Ben-DutkaToday, Sega has announced an innovative new puzzle game for the PSP entitled, Crush ; currently in development and slated for release this summer. At the helm is U.K.-based developer, Kuju Brighton, and they're prepared to bring us an entirely new concept, designed to change how we approach games with an inventive new style of "thought-provoking gameplay."
Puzzle games on handhelds usually do very well (last year's Exit and Lumines II are good examples), but Crush is supposed to be a whole new gaming experience. Unlike most puzzle titles, this one is placed in a fully 3D realm, and players will "crush" the environment to transform it into something that resembles a 2D platformer. Once you've conquered – or "flattened" – the area, you can move forth and attempt new previously inaccessible areas. You will also be able to unlock various items in the new 2D environment you couldn't access when it was 3D.
"Crush introduces a fascinating new gameplay perspective on the PSP that encourages players to stretch their imagination in a whole new way," said Scott A. Steinberg, Vice President of Marketing, Sega of America, Inc. "The spatial concept of the crushing mechanic is something truly unique that encourages users to think back and forth between 3D and 2D objects and environments to engage different parts of their brain, and see beyond what is literally in front them."
The game will even feature a storyline. You'll follow the story of Dan, a man who has a ton of unresolved issues and withheld emotions, and has become a nervous insomniac. In his search for a cure, he attempts hypnosis, and it's during this state of altered consciousness where he tries to sort through his troubled past. If he fails to do so, he will slowly begin to lose all semblance of sanity…doesn't this sound a little intense for a typical puzzler?
Either way, Crush sounds like a truly unique title, and one all PSP owners should keep their eye on until it releases this summer.
Related Game(s): Crush