The Cube (Nintendo 3DS) Review

Win seven consecutive challenges and claim the maximum prize of £250,000! Or not, as the case may be in The Cube on Nintendo 3DS eShop, since there is no monetary reward for taking part, only money spent on the product itself. Now, however, rather than around the £15 on Wii, Fun Box Media has sensibly made this available to a wider market via the Nintendo 3DS eShop download service for a mere £7.19.

Just as with the Wii version, there are over thirty challenges to take part in (some new for 3DS), which involve standing in a glass box and having tests of memory, reactions, dexterity, speed and more. Modes that involved waggling the Wii Remote before - such as trying to bounce balls into containers and upwards to break glass or even throwing discs into slots - have been replaced with touch screen alternatives. Sadly, though, they do not always work quite as smoothly as hoped.

Before each task, a video is shown with The Voice and The Body from the show acting out how best to complete the objective at hand, and there is also the opportunity to either have a trial run or simplify things slightly (thankfully this is limited, so as to avoid removing the fun!). With nine lives available for an entire round, missions include swiftly tapping on squares as they light up, rolling a ball into a particular zone at the perfect time, carefully rotating the camera to keep an eye on a moving square, tracing out paths after viewing them for a split second, memorising patterns, and so on. There is an impressive amount packed in, and whilst the touch screen sliding tasks frustrate at times, the rest of the button input challenges are far better and bring home the feel of the game show as well as can be expected.

Multiplayer challenges and head-to-head modes (seven random games, with each taking turns with one life to see who is best), statistical tracking, multiple profiles for family members, and an 'Extreme' mode that unlocks after progressing far enough - there is plenty here in the value stakes. Okay, visually The Cube does nothing more than the basics to mimic the appearance of the game show, but that is perfectly acceptable for what it is; a tie-in. Aurally it does the business as well, with the included voiceover work being pleasingly clear - nothing more, nothing less than what was expected. All-in-all, anyone looking for a test of their skills, and those families that love the TV show, will certainly be pleased with what The Cube has to offer.