Crush 3D

Name: Crush 3D
Item: Crush 3D
Rating: 4
Author: Chad Sapieha

Game review by

Chad Sapieha, Common Sense Media

Common Sense says

age 10+

(i)

Unusual puzzler cleverly uses perspective, but it's hard.

Nintendo 3DS
$29.99
2012

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Kids say

age 9+

Based on 1 review

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The parents' guide to what's in this game.

Positive Messages

This game rewards thoughtful, considered action. It suggests that strategic, logical thinking is the most important tool when confronting challenges.

Positive Role Models & Representations

The hero, a dressing gown-clad young man, is a good-humored fellow and obliging lab rat for his friend, a strange professor. He makes cracks about the professor's lack of consideration for the consequences of his experiments, but he tackles the game's puzzles with determination and tenacity.

Ease of Play

Most of the puzzles aren't that hard in concept, but switching dimensions and perspectives can be a little disconcerting. It's a mechanic that won’t easily be learned by all players. Most will either find their bearings after dozen or so puzzles, or they’ll grow frustrated and give up.

Violence

Players occasionally squish large bugs, which release yellow goo. Should the player's avatar fall off a ledge, he'll let out a little yell. He never dies or becomes seriously injured.

Sex

Language

Consumerism

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Crush 3D is a puzzle game that allows players to change not only the perspective from which the view their surroundings, but also switch the environment from two dimensions to three, then back again. Players must think through both logic and strategy, and consider consequences before taking action. There is some mild violence, but it's directed at bugs, which are squished and squirt yellow goo. Parents need to remember that Nintendo is warning parents not to allow kids age six and under to view the graphics in 3D because that viewing "may cause vision damage." The Nintendo 3DS offers parents the ability to lock out the use of 3D graphics in the system's Parental Controls. This game also has the option of using StreetPass, a feature where player information can be passed to others. It too can be turned off.

User Reviews

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Teen, 14 years old Written byKieth11 September 15, 2012

age 9+

Good, but really hard.

It's a good game, but really, really hard. It's possible, but don't think anyone can pass something on their first try without getting really pis... Continue reading

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What's it about?

A wacky professor has come up with a way for people to experience worlds that shift between two and three dimensions in CRUSH 3D for Nintendo 3DS. Players take on the role of a young man who unwittingly becomes a guinea pig for the professor's experiments. He finds himself inhabiting virtual environments in his subconscious that can be \"crushed,\" flattening them to two dimensions. You can also shift the camera around our protagonist, allowing you to crush the environment from new angles. This unique mechanic allows our hero to bypass and overcome obstacles, find hidden collectibles, and squish the occasional bug on his way toward finding an exit in each of the game's 50 or so puzzles.

Is it any good?

Crush 3D is clever and fun, but it may well break your brain. Imagining what an environment will look like transformed from three dimensions to two -- or back again -- is harder than you make think. Thank goodness the game’s developer, Zoe Mode, is forgiving in the game's design. The puzzles are challenging, but there are plenty of save points. And crushing never has fatal results -- though you can accidentally jump off ledges if you aren’t careful. It's also a case of a game in which the 3DS’s stereoscopic display is a true benefit.

It could be a little more robust -- a game that costs $30 should last longer than five or six hours -- but there's little denying its cleverness and innovation. It's worth it for puzzle fans looking for something different.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about how we use reasoning skills in our day-to-day lives. What are some activities that require you to consider consequences before taking action?
Families can also discuss the ethics of scientific experimentation. When is it appropriate to use real people to test new technologies and theories? When is it not? At what point do the ends cease to justify the means?
What are some other puzzle games that you have played and enjoyed?