When the original Roogoo was announced more than a year ago, it struck me as being an interesting puzzler that came from an unlikely place. Consisting of five different colored blocks (each with a different shape), players are tasked with aligning each block with the cutouts matching their respective shapes. Though the concept goes a little further than that, the game looks like it could have come from a popular toy for babies, where toddlers push square and circle-shaped blocks through various openings.

Which sounds absolutely crazy  …or does it? Can a puzzle game build a strong gameplay foundation on a concept rooted in something that a one-year-old will eventually tire of?

Using multiple sphere-shaped platforms, Roogoo: Twisted Towers blends its seemingly childish concept with a mixture of puzzle game elements. Each sphere contains one slot for every block used in the stage (there are only three at first); as they fall from the highest sphere at the top of the screen, your job is to spin the spheres until each falling block is lined up with the appropriate slot. Succeed and the blocks will fall right through, continuing their descent until an obstacle gets in their way – or until you screw up.

Blocks always travel in one direction, but they are not bound by gravity. When the level demands, they’ll travel sideways, spin around a quarter-circle, and fly back up underneath platforms they had previously fallen through. At every turn, the player is required to press the B and Z buttons to spin the platforms left and right to ensure the blocks continue their journey. If you screw up – an inevitable occurrence in this game – the block will bounce off, adding points to your loss meter. If the meter is filled before you’re able to complete the stage, the battle will be lost and you’ll have to start again.

Since there is only one goal in mind – to safely bring several blocks to the last platform of a given stage – success isn’t a major issue at first. You’ll finish levels without even trying. The game builds on this with numerous obstacles and an ever-increasing block requirement. Though you may only have a few individual shapes, there could be several blocks for each one of them. One of the obstacles involves the number of blocks you have stacked at one time – if there aren’t enough, the pile could get stuck on one of the platforms. When that happens, you’ll need to guide additional blocks (of that same shape) down to that platform until the stack is heavy enough to fall through.

Twisted Towers slowly builds its army of block droppings by increasing the speed and the number of blocks being dropped. Weird creature enemies are also included. They stand on top of the block cutouts and must be eliminated before you can penetrate the hole they’re guarding. To remove them, you’ll need to press the C button to make the falling block speed up and slam into them.

Other barriers, such as cement, can only be removed by pushing the Wii remote toward and away from the screen. This causes your blocks to spin, producing a drill-like effect that cuts right through the barrier. The craziness is taken a little further with boss battles, who try their best to distract the player from completing the same general task of moving blocks to the last platform.

It all works well, for the most part. The controls are very simple (so simple that I’m surprised the developers didn’t scrap the Nunchuk and just use the Wii remote). But Twisted Towers is not quite a grade-A puzzler. The problems begin with the visuals, though that’s not where they end.

Unlike most games, where the graphics are little more than a source of eye candy, Twisted Towers is a game that needs crystal clear visuals. As blocks fall, their point of descent is highlighted with a small circle, but it’s not too helpful when blocks are falling rapidly. With blocks being spun around in 3D, players need to be able to glance at them and instantly recognize their position – with or without a descending highlight.

This cannot be done. Twisted Towers’ graphics are much too simple to accomplish the necessary visual. Shadows and lighting effects – the most basic elements used to make a 3D image pop – are barely used. The colors are bright but undefined, making it difficult to tell exactly where the shapes are in relation to each hole. It’s a weird flaw that won’t make a whole lot of sense until you’ve played the game yourself.

And then there’s the issue of repetition. By and large, Roogoo is what it looks like. It can be fun…and it can be tiring. For the Wii version of the game, the developers hoped to circumvent this inevitable dilemma with motion-controlled elements, including:

Catching butterflies. Point the Wii remote at the screen and swing your virtual net to catch them.

Swatting bats. Same concept as the butterfly attack.

Skydiving. Sounds cool, but you’re not really skydiving. The background is 2D, and it doesn’t feel like you’re falling toward the ground so much as you’re walking toward a plain ground-colored wall.

Lost blocks. Use the net to catch blocks that missed their destination; afterwards, touch the loss meter to reduce its load.

These diversions aren’t much fun, but at least the butterflies have a purpose: if you don’t remove them (or anything else that appears on screen) as they approach, they might fly off with your blocks.

Gameplay: 7.0
A quick and original puzzle game that quickly becomes repetitive.

Graphics: 2.4
It's not the plain graphics that bother me; it's that they don't do their job of making the 3D elements crystal clear and easy to follow.

Sound: 1.0
Ouch. No, that wasn't a verbal response to my own score. That was the sound of me responding to what my ears felt while listening to the music and sound effects in this game.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Not really a challenging game, but one with a few obstacles (and annoyances) that could prevent you from beating the game instantaneously.

Concept: 8.0
It might not the most exciting or most addictive puzzle game on the planet, but Roogoo: Twisted Towers is still one of the most original games released on the Wii.

Multiplayer: 7.0
Two and four-player competitions give Twisted Towers some variety, but the entertainment value isn't any greater than playing solo.

Overall: 7.0
Puzzle fans are encouraged to rent Roogoo: Twisted Towers. But it's hard to recommend it as anything more. I presume that some people will love it, but chances are most players will be slightly (perhaps heavily) turned off by the repetitive gameplay and annoying motion-controlled distractions.