14 DAY TRIAL // 
From the moment I watched for the first time the official announcement trailer made by Sega, which came out in 2011, I said to myself, “I must give this game a try!” Well, Crush 3D is now available to fans in EU (and has been so since January 13), and will soon make its way to North America (March 6). The opportunity I've been long waiting for has arrived.
Some of us console fanatics will say that both the title and the gameplay look a bit familiar. Well, Dorothy, even though you walk down the golden road, you're not in Kansas anymore.
The game is a remake of the 2007 PSP title Crush. Lucky for us, it now features an entire new story, as well as shiny new levels and improved gameplay.
The chance to solve mind-bending puzzles, while switching from 2D to 3D and back again in different perspectives, really was a first for me. I believe it will be so for most of you, as well.
Story
We have one young boy named Danny, one nutty professor and an experimental “brain fixing” piece of machinery called C.R.U.S.H. Throw them all together in a mix and you get... that's right, our story.
Prompted by the foolishness specific of youth and by the fact that he's a friend of the professor, Danny agrees to test his latest invention: a mechanical device that analyzes your biggest fears and nightmares, and fixes them.
Being just a prototype, the machine is far from perfect and bug-free (just like most of the games released nowadays), so Danny becomes trapped inside his own mind. Now, this cheerful lad, who's all dressed for a pajama party, has to find a way to escape and return to the real world.
To be completely honest, I kind of liked the “Back in time” thing with the crazy professor, the innovative piece of machinery and the experiment gone bad, but there's one thing I can't understand even after finishing the game: how in the world does collecting marbles help people with their subconscious? Well Mr. Jung and Mr. Freud, it seems like you were both wrong!
Gameplay
As in many games nowadays, the first levels are actually the tutorial, which is a good thing, because figuring out what you have to do all by yourself, as well as the purpose of all those buttons could take a while (a year, maybe more).
While traveling through your own subconscious, you have to collect marbles to open the exit to the next level. The good part is that not all the marbles are required so, when you gather a certain number of them, the door opens and you can be on your way.
Since we all strive for perfection, I tried to be the cool kid who collects all the marbles, trophies and books. That went well for a while, until the puzzles became so challenging that just gathering enough marbles to finish a level implied a considerable amount of frustration for me.
A mixed of top-down and side-scrolling, the game requires you to change perspective from 2D to 3D in order to reach places otherwise impossible to reach. Apart from switching dimensions, you can also switch the view of the character, which will allow you to experience new ways to crush (only in 3D mode).
As you may know, every great rule comes with its exceptions. In this game, the hint system, while I must admit proved very useful and got me out of some really tight spots, could definitely use some more work. There were times when the frustration, caused by not understanding how to follow a hint, was so great that I just wanted to give up. Eventually, though, the trial and error way got me out of every puzzle.
Just as catching wild salmon with your bare hands is never an easy task, neither is walking and collecting marbles. In each level, the crush options are limited and there's only one good path to follow. To make things even more difficult, obstacles come in the form of blocks, moving platforms, various items you have to figure out how to push in order to advance, nasty bugs that must be squashed or at least avoided.
Dying is not an option in this mind-bending puzzle, since you must start a level all over again if you take a wrong step and plunge into oblivion, or you're crushed from 3D to 2D against a solid block.
Speaking of difficulty, the game reaches a medium level, so don't expect to simply slip your ballerina shoes on and waltz through those 40 levels, scattered in four different worlds (not to mention the extra levels that can be unlocked).
The game is not without glitches, as I found out the hard way on the “7 years of bad luck” level. In order to reach the exit, I had to use a very stubborn jump power-up that only on the third attempt decided to activate itself properly.
Collecting trophies, besides giving you an extra warm and fuzzy feeling of achievement, will also unlock new bath robes for the character. Yes, I said bath robes! Side thought: come on, Sega, you can do better than that. The game also has a StreetPass function that allows you to change gifts and coins with another friend owning a 3DS device.
Video and Audio
I plugged in the game card, pressed the Start button, cranked up the 3D feature to the max and… was amazed.
Most of the titles released for the Nintendo 3DS console have good looking 3D graphics, but they all have one flaw: playing the game for more than half an hour with the 3D function maxed out will make your eyes water! That wasn't the case with this game; in fact, I must admit that the 3D function stayed that way until I finished the game.
The game doesn't come with out of the ordinary graphics, the character doesn't perform fancy moves and the evil cockroaches are just like ordinary bugs, so yes, I could say that this game's selling point is not graphics. Still, visuals meet expectations with flying colors, while the camera system is quite decent and allows for a good view from all angles.
The music changes mood with each stage and it's quite pleasant. At one point, I turned off the music for a bit to talk on the phone and, when I started playing again, I just felt that something was missing. I immediately realized it was quiet to solve puzzles like that.
Conclusion
In my opinion, this game resembles an average-priced, sedan, stock car powered by an electric engine. No, it does not have visual tuning to make it look amazing, but its fair price, the unique new engine and the fact that it can be enjoyed by almost anyone with a driving license, make the game a must have.
Although it needs a bit more work and – why not – more levels, I must say it definitely did not let me down. The fact that it's trying to bring something new to those old fashioned dusty puzzles definitely earns it a thumbs up. What are you waiting for? Give it a try!
