PQ

Game: PQ

Platform: PSP

Studio: D3

Rating: 8/10

GAME DESCRIPTION: Find out how adept you are at solving logic problems in P.Q., an addictive new puzzle game. Your speed and accuracy will determine your PQ score. Upload your score to the online ranking site and see how smart you really are! All gameplay takes place on a grid. You must get your character to the exit. Puzzles include: Boxes; Create a clear path on the grid to access the exit. Boxes placed in the path can be pushed or pulled but not carried. Stairs; Move the boxes to create a series of stairs to access the upper level. Escalators; Figure out which set of escalators will take you to the next platform until you reach the exit. Lasers; Move the boxes on the grid to block the laser beam and move toward the exit without crossing a beam.

PLAY: There are many different puzzle games; Tetris, being the best known, and our current favorite on the PSP, Lumines.

PQ messes with your head because part of you believes the further you get in the game the smarter you must be. The makers of PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient claims that their game can measure your intelligence. Whether it can or not is up for debate.

PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient is a 3D puzzle game that tests player’s problem solving skills, PQ uses the PSP system’s Infrastructure Mode and allows players to post their PQ score on the worldwide ranking site to see how they rank against other players around the world. Players can challenge 100 3D logic puzzles by moving blocks, avoiding walls and lasers, pulling switches and maneuvering with maps to reach their goal and solve the puzzle. As players solve the puzzle within a shorter time frame and with fewer moves, their PQ scores improve. Players can then post their PQ score using the PSP system’s Infrastructure Mode to receive a worldwide ranking.

GRAPHICS: There is only so much depth and detail that can go into a puzzle game and to date there is no pure puzzle game that has blown anyone’s mind visually.

SOUND: Very elementary which is fitting for PQ.

FRANKLY: You might be trick into believing that if you dislike PQ then you must not be very intelligent. Well, that’s not entirely true. Unlike Lumines, PQ: Practical Intelligence Quotient is watching, testing, grading you which increase your stress level and creating an elevated level of self-consciousness. The most glaring issue is that you replay many of the same puzzles. Lumines is different every time—not true with PQ.

+ Richie Wright