New 3DS Demo Online – CRUSH3D

One of the newer features of the Nintendo 3DS is the introduction of downloadable demos of new games from a wide variety of genres. Over at the EU version of the 3DS shop, a new demo was released on Thursday – that of the puzzle game CRUSH3D. In case you’ve not heard of it, it’s a puzzle game that uses the concept of switching between 2D and 3D planes in order to make your way from one point to another whilst collecting marbles.

The demo itself is a simplistic affair, showing the introduction of the game, as well as the tutorial level and the first three levels. Each core level has three challenges associated with it – to max out your marble score (whilst getting at least half the total to open the goal), to obtain a hidden concept art book and to grab a trophy. Unfortunately, in the demo this means nothing aside from bragging rights. Not even the use of a penguin and a toaster can gain you access to them – at least, not from what I’ve tried.

The use of 3D within the demo is alright, but not outstanding. You get the depth whilst playing in the 3D plane, and when you crush to 2D, that also disappears (as expected). It’s a clever touch, but it’s not up to the detail of games such as Ocarina of Time. It also doesn’t add much to the game if you play with 2D or 3D, but it’s a nice added extra if you want to use it.

Overall, it’s a nice demo, but it’s not ideal. It’s very short with only 3 core levels – after that, it goes back to the title screen and resets the entire demo. There’s also no save function at all, so if you decide to quit and return later, you’ll need to go through the tutorial and other levels again. And as mentioned before, it doesn’t gain you access to extras (such as new dressing gowns and concept art). It does what a demo is supposed to – tease the basis of the game to allow you to make up your mind as to whether you want it or not. It’s completely free, so it is worth a try if you’ve got 15 minutes to spare.

The demo is available through the 3DS shop for free, with an approximate size of 627 blocks. As with all 3DS demos, it is only available for 30 plays/activations before it deletes itself.