Columns review

Game: Columns
Platform: Genesis
Genre: Casual (Puzzle)
Developer: SEGA

Reader review by goldenvortex

July 04, 2004

Columns puts you in a position where you have to stack jewels in sets of three on top of each other. If you get three jewels of the same shape and colour in a stack, no, a column then you will get a nice range of points. You can also get them diagonally as well as vertically. When the jewels are levered down you have a few seconds to change the combination of the jewels enabling you to connect more often.

If you stack tactically, or luckily you will get a range of stacks, so three yellow columns might make a red jewel land next to a few other stacked up red jewels, which may make a green j…. well you understand now, right? Also occasionally you will receive a sparkling jewel which will automatically disappear and cause any other jewels to vanish, giving you more points. Of course, the simple viewing of this jewel is a marvel its self because of its rarity and you’ll be staring at the jewel preview over your mixed up stack, begging for it to come.

Many people have said “Columns is cool!” or some Nintendo lovers have said “OMG Sega ripped off Tetris!! You Bastards!!!” Then people like me come along and say:

There isn’t a shred of fun in this game at all.

Stacking blocks on top of another gets pretty tiring after level 2 and if you actually get past level 2 then I salute you. When you get beat by the CPU continually then you get frustrated so what Columns does is give you a ride down the one-way road to boredom. Then you really get annoyed when you realise that you just wasted the last ten minutes doing nothing but stacking blocks on top of each other.

The only actual indulging feature of the gameplay in comparison with the arcade version is the inclusion of a few more modes. Of course, the arcade mode remains impossible to differentiate but a new “original mode” has the option for you to select the background music (Yah?) and the Flash mode which had a little more fun in it, although nothing absolutely spectacular. Flash mode is still the same old game with a different goal. You have to destroy the twinkling stone in the middle by linking it up with two of his identical brothers. Too be honest, it wasn’t that bad and I played through it a few more times and almost enjoyed it. Out of the three modes it’s the best by far, but, at the end of the day, it’s still the same old boring game.

I found Columns so dry and uninspiring that I can’t believe I wasted time reviewing it but the truth must be heard. Columns is so bland you can’t buy it alone, if you have to get it then it is a providence that you get it on a Sega 6-games in one pack where you get four Sega classics as well as a crappy football game with this bore hog. However, if you are thinking of getting Columns on your Mega Drive then I would only recommend getting it if you are a collector or a puzzle game fanatic. If you are none of these then go and waste your hopefully hard earned dough on Dr Robotniks Mean Bean machine, a much more rewarding title.

Rating: 2/10

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