:Help. Its simply a detailed tutorial. We've all seen a help screen and know to use it. If not, tap the ? in the touch screen's top left corner. Yes, there's a Help for Help.
CONCLUSION:
I love PiCTOBiTS. It lives up to the Art Style motto: pick up and play. For 5 bucks, is better than some of those puzzle card games for $20-$30. Its a great replay game (I repeat 1 of my favorite stages 20+ times without getting bored). The music is really upbeat and keeps you playing. I highly reccomend it.
5/5
My reviews are short and to the point. I give you a detailed layout of the game, and I don't sugar-coat anything.
1.Play
Play is the main part of the game. The bottom screen consists of STAGE (number), Start (starts the stage), 2 arrows to scroll through stages, Dark (a much, much harder version of the stage), and Back (brings you back to the main screen). The top screen shows the stage name, your stage high score, your stage best time, and your number of coins (you use coins to buy dark stages and music tracks). The main gameplay is basic Match Three style. You start out with colored blocks at the bottom of the screen. You must use those blocks to stop larger groups of blocks falling from the sky. To do that, you use your stylus to suck up the bottom blocks and arrange them in the air to match three of the same color. You can see the blocks you sucked up in a bar on either the right or left side of the touch screen. You start with 3 colors, then as the stages increase, you have more colors to worry about. There are som blocks with Xs in them. If you match them up, you get 1 coin (the only other way to get coins is to completely match up a falling shape). But, if they hit bottom, you cant suck them up, making them a permanent barrier. To win, simply match up enough blocks to create an old Nintendo character on the top screen out of the colored blocks you match up. You lose if blocks become stacked up to the top of the touch screen. A neat little trick is POW. POW will rid a couple lines of the blocks at the bottom. But, POW costs a spot in your tube of blocks to be sucked up. You can buy back the POWed spots for 5 coins that you earned in that stage already. The POW button is at the bottom of your block tube.
2.Music
Music is the second option in the main menu. On the touch screen, you see SHUFFLE (shuffles your songs), a play button, 2 arrows to scroll through your songs, BUY+ (add an EQ to your song), and back. The top screen displays the song title, the track number (number/17), an EQ, the song length, and your number of coins. PiCTOBiTS revived many of the old Nintendo songs, like Ice Climbers. To buy a track, press to BUY button in the bottom left corner of the touch screen. You use the coins you earn to buy tracks and their EQs. These songs go along with stages.
3. Hand
Hand simply switches the controls from left-handed to right-handed, and vice-versa. The only thing I've found that the hand effects is which side the block tube is on in gameplay.
4. Tutorial
Tutorial is a tutorial. It simply covers how to play the game in 6 sub-sections: BASIC RULES, CHAINS, PERMABITS, POW, CLEAR, and COINS. The back button is in the same spot.
5.Help
Its in every game:Help. Its simply a detailed tutorial. We've all seen a help screen and know to use it. If not, tap the ? in the touch screen's top left corner. Yes, there's a Help for Help.
CONCLUSION:
I love PiCTOBiTS. It lives up to the Art Style motto: pick up and play. For 5 bucks, is better than some of those puzzle card games for $20-$30. Its a great replay game (I repeat 1 of my favorite stages 20+ times without getting bored). The music is really upbeat and keeps you playing. I highly reccomend it.
5/5
My reviews are short and to the point. I give you a detailed layout of the game, and I don't sugar-coat anything.
