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I like puzzle games and this one is a keeper!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 23 / 25
Date: June 06, 2002
Author: Amazon User

ZooCube is the best version of a 3D Tetris-like game that I have ever seen. 3D user-interface is tricky and usually not intuitive but ZooCube does a great job of making it both easy to learn and keeping the game challenging to master.

It's based on simple animal matching, but the graphics and sound effects are fun while keeping things focused on the game play. The powerups and smart bombs help your score and can save you from deep trouble if carefully used.

The between-level and background graphics are good, but you'll have little time to look at them.

Multi-player looks very interesting with both cooperative and competition modes, but I haven't had a chance to play them yet.

Enjoy!

Cuby!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: July 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I've waited a long time for a worthy successor to Tetris, and this is it! Let's just hope it doesn't languish in obscurity, because it's possibly the best puzzle game I've ever played.

Easy to learn, yet extremely challenging, this is an addictive experience. I lose hours every time I play. Where does the time go? Into an truly innovative and interactive puzzle game. The action revolves around a cube on which you stack colored shapes( animals who have been transformed, according to the rather flimsy plot), trying to match two of the same kind( like Noah) so that they wil be "rescued" and transported from the playing field. The shapes come from three sides, and by rotating the cube on it's three axes, you catch & match to rack up a high score. But be careful! If you allow more than five unmatched shapes to collect on a side, your Zoocube will over heat, and it's Game Over. The action starts off at a nice pace and moves to a frantic flipping frenzy as you desperately try to keep the rain of shapes at bay.

I believe the engine must be fairly deep, as you are always provided with the correct piece in plenty of time - IF you can manipulate your cube to pair it with its partner, which is a lot harder than it sounds.

So why did I give the game only 4 Stars? As much as I love it, I think the Game Boy Advance version is superior. I think the controls are a little bit easier and a little bit tighter, and while it doesn't have the same level of graphics and sound, it's still impressive and the flow of the game is much improved without the cutscenes.

Weird, with a capital G.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 1 / 5
Date: October 20, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Animal shapes course in from all sides of the screen, you attach them to each of the six sides of your cube. Attach two similar pieces to destroy them. More than five shapes on a side == game over.
It's one heck of a puzzle game. Like the classics, it has a simple concept that only gets difficult when you try to play the thing.

My only complaint is, a la Tetris, if you're not totally sucked in you'll find it getting a tad repetetive. If you stick with it while the pace increases, you'll be totally. Totally. Sucked In. Especially as there's seven speeds to tackle the seven stages on. And three progressive difficulty modes. And four gameplay styles to choose from. 7 * 7 * 3 * 4 equals... well, a lot. Especially given the number of levels in a stage can be anything from 4 to about 28.

As in most puzzlers, graphics and sound are nothing to write home about, although the reggae bonus level theme is a bit fun.

That's about it, really.

Too frustrating to be fun.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 14 / 15
Date: December 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I tried to like this game. I really did. One of my all-time favorite games was the underrated Tetrisphere on the N64. My friend and I would sit there for hours playing the darn thing, day after day, week after week. It has the perfect learning curve. The game kept getting harder and harder and you really had to put a lot of effort into the later levels, but you prevailed in the end if you tried hard enough and developed a good strategy. One more important thing...it was FUN! This game, on the other hand, is too repetitive to be fun for very long.

"Zoocube" is honestly quite enjoyable for about the first 6-8 hours of gameplay you put into it. Matching up identical animal shapes on a cube probably doesn't sound like much but you're always trying to get better and advance to the next level. It can be interesting in a certain sort of obsessive way for a while. The problem is...it is extremely difficult. I'm an experienced gamer of over 20 years and it took me an eternity to beat the game on the easiest setting. Sure...there's a feeling of accomplishment after that, but you realize that you hardly enjoyed the game while you were playing. There are seven levels you have to proceed through...one for each of the world's oceans. Beating those levels unlocks an eighth bonus level (Gulf of Mexico). Other than checking that bonus area out, the replay factor is almost nothing.

Unfortunately, some game developers believe that if they make their game extremely difficult then the replay value will be high because you will never be done with it. Perhaps there are people out there who really enjoy that. I don't. You can play the game on 7 different speed settings but unless you're superhuman, the higher settings are all but impossible to get through.

Ultimately, the frustration factor is high with this game and you will probably end up becoming disgusted with it. That just isn't fun. I would recommend renting it if you can find it. However, unless you are a die hard puzzle fanatic, don't waste your money buying it. You'll likely give up trying to get past the outrageously difficult and boring levels and your game will just sit around collecting dust.

bad game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 12
Date: December 24, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Upon purchasing this rather dissatisfying video gaming device I was not surprised to find that this was the worst game ever.

good concept but ultimately doesn't satisfy

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 10
Date: January 08, 2003
Author: Amazon User

The premise of this game seems to be that some alien is trying to steal all the animals from the earth and you have to stop him by pairing the animals up thus releasing them.

To accomplish this you match shapes that look sort of like animal heads. The heads stack up on each side of a cube and you rotate the cube around to make the shape fall on the side you want it to. You can shuffle the heads that are already on the cube to shift a matching head to the outside which makes the matching heads disappear. At first there are about 6 different heads but later in the game there are at least 15, probably more. There are bonus pieces you can capture by floating a head over it but the effort doesn't seem worth it.

This game is very difficult. It isn't too bad at first as the heads start falling from 3 directions in a pattern that you can kind of get used to. But about half way through the levels you start getting shapes coming from the bottom of the screen and it is very difficult to identify them, plus you are no longer sure which direction the next head is coming from.. I finally worked my way through that level then shapes start coming from the other directions at well. At this point I stopped caring about the game enough to try to learn the new pieces and pattern.

The difficulty is again compounded when the heads stacked up on the cube get to be different lengths. Then you can't just move the cube to the side that matches the head because you will unintentionally pick up heads coming from another direction.

Finally, it is just too difficult to see. In order to play this game I have to get really close to my 32" TV in order to try to make out both the pieces on my cube that are turned to the back as well as to make out the pieces that are coming.

OK, if it stinks so bad why did I give it 3 stars then? Simple - it is fairly addicting. My GameCube is new and Zoocube has been the game that has stayed in it the most. If you enjoy games of this nature (Columns, Tetris, etc.) you will probably get some good play out of this game and I would recommend picking it up off the bargain shelf if you have the chance. But be prepared to be frustrated - I don't think I'll be returning to this game much now that I've really about had it.

Also I would recommend the GameBoy Advance version of this game over the GameCube version. The heads are made into shapes that are much easier to identify. It seems to control better also and it allows you to adjust the brightness of the background and pieces so it is easier to see what's going on.

There's a reason you haven't heard of it.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 18
Date: April 04, 2003
Author: Amazon User

It is a bad game. No need to go into detail, it's just a bad game.

Not the best production values, but still fun

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: May 20, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I love puzzle games, and I've had many puzzle-oriented addictions over the years (Tetris Attack, Snood, Bejeweled, and so forth). ZooCube is unique and rather entertaining, but it does have its shortcomings that keep me from giving it anything more than 3 stars. While the gameplay is quite satisfying, ZooCube is not without its flaws. The in-game menus are rather cheezy, the cut scenes are total garbage (especially the "game over" scene, which doesn't even have the audio properly sync'd to the animation!), and the so-called plot adds absolutely nothing to the game. Tetris didn't need a plot, and ZooCube doesn't need one either.

If you can get past the amateurish production values and the silly storyline, you'll find a fun and challenging game that will suck up a fair amount of your time. One tip, though - rent this one before you buy, and see if this style of puzzle game is for you. It won't appeal to everyone, but those who like it will find it very hard to put down.

A good buy if you like puzzle games.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: May 23, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I see that some people didn't appreciate this game. This really is a good puzzle game, regardless of the fact that this and Tetris Worlds are virtually the only puzzle games on the gamecube (I own both). Don't let the animal aspect fool you by appearing childish. I personally enjoyed this game a lot and have wasted a lot of time playing it. I think it is fun, addictive, and creative in its own way. If you enjoy puzzle games (I personally think they are the best genre of games available) then you should definitely add this one to your gamecube collection. Allow me to list for you a couple of my favorite puzzle games, if you like the same ones I like, then you would probably like ZooCube as well. The best ever puzzle game created is Tetris, there is no equal - none! A couple other great puzzle games in my opinion are Wetrix for N64, Tetris 2 for SNES and Fire and Ice for NES (although not readily available, if you look hard enough you can find it). As far as graphics, sound, etc go for ZooCube, everything is good. The graphics are good (remember it's a puzzle game), the soundtrack is addicting and matches the mood of the game (it changes by what level you are in, which is actually what region you are in. e.g. Arabia, Mediterranean, Antarctica, etc). The controls are a little bit weird at first because it's in three dimensions, but, you should quickly adapt to them. Overall, I would give ZooCube somewhere between 4 and 5 stars, but, I will round up becuase its one of two puzzle games for gamecube.

Fun Game but has a glitch

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: February 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I found this game to be challenging but I got all the way to beating the entire game and then the program hit a glitch not allowing me to save the last part of my progress. I thought maybe the Gamecube was at fault but I got to the same point over and over again with beating the game and the same glitch - cube would freeze up. Then I thought I had a bad copy of Zoo Cube so I bought a brand new one and the same thing happens. Nothing like this has ever happened with my other 15+ Gamecube games. Too bad.... this is old fashioned fun, not a lot of thought required. Having good periferal vision is a plus!

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