echoshift Member Review for the PSP

The Good: Fun yet simple art style, cerebral puzzles are challenging, lots of levels

The Bad: Not for everyone, requires a lot of patience and mental energy, repetitive after awhile

The echo series is a very cerebral puzzle series that really is not for everyone, and echoshift is no exception. The game just makes you really think and screws with your perspective in a way that requires a lot of trial and error, and mainly memorization.

echoshift lets you directly control your echo, but this game uses a time mechanic instead of perspective. Every level is a 2D side view and you mainly are presses switches, walking through doors, and basically trying to find the fastest route to the exit. You get 50 seconds for your first echo to try and clear the way. Then your echo will do what you just did. This is the key element in echoshift to solve puzzles since you can't always solve them in 50 seconds.

Let's say you have 5 sets of switches, but you can only do three in 50 seconds. There are 5 blocks on each set and only one is the right switch. You would have your first echo solve three then while that echo redoes what you did you go solve the third (the final switch your last echo will press) and then you solve the last two. Confused? I don't blame you sense it takes a lot of critical thinking to get these 5o or so levels solved. You get rated on how many echos you had to use and if you beat the level you can go back and solve the version to find the key...which really has no purpose.

The graphics are very simple, just black and white, and all the items you interact with are in color. The game is also very slow paced to only the patient will find any fun in this game. echoshift is one of the those rare puzzle games that make you think so much your brain will explode and I can't stress this enough. There were times where I was too tired to think to play this game, but it gets the thinking juices flowing and can be good exercise to get into the flow of school or any office work.