Gridders: review by Christopher Songer

Review by Christopher Songer <songer@ovation.lexmark.com>

Hi!

Well, my wife and I picked up Gridders for the 3do late last week. After battling for the controller for a while (I'm still going through Shockwave on Wingman) she finally managed to get Gridders into the drive and start playing. Since we have not solved the game, I certainly can't claim that this review is exhaustive -- but I think we have played enough that at the least we've gotten the general feel for the game.

Overview:

Gridders is a real time, direct control puzzle game available for the 3dO. When playing the game, the player takes the roll of Zack, a laid off worker, investigating the goings on at the place of his former employ. The company makes and subsequently stores in its basement moving blocks or "gridders". It is Zack's goal to pass each level of the factory and get to the bottom to find out what's happening there.

Gameplay:

In Gridders, the player moves Zack along ninety degree lines around a 16 x 16 playfield. On each level he must retrieve from the floor a certain number of green pyramid "keys." Once the proper number of keys have been found Zack can go to the exit and pass on to the next level.

All of this would be trivial if not for the presence of the gridders. These cubes roll across the playfield in regular patterns. All gridders are not created equally, of course. Some will injure Zack if he blocks them -- some will not. Some move of their own volition -- some do not. Most important of these properties, however, is the ability to pickup the green keys. A gridder rolling over a green key will pick the key up. Its representation on the playfield then acquires a green triangle on its faces letting the player know that the gridder is carrying a key. Some gridders come onto the playfield carrying keys. When a gridder is blocked for a short period of time it will drop the key in the space it presently occupies. If left on that space it will pick the key back up.

In addition to gridders one also shares the factory floor with various "roving meanies." There are robots which pick up beneficial items before Zack can retrieve them. There are robots which hunt for Zack and injure him when they catch up with him. Finally there is Zack's helpmate -- a dog with a penchant for pointing to useful items left on the grid.

The floor itself can be tiered. Zack can climb onto some tiers but others are too high. For these, elevators can carry both gridders and Zack up to the higher levels. From these higher levels Zack can walk on top of the gridders using them as bridges. He can push certain gridders off squashing them on the floor.

Cinema Graphics:

The cinemas in Gridders are simple in their cartoonish nature. They are quite appropriate for the game -- but to not seem to carry the zing that the cinema graphics in titles such as The Horde and Sackwave have. But then it's a puzzle game. A great overbearing theme is probably not appropriate.

Gameplay Graphics:

The gameplay graphics are very good within their functional contraints. The gridders are cubes rolling across the floor from square to square. On the faces of the cubes are various textures which indicate the type of gridder. The angle at which the factory floor is presented to the player is fixed but the player does control the zoom on the screen. One can zoom so close that one wonders for what in the world such a close view would be useful. One can zoom so far that it is very difficult to take in everything. (Though this last prespective is often useful in discovering the "big picture.") It is worth noting that even at the highest and lowest zooms, the pieces remain non-pixelated and recognizable. The character animation for Zack and his dog is done in a cartoon style. The characters move smoothly as one has come to expect for 3dO games.

Sound:

It would be possible to argue that sound on a puzzle game can do much to hurt the game but not much to help. Still, the background music on Gridders is quite catchy. There are a variety of tunes and they all add to the game. The effects are again appropriate for a puzzle game. The very game genre implies that large loud and impressive sounding effects are not really appropriate. Still, the sound effects are well done and help the game considerably.

Impressions:

Gridders is a fun puzzle game. The realtime direct control is a healty and diverting change from the non-realtime indirect control of the Incredible Machine also available for the 3dO. At the same time, this realtime element does not lead to control frustration that other realtime games such as Lemmings have. If you figure out what needs to be done to solve a level, you are unlikely to be hampered by an inability to control Zack to execute your plan.

To me, this game is most reminiscent of Lolo on the NES and Chip's Challenge on the Lynx -- both games which my wife and I greatly enjoyed. If you enjoy puzzle games, Gridders is a winner.

There is however one major difference wherein this game shines over these others. The motion of the gridders and the ability to look at the motion from an overall perspective gives this game a twist that the others do not have. There are often many gridders rolling along the playfield at once. So many in fact that it is difficult to examine all the motion on the floor in an analytic fashion. As a result, one spends time examining the level from a systemic point of view first -- looking for those areas of the floor where one should apply more analysis. It is a much "fuzzier" experience than the sharply defined microcosms in those other games.

Anyway,

-Chris

michel.buffa@cmu.edu