GameZebo: Jell-O has been many things for me over the course of my life: comfort food when I'm sick, a dessert at parties and after dinner; even a staple to subsist on during university. Easily its most fun role, however, is its recent turn as gelatinous antagonist in developer Robot Invader's Rise of the Blobs. Fair warning, however: attempts to eat through the screen will prove unsuccessful.
U jelly?
By Chris Schilling
Version tested: Android
If you ask me, sound design is such an underrated facet of a good puzzle game. Think of Game Boy Tetris and the wonderfully weird little squiggle it treated you with for clearing four lines at once. Or the original Puzz Loop's snooker-ball clacks, Bejewelled's clinking gems and Drop7's porcelain crack. It's a big part of what keeps you coming back - if you think about it, a lot of puzzle games are essentially about tidying up, and the pops, bangs or jingles that reward you for a job well done are the game equivalent of being handed a sheet of bubble wrap after hoovering the spare room.
Striking the right balance in a puzzle game is vital. If you make the mechanics too simple, it becomes boring. But make them too complicated and it becomes frustrating. Hitting the middle ground is not an easy task. Rise of the Blobs is proof of this.
148apps: Robot Invader is the kind of developer I've come to associate with quirk and quality. Rise of the Blobs fits nicely into both categories.
