Review: 3D Twist & Match

Posted by Eric G on April 29th, 2011 | 3 Comments | Tags: 3D Twist and Match

3D Twist & Match is a curious case. The game is unlike anything I’ve ever played. The point of the game is to rotate an object to match a given on-screen silhouette of the same object. After doing so, either the silhouette will change positions, or a new object will pop up and you do the twist all over again. If you complete puzzles quickly enough, your multiplier rises and a few seconds are added to the ever-ticking timer.

The controls for the game make sense, but they’re a bit difficult to get a hang of at first. Each button on the d-pad moves the object a certain direction and the shoulder buttons rotate it. Chances are you won’t get it at first; it’ll likely take about a dozen puzzles before you have a concrete handle on the controls. Once you do, though, you uncover a rather fun score attack game. Each mode (Classic or Rush) comes in three difficulty settings, and there’s a Practice mode where you can, well, practice twisting and matching items you’ve unlocked. You unlock items by getting an “Awesome!” rating, which takes rotating it the least amount of times necessary for it to match its silhouette. Instead of swapping to a new object, only the silhouette will change. This gets you familiar with the objects and how to control them. Five “Awesome!”s in a row earns you a “Super Awesome!” and a major point/time bonus.

To be honest, I initially wrote this game off. Its cutesy graphics and simple, seemingly silly concept made me wonder why it was ever conceived. However, after playing it for a few hours and unlocking some of the achievements, I found a fair amount of enjoyment with it. There are highscore tables for each difficulty of each mode, nine different multi-tiered achievements, and 200 items to unlock across 10 different environments (sports, spooky, winter, etc.). The biggest problem I have with the game is that it sometimes deletes the achievements I’ve earned. I found the practice mode to be completely useless, but I do check it every once in a while to see how many objects I’ve yet to “Awesome!” At such a low price, you may want to check 3D Twist & Match out. It’s a novel experience marred by bizarre controls, but if you have any interest in mental rotation tests (I do), you should give it a try. I imagine it would be a solid abstract learning tool if put in younger hands.

A copy of this game was provided by the publisher for review purposes. For more info on our review policy click here. This review is for the PlayStation Portable version of the game.