GO! Sudoku PSP Review

There's a craze sweeping the world and if you travel on public transport you've most likely seen it somewhere or another, and that craze is Sudoku. A small game based on numbers and grids has seen the crossword puzzle and scramble fizzle out and now everyone is talking about Sudoku. Why? It's because Sudoku is a game you can play for five or fifty minutes, it's easy to learn and it doesn't rely on general knowledge, just lateral thinking and some brains. Why people decide to stress themselves before work with these puzzles is beyond me, however Sony now gives you the opportunity to do it a bit more comfortably on the PSP.



The best way to describe GO! Sudoku is as a digital version of the popular game. However there is a bit more to the game than that. First of all it actually teaches you how to play with some training levels. I went from Sudoku amateur to almost professional in about forty minutes of gameplay meaning I was quite impressed by this feature. Also once you actually start to play the game and make a mistake, it points out to you why, so you're continuously learning new tactics for the game and how to play. I had tried to play the paper version, but the PSP version made it much easier to learn and was a much less frustrating experience.



Once you become sufficiently good at the game you can move onto the challenge mode where you have to complete puzzles in a set period of time. You get a number of lives and as you make a mistake you lose a life. On the easy mode the game allows you to continue once the lives have run out but obviously you lose bonus points and can't get high scores etc. The whole aim of this game appears to be to teach you how to play the game properly. So if you've tried the paper version and become frustrated don't worry as the PSP moves you into the game slowly.



One thing which will get this game moving is the wireless gameplay and the "pass the PSP" game mode. Obviously with the wireless you play against each other in real time, but pass the PSP tasks one player with completing a puzzle, then the next player has to beat the same puzzle in the shorter period of time to win. It works quite well and the developers have made the best of a game which traditionally is not multiplayer.



GO! Sudoku is a good choice for those who want to learn how to play the game properly and also are sick of making mistakes and not being able to rub out pen marks. It's budget priced and even if you're not the biggest puzzle game fan, GO! Sudoku will give you a nice change of pace from games like Ridge Racer or Wipeout.