XBLIG IMPRESSIONS: "Vizati"

Most of you probably have no idea that I was once into puzzle games. I used to play games like the classic Tetris for the NES, Dr. Mario, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo as well as many other titles in that genre. I found that my sister was actually the puzzle game champ in the family so I abandoned my hope of exceeding her talent years ago. I honestly think she is one of the top Tetris players out there. She ended up making it to ridiculous levels. I just noticed about an hour ago that a new game called 'Vizati' was realesed in the XBLIG game library. I took a peek at the details, and screen shots to see what it was about.


Vizati is a very unique puzzle game the incorporates flipping, and rotating a magic square in order to solve puzzles. The game was developed by 'Blitz1UP' which I have never heard of. The concept of the game seemed new as well. What really drew me to play Vizati was the artistic graphics that made up the backgrounds of the levels. The surreal designs were very rich in color, and also featured some animated characters too. The puzzle mechanics, and controls of the game are easy to learn. I assume this is so you can spend more time on the actual puzzles. The puzzles in Vizati get progressively more difficult, and will require some serious puzzle solving skills. In the trial version I was able to play through 6 levels before I got an error message. I'm sure this will probably be fixed. The point or goal in Vizati is to match up colored Vizati blocks, and clear them out. You have a set number of moves which makes the puzzles even more difficult to solve.

Vizati's modes include a story mode that has 50 levels of play that allows you to get adjusted to the game. It also features an arcade mode with special types of blocks to work with. I'm not sure if there is a multiplayer, because I forgot to check on that. It would definitely be a nice addition to the game if it was. With 50 levels, and an arcade mode I think Vizati stands a fighting chance against modern puzzle games.

The controls for Vizati use both top shoulder buttons as well as the back triggers to bump, and rotate the magic square to one side or the other. When you make it to a certain level it will add more controls that require the up, and down button on the thumb pad. You will use the thumb pad directions to flip the magic square. The easy controls definitely give you more time to focus on the puzzle at hand.

In the end I found the trial version to be very impressive. The concept of the game, and the art direction were huge pluses. The game allows you to get familiar with the puzzles before starting you into the more difficult ones. This is definitely a good thing since the puzzles do become increasingly more difficult. If you are looking for a fresh idea in the puzzle genre that makes you think then I do believe this might be the game for you. The 80 msp asking price is not bad either.