Nerdy kid on the cover… check. This is maths |
One part Dr. Robotnik’s Mean Bean Machine and a dash of Tetris added into the mix, with numbers thrown in for matching elements is a good way to explain how Sum Fighter feels. The puzzle grid flows up instead of down as in Tetris, and each block in the grid contains a number. To help ease how the gameplay mechanics works here, let’s use an example of a grid where all the blocks contain only the numbers 1 in them. If the A button is pressed and held on a block containing the number 1 and the cursor is moved to the next block, the two blocks will merge together and become a 2-block (1+1=2), and if the A button is continued to be held and the cursor moved again it will become a 3-block (1+2=3), etc. To eliminate a 2-block, you’ll have to create a second 2-block touching the other to eliminate the blocks from the grid, and it’ll take three 3-blocks touching to eliminate a single 3-block, etc., and as blocks are eliminated from the grid the loose blocks above those eliminated will shift down to lower the grid. It might seem confusing at first, but once the gameplay is firmly grasped and you start creating larger blocks, the gameplay becomes quite frantic and lots of fun.
Blocks, blocks everwhere |