GENRE
	Puzzle
	DEVELOPER
	SpiderMonk
	PUBLISHER
	SouthPeak Games
	NUMBER OF PLAYERS
	1-4
	WI-FI ENHANCED
	No
	DS COMPATIBLE
	Yes
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Based on a very simple idea, Roogoo: Twisted Towers brings shape-based puzzle gameplay to Wii. The concept for the game is deceptively simple: Ensure that falling shaped blocks pass down through the matching appropriately-shaped openings in one of several rotatable disks that are on-screen. Sure, it seems like something native to preschool or the IQ test from Idiocracy, but this shape-themed puzzler manages to make a simple concept appealing.

Roogoo doesn't exactly push the Wii processors to their limits, but graphics aren't really the most important aspect of a puzzle game. The primary portion of the game focuses on the brightly colored shapes themselves, most of which -- orange stars, pink hearts, etc. -- look like they've escaped from a Lucky Charms box. The game's characters do feature a bit of charm, especially one bear vampire that attacks Roogoo in mid-quest, and the lush backgrounds featured on each level ooze charm, even though they generally aren't the focus of any particular stage.

The tunes featured in Roogoo are nearly infectious with their ambient energy. The stage is set beautifully by these subdued backbeats and synthesized grooves. Most of the music in Roogoo: Twisted Towers seems like it was destined to be in the background, but that's okay, because it was, and it excels at it. Meanwhile, the sounds effects at times seem like something out of a 1980s game show -- full of beeps and blips.

Play seems very simple, and it would be -- if there were just one rotating disk. That's where the "towers" come in. Generally puzzle levels consist of four or more separate filters for the shapes, sometimes moving at breakneck speed. The number of different shapes also increases as the play moves through story mode, which involves titular hero Roogoo defending his home against evil purple Meemoo invaders, and sometimes the shapes are replaced by other objects as well, including treasure chests. While the shapes are falling down the playing field, butterflies can also be caught using the Wii Remote as a net.

There are also other game modes in addition to the standard puzzle solving, perhaps the most enjoyable of which is the boss battle. The player must try to avoid, or actively combat, an enemy with the Wii Remote while still enduring the regular cascade of descending shapes. The enemy character designs are quite endearing, particularly a somewhat angry abominable snowman name King Charlie, and Barry von Pire, the aforementioned horribly cursed bear vampire, and the extra objectives add a great deal to the traditional experience. Plus, Roogoo himself has to fly through some seriously twisted top-down parachuting levels, where he has to collect shapes while avoiding or shooting Meemoos.

Multiplayer is also supported via a split-screen race, where two players compete head-to-head to finish a tower before the other, and Party mode, which is for up to four players. DS owners who have a copy of Roogoo Attack! can also unlock some extra levels by connecting the DS game to Twisted Towers.

Roogoo: Twisted Towers offers a solid base with a good number of features. And, while it's not Shakespeare, the story mode offers a dozen times more plot than seen in most other puzzle games on the market, which is great -- it helps to have motivation to continue playing. With an interesting concept and a lot of content, this title makes a worthy addition to any puzzle fan's library.

8.1/10