Cubello is a
puzzle game for the
Wii, developed by
skip Ltd. and published by
Nintendo under the
Art Style brand.
A 'Cubello' is a structure of different-coloured cubes rotating in space. The object of the game is to eliminate all the cubes by firing additional cubes which stick to the structure. When four like-coloured cubes touch, they are removed from play. It is possible to set off chains of these eliminations.
Cubes can only be stuck to faces that the player can see directly. When a fired cube collides with the structure, it changes the direction of rotation. The player's 'magazine' of cubes to fire is only replenished when cubes are eliminated.
While the player dilly-dallies, the structure inches closer, eventually colliding with the camera (and reducing the magazine as a penalty). Slow players are also penalised by additional branches of cubes sporadically sprouting from the structure. A 'bonus time' mode is sometimes triggered during play, giving the player a short time to fire an unlimited number of cubes of one colour.
Play ends when all cubes have been eliminated, or the magazine is empty.
Cubello has 36 fixed levels of increasing difficulty, as well as an Endless Mode which uses randomly generated patterns. It's essentially a score game, offering longevity through the challenge of completing the levels in fewer moves and less time.
The game's audio consists of a generative music track and a distinctive synthesised voice which announces each event in the game. ("LAUNCH CYAN LAUNCH BLUE ELIMINATED LAUNCH INDIGO ELIMINATED ELIMINATED LAUNCH WHITE ELIMINATED (NIIICE!) LAUNCH BLUE...")
At 400 Wii points (~£2.80) Cubello represents excellent value for money. It's an essential purchase for any Wii owner with even a mild affinity for geometric puzzle games.
BQ2009