| ARTICLE |
Got a Tip?
RSS
AtomIntelligent License
aka PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient in the US.
The once dead puzzle game genre has gotten a second breath of life. The rise of new portable systems have brought gamers out of the fifty hour long console title. Portable gaming is all about pick up and play. Since puzzle games fit the mold we’ve been seeing titles like Chokkan Hitofude (Polarium in the US), Lumines and Meteos. It comes to no surprise that the Intelligent Qube series is going to get spin off on the PSP.
First of all NowPro’s Intelligent License is nothing like Intelligent Qube. It’s more like a spiritual successor or an evolution of the block dodging puzzle game. Intelligent License has block puzzles, but it’s far different from the series. If you were expecting Intelligent Qube, you’ve been misled by the title. Instead of being a game about stuff falling from the sky, Intelligent License takes a different approach. You play as a human aura trapped in a maze. Between you and the exit is a puzzle that needs solving. Think Metal Gear Solid VR Missions mixed with Super Monkey Ball and you’ll have the idea.
At first puzzles in the game are simple. The first level has you build a staircase out of blocks. The second level has you push blocks to open a path. All right it sounds a lot like a block based game, but it’s really not. Another level has you evade laser beams preventing you from reaching the exit. To alter which beams are shot out you need to carefully open and close different colored doors. By activating the doors in the correct sequence you can pass through the lasers unscathed. Some of the puzzles involved blue guards. These guys walk in a pattern and are out to spot you with their flashlight. If you’re spotted you’ll have to start from the beginning of the level.
Another interesting element NowPro plays with is a gamer’s intrinsic memory. At the start of the tenth stage of a level you are shown a map with the fastest path to the exit. To complete the stage in a timely manner memorizing the path is the best way to go. Another memory based puzzle has gamers move into a dark room where you can’t see the way out. One option is to walk through the room at random, walking into dead ends and navigating on the fly. Or you can memorize a pattern of arrows that is flashed on the screen for a quick solution.
Some of the puzzles have multiple ways of solving them. Yet even more of them have only one solution. Puzzles with conveyor belts force players into a single solution. One early puzzle has a bunch of escalators, some that move up and down. Only the one path will actually take you to the exit, while all the other ones will force you to go back to square one. An even more strenuous puzzle is building a staircase using the conveyor belt. The always moving belt will trap you into a corner with the exit too high up to reach if you move on it. So, the solution requires players to put pieces of a staircase on the belt in the right order. Building the staircase can be a spatial nightmare because your character can’t rotate the piece on his own. Instead you have to put a piece of down and pick it up at the right orientation to build the staircase. You also have to get the pieces in the correct order to move on. Put one piece in wrong and you’re forced to restart.
Intelligent License is really as complex as a spatial IQ test. You really have to think before you act, if you want to complete the puzzle. Don’t think too much because time and moves are against you. Each stage has a set time limit to pressure gamers into completing the puzzle before time runs out. Beat the stage before the clock runs out to get bonus points. After the clock runs out you will have an additional three minutes to solve the puzzle before the game fails you for it. The number of moves comes into play as a limit too. Even though you can essentially move things around as much as you want, you get penalized in points if you move stuff too many times. Sure you can sacrifice points, but Intelligent License is still all about how fast you can solve the game. To step gamers up to the challenge players can post their scores online. NowPro is the first third party developer to support the PSP’s online infrastructure mode. Posting scores isn’t as entertaining as a live competition, but it’s cool to see where you rank.
Intelligent License doesn’t have the jaw dropping graphics like many of the other PSP titles out there. The vector based graphics aren’t going to amaze many people. Style-wise the Tron-esqe / Rez look is cool. It fit’s the game’s surreal puzzle approach. The music makes a change too. Instead of having classical pieces mixed with opera, we have a more modern techno soundtrack. Filler music, but it fits the bill.
What Intelligent License boils down to is a test of wits and patience. The first time around the game will start the hamster in your mind running on the logic wheel. On the second play through, if you’re so inclined to take the challenge again, you’ll perfect puzzle timing. Beyond that Intelligent License probably won’t be picked up again. After you know how to solve the puzzles the game just isn’t interesting. The whole challenge can be complete in four or five hours. If you’re into puzzle games it’s entertaining, just without much replay value.
Import Friendly? Literacy Level: 1
The puzzles are logic based and designed for users of any language. A potential language barrier are a few Japanese menus to navigate through.
US Bound?
No specific announcement for this game has been announced yet. However with the few PSP games around it seems likely that some company will localize it in the US.
+ Pros: Puzzle variety is the spice of the game.
- Cons: Although these puzzles have specific solutions, which severely limit replay value.
Overall: Intelligent License has a diverse selection of puzzles that will rack your brain for the first time around. After you know how to solve the puzzles the game’s entertainment value is lost.
< Screenshots >
Related Posts
- An IQ test on your PSP.
- D3 Publisher brings PQ: Practical Quotient to the US
- Intelligent License nabs a sequel
- Japan’s PlayStation store fills up with (more) quality PlayStation classics
- Snoopy takes to the sky
Search Categories
Gaming Map
