I'd Buy That for a Dollar: Magical Drop V

Sometimes I like cruising Steam to see what sort of stuff they have available for dirt cheap. Is the game horrible? Underrated? Is it a half-assed mobile phone port being snuck into the library? Sometimes it turns out that the game is actually pretty decent; it's just that for whatever reason the publisher has it up for a buck. Such was the case with Magical Drop V. I'd played some of the older games in the series from back in the 90s, and enjoyed those, so I got to wondering why this installment was so cheap. As it turns out, it was rushed to market and wound up being a buggy mess. Folks were rather peeved by this, and it wound up getting mixed reviews, relegating it to some far flung, long-forgotten fringe of the Steam catalog. However, years later the game appears to work just fine. At least it does for me. So, what I got out of the deal was a fun little puzzler for essentially a sack of nickles and a button.

Review: Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy (3DS)

Incredibly enough, being able to buy into Professor Layton and the Azran Legacy's main plot — Professor Layton and his chirpy sidekick Luke get involved with a million-year old civilization and a survivor of said civilization — isn't as difficult as buying into a universe where everyone from the youngest child to the oldest adult is constantly bombarding each other with logic puzzles.

"I surely would like a cup of tea."

"Straight away, sir. Right after you answer this quandary involving logarithmic scale forms and the price of wool of in Norway."

What makes Professor Layton so special as a character in this universe is that he answers more questions than he poses. That's what makes him so novel to the other characters and why he seems to be known the world over. Or it could just be the hat.

True or False?

Strata Quick Impressions (PC)

In search of a puzzle game that isn't a Tetris clone, match three, et cetera?  Maybe Strata would be something to look into.  Jeff takes a look at this puzzler where you have to match colored ribbons with squares below.

Review: Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack (PC)

Tales from Space: Mutant Blobs Attack debuted on the Playstation Vita in the early part of 2012 to much critical praise. Since it was essentially a launch title for the system it put to use some of the touchscreen/pad capabilities of the system. While such support on PC might have made the game more "Visceral!" it still fares quite well as an action puzzler.

Video: A Virus Named Tom Early Impressions (PC)

Mr. Nash takes an early look at upcoming PC puzzler A Virus Named Tom, and tells us a bit of what to expect from the game.