Lights Out.... the killer app of Game.Com? The comparison between the Com's Lights Out and the Gameboy's Tetris is naturally going to occur, given the existing similarities. So, how does Lights Out stack up (pun intended!) against what has been called "the purest computer game of all time"?
Lights Out is a fairly simplistic puzzle game, but as with most puzzles, it possesses a simplicity that conceals more depth than first imagined. The concept is elegant - you are presented with a 6x6 grid of squares, either lit or unlit. The goal is to switch all the lit squares to unlit, clearing the grid. This switching is accomplished by touching an individual square, which causes it to alternate from lit/unlit, as well as causing all of its cardinal neighbors to do likewise. Somewhat reminiscent of games such as Minesweeper, the basic concept is easily grasped... but thats about all the ease this puzzle game will allot you. As I mentioned, this simple concept allows for quite detailed puzzles, and the game becomes difficult to set down as you advance further and further up the difficulty ladder. As appropriate for the Com's "killer app", this game is touchscreen controlled - AFAIK, none of the control buttons or movement pad have any effect upon the game's control. By touching a lit or unlit square with your stylus pen, it and its north, south, east, and west partners invert their lighting. Knowing that the diagonal neighbors will remain unchanged is an important lesson to be learned early in the game, as well as handiness of using the grid's border (the grid does not "warp" - touching square 1,1 has no effect upon 1,6 or 6,1, for example). After only moments of playing, the game reminded me of the old computer simulation called Life, with its interacting square "communities". Other players familiar with Life will recognize some recurring patterns in the lighting, such as "shooters" that are handy for reaching across the grid to fetch a lone lit square. Lights Out has various option modes to keep the action fresh, from the 500 standard precomputed puzzles to a freeform mode that randomly lights up the grid for you to (attempt to) solve - I'm wondering if some of these random patterns are mathematically impossible to solve.... Most folks will probably stick with the precomp puzzles, and there are enuf of them to keep you busy for a considerable length of time. Even after solving all 500(!), the replay value is excellent - I restarted after puzzle 40 or so and was having difficulty remembering most of the puzzles, so the experience was freshly enjoyable. Is "killer app" the deserved title of Lights Out? Undoubtably, this is a fun, addictive game, and Tiger could have chose a much worse title for the honor. Is it as good as Tetris? A difficult call, given that, altho they are both puzzle games, they really do differ in important ways that makes a comparison less than fair. You'll find yourself cognating more while playing Lights Out, while Tetris came across as a more instinctual, visual manipulation test. Regardless of comparisons, Lights Out is a solid title under the Com's belt, destined to outshine some of the $30 carts coming down the line. I would encourage Game.Com enthusiasts to purchase this worthwhile cart, but my money is on the fact that you already own it :)
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