The Power of the Blocks

There's much debate over what truly separates humans from animals. Some say it's love, some say it's true emotion, some say it's rational thought. I respectfully disagree with all of these theories. I think the thing that separates us from the animals is our innate desire to make matches out of multicolored blocks that fall from the sky.

Right out the door, Collapse! had that advantage. The concept is tried, true, and a surefire recipe for a good time. Granted, in this instance the blocks come up from the bottom, but the principle is still the same. The blocks are colored and you match them, which is always a winning formula.

Welcome to Blocktopia

GameHouse, the developers behind this particular game, are not satisfied with simply using the "winning formula" and making a passable game. They've gone the extra mile (or several, in this case) in crafting an excellent experience around the standard concept and created a truly amazing game.

The first thing about the experience that caught me off guard was that it featured a story. An honest-to-God story in a game about matching colored cubes. Developers have a bad habit of trying to shoehorn serious plots in where they don't belong, but these people know better than that, and the story is lighthearted and the writing is very funny.

It all takes place in Blocktopia, where strange things have been happening. You're told to keep your eyes open while you travel. When you reach the jungle, the first area, all of the animals are hiding in the shadows. This is strange behavior, but the narrator just brushes it off and says "Let's face it, you're pretty intimidating."

Matching 101

This isn't match-3 gameplay. You won't be swapping any cubes. What you will be doing is clicking on matches of three or more to make them disappear. The key is to click in the right spots so that the cubes that fall make even more matches. There are multiple types of levels, all with different objectives.

The standard "classic" level has you endure so many lines coming up from the bottom without letting the blocks reach the top. You do this by making matches as fast as you can. A new line will pop up every few seconds. If you manage to clear the entire board before a new line comes in, you'll get a bonus.

The strategy levels operate on the same idea that you have to endure so many lines, but instead of one popping in on a timer, you get a line every time you click. It forces you to think ahead and make strategic matches.

Puzzle levels gives you a preset level full of blocks and you must get rid of them all in as few clicks as possible.

Too Much Praise, Too Little Time

I wish I could go on about Collapse! all day - no, scratch that - I wish I could play the game all day, but I can't. There are a lot more great features in the game, like a bonus arcade full of mini-games, the power-up shop, the different outfits, and the boss battles that I just didn't have the room to dive into. Needless to say, this is a magnificent product and one that should be at the front of your collection.