I just beat Roogoo and thought I would write up a short review about it. Roogoo is a puzzle game that’s different than most puzzle games I’ve played. It’s interesting that a concept so simple hasn’t been brought to life before now. That may be a good thing, however, because who knows if anyone else could have delivered the way Spidermonk have with Roogoo.

It’s hard to explain exactly how to play Roogoo. In it’s simplest form, Roogoo requires you to rotate platforms so that the falling blocks fit into the correctly shaped holes. Think of a baby’s toy and you’ll get the idea. Don’t let that fool you into thinking this game is easy. The game gets very difficult as you progress through. Spidermonk have done an excellent job of teaching you as you go. Very similar to the way you learned different strategies to advance in Portal, Roogoo gives you bite-sized challenges early on and then requires you use several of your new abilities at once. This well crafted difficulty curve keeps you advancing through the game, while still challenging you with each new level.

Roogoo also looks great for an XBLA game. Sure there aren’t a lot of things happening on the screen at a time. The areas you visit are visually appealing and the 3D models are highly polished. It’s obvious that Spidermonk cared a lot for this game. This is definitely not the shovelware that appears on XBLA from time to time.

The single player game is well worth the 800 Microsoft Points ($10) and will keep you busy for at least three to four hours, if you’re a fast learner. In addition to single player, the game also supports multiplayer for up to four people local and over Xbox LIVE. I have yet to try the multiplayer, however. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear that there are many people playing Roogoo on Xbox LIVE. I haven’t been able to find a multiplayer match available and I have tried several times over the past week. According to Major Nelson, the game didn’t make it into the top 10 of Xbox LIVE Arcade sales last week. Buku Sudoku is selling better than Roogoo! This is a real disappointment because Roogoo is one of the best games to come across XBLA in a long time. It’s the best I’ve played since N+ (which was a fantastic game).

Hopefully my comments on Roogoo can sway a few people into at least giving the trial version a shot. If you like puzzle games at all, you will love Roogoo . Maybe we can get Roogoo into the top 10 this week by word of mouth. If you love Roogoo, give it a shout out in the comments. Also, if you want to play some multiplayer, add me to your friends list. I’d love to give it a whirl.

Score: 800 points / 800 points

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