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Roogoo Attack!
Console
Nintendo DS
Publisher
SouthPeak Interactive
Genre
Puzzle
Developer
Spidermonk
Release Date
06/16/09
ESRB Rating
Everyone
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Posted by:
Ryan Olsen
Reviews Director
REVIEW
Roogoo Attack!
It's like playing a college Psychology class.
July 24, 2009 | 10:18 AM PST

Kombo's Review Policy: Our reviews are written for you. Our goal is to write honest, to-the-point reviews that don't waste your time. This is why we've split our reviews into four sections: What the Game's About, What's Hot, What's Not and Final Word, so that you can easily find the information you want from our reviews.

What the Game's About
Roogoo Attack brings a twist to a Kindergartener's favorite past time of putting the blue square in the blue hole. Shapes fall and you need to line up the right holes, but the problem is that they fall quickly and you have to plan strategically to make sure you make it to the end of the level.

What's Hot
The basic concept behind Roogoo is deceptively simple: match colored shapes. You'll get tripped up by the fact that simple modifications like changing the colors of the shapes will turn the game on its head and toss you a curveball that is more mind twisting than it sounds. It wouldn't be the least bit surprising to hear of Psychology studies done in a similar manner to the gameplay of Roogoo.

Fitting all the Lucky Charm pieces together takes some practice and skill as you ascend the level progression structure to the final stages. There are 10 worlds total so that gives you plenty of opportunity to try new puzzles and allows you to retry some of the trickier stages to best your previous score. Roogoo slowly and methodically builds upon the simple premise with more tweaks and twists that keep the game more interesting. There are only a few moments where the game deviates from its simple to grasp, winning concept.

What's Not
When Roogoo does deviate from its core, it comes in the form of the Skydiving missions. Your character is falling in the sky and you have to collect shapes while shooting/avoiding baddies. They don't make a lot of sense and aren't that fun to play. The developers might have even known this at a later stage in development because the game will tell you that the Skydiving missions are necessary and you can skip them if you desire.

Something that is completely unneeded in Roogoo is the story. Think of some of the best puzzle games in existence. Most of them don't involve a story. The characters, in Roogoo's case, are easily forgettable and poorly implemented. You can easily skip the fluff and get playing the game.

Final Word
The game starts slow and slowly builds on the fundamentals. It might build too slowly and if you look at the journey between the first and last levels, the difficulty curve happens at an uneventful pace. Roogoo is a quirky little title that takes a simple concept and makes your brain twist with tiny tweaks that throw you off balance. There are many levels to conquer and you can unlock a few more by linking the Wii version (Roogoo Twisted Towers) to the DS so there are many puzzles that will bend your mind. Overall, Roogoo is a nice game to play on the DS.
Visuals
Not much flare. The characters are poorly created.
5.5
Sound
Tunes can be annoying sometimes.
5.0
Control
You can use the stylus or face buttons.
7.5
Gameplay
Lots of levels thrown at you but the game's difficulty curve is fairly flat.
6.5
Lasting Appeal
The Wii version can unlock a few more levels and you can always try to best your old scores.
7.0
Verdict
Not going to stand the world on its head but Roogoo is a nice little title.
6.5
[not an average]
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June 16, 2009

June 16, 2009

June 16, 2009

June 16, 2009

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