Game Reviews

Symbol6

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Symbol6
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| Symbol6

While some games tell grand stories across scores of chapters (tales of war, love, and Italian plumbers for whom talking mushrooms hold a fascination, for instance), others charge you with matching up coloured shapes.

Symbol6 fits very neatly into that latter category, frothing at the mouth with the kind of hot-blooded, pulse-quickening play that proves you don't have to make a game complex in order for it to be engaging.

As with the best puzzle titles, Symbol6 weaves together its own language - once you've learned it, it becomes second-nature to pick up the handset and play for hours on end.

That language has you controlling of a hexagon filled with seven coloured tiles, each carrying a symbol. New tiles drift in from the edge of the screen and your job is to ensure those invading tiles are paired with their brethren inside the main hexagon.

In other words, your job is to swap the hexagons around by flicking your finger so that those approaching match those in the hexagon.

Initially, the tiles come one at a time, giving you enough time to rearrange the hexagon with little fuss. Things are so easy at this stage that you can even speed the process up by dragging tiles out to meet their match.

Each pair earns you points, with the amount awarded rising the more consecutive matches you make. Mismatches reset that chain and damage your health. Of equal concern are killer hexagons, throbbing red and intent on flying straight into the middle of the action.

These tiles have a destructive quality, deadening any distinction by stripping the screen of colour or blurring the symbols.

This is where the accelerometer comes into play. Tipping your handset calls forth spikes from the central hexagon that defend against these threatening red tiles. Spikes appear relative to your tilting, making it a matter of careful tilting to move the spikes so they block the path of the killer tile.

This is a tricky test since it requires your complete attention and breaks up the near continuous shuffling of shapes. It's the game's breaking point.

Handling the accelerometer in the midst of the rest of the action will fits in perfectly, but for those who break a sweat merely moving and matching, attempting to fight off the killer hexagons at the same time will be one evaluation too many.

That fact itself raises the question of whether play would better be served by two modes: one that focused solely on pairing up, the other throwing in added elements like killer hexagons or even the odd bonus.

As is, the pace and intensity of Symbol6 will quickly separate the skilled from the swamped, giving those eager for a finger festival an intense platform to test themselves.

Built almost exclusively for high score chasers, success in Symbol6 comes as a result of holding on and tapping into a zen-like state, giving into the frantic action so topping that leaderboard becomes your only concern. It's an aim that's ten a penny on the AppStore, but finding games that match its achievements could be a tricky task in itself.

Symbol6

Requiring speed, dedication, and a little bit of nuttiness, Symbol6 is a hectic puzzler that manages to be simple and strenuous at the same time
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Keith Andrew
Keith Andrew
With a fine eye for detail, Keith Andrew is fuelled by strong coffee, Kylie Minogue and the shapely curve of a san serif font. He's also Pocket Gamer's resident football gaming expert and, thanks to his work on PG.biz, monitors the market share of all mobile OSes on a daily basis.