Full Review

Over a decade ago a little game called Tetris came out that created a whole new genre of games. Puzzle games have since become quite a craze with numerous new styles of games that ultimately follow pretty much the same Tetris formula. Of these my personal favorites are Dr. Mario, the Puyo series (AKA Kirby's Avalanche) and Tetris itself. I never really took to Columns much for one reason or another. Well, along comes a 2 week vacation to Idaho and a desire for some gaming so I pick up Columns Crown and Puyo Pop. I should have a review for PP up soon but what I'll say now is that Columns Crown is a vastly superior game, much to my surprise.

Gameplay
10/10
I did not want to give this high of a rating but I kept asking myself "What makes it less than perfect gameplay?" and could not come up with an answer so a 10 it is.

Columns is simple. Blocks 3 squares long drop from the top of the screen and you line them up to make sequences of at least 3 colored blocks in a row. Rows can be horizontal, vertical or diagonal. You can rotate the colors inside the blocks but cannot alter the shape or orientation of the blocks themselves.

Columns Crown takes this basic gameplay and applies it beautifully to three very distinct single player modes and a multiplayer as well. Most basic is survival. This is the standard puzzle game mode where you clear as much as you can earning points. The nice addition to Columns Crown is that along with earning points you also earn special gems for other modes. Additionally, at the end of each survival round you are rated on your performance and given an over all grade. While all of this is basically unecessary it is still nice to see the effort put forth (no surprise this is a Sega title..)

The second mode is Flash Columns. This is somewhat like Dr. Mario where certain pieces must be eliminated to pass the stage. Some of the stages are downright mind-numbing in their frustration levels but they are still strangely addictive. You get a new gem every 5 levels and also a chance to save. I can promise that once you pass 2 or 3 levels you WILL play until you get to the save point as you won't want to give up your accomplishments. The addition of the gem prizes really makes you feel that you are accomplishing something.

The third mode is Vs. Computer (or similarly vs. player) where you get to use all those wonderful gems you have collected before. At the beginning of each match you get to choose a series of 5 gems from your collection. Each gem has a different cost and ability. The cost is the number of jewels you must clear while playing before the gem will come into play. Once it drops in play it must be removed like a jewel and then its ability is released. The abilities range from adding 2 rows of jewels to your opponent to shaking their screen making it very hard to see the pieces in play. There are a ton of gems with some being more useful than others. There are 2 characters as well and each has unique gems making for some very interesting multiplayer. One final note on this mode, you can also earn gems here too by beating a series of computer opponents, awesome.

The multiplayer is great and works with a single game pack. With one pack you can't choose your character or tweak the game options but otherwise it plays fine. With a pack in each you can tweak to your hearts content. A big thanks to Sega for building in both options.

Graphics
6/10
The pseudo 3d crown looks awful and really should have just been left as 2d. The characters all look great though and the gems are brightly colored. My one real complaint is that the red and orange gems look very similar. After a few games you'll pick up on it but it is still pretty frustrating at times.

Sound
8/10
There are some voices in the game, mostly japanese, that add quite a bit to the feel of the game. The characters also yell out their gem attacks when they activate them which is nice. Its good that you dont have to look at what attack is coming and instead get to hear it. Good background music too though having it change more often would have been nice.

Replay value:
10/10
The single player is incredibly deep and I could play multiplayer until the end of time.

Rent/buy?
The game is $20 at Toys R Us and is absolutely a buy. Face it, you can't own a handheld without a good puzzle game. Even if you already have Puyo Pop or Bust a Move, Columns Crown is a must have.