Something of a distant cousin to 2006's Japan-only GBA series bit generations, Nintendo has recently launched the WiiWare exclusive series Art Style.  Developed by skip Ltd, the same team behind the original bit generations label, Cubello represents the new branding with equal parts style and function.  And like all good puzzle games, Cubello offers a concept that simple to understand yet difficult to master.  So what exactly is Cubello?

A wholly original concept, Cubello offers something of a hyrbrid shooter-meets-falling-blocks mechanic.  The object of the game is simple -- match four same colored blocks to make them disappear.  The blocks are part of a slowly spinning construct called, you guessed it, a cubello.  You're armed with a limited number of blocks that increase with every set you make disappear, and you shoot these blocks at the cubello using the wiimote.  As the game goes on the cubellos get larger and begin to involve more and more colors.  The transition to larger cubellos really begins to feel overwhelming (in a good way) after a few stages.

While technically simple, the visual look of the game is pretty distinct.  The audio really hits an distinctive stride as well with a fantastic original score and creepy Stephen Hawking-esque computer voice guiding you through the game.  All in all, it's something that definitely helps to sell the Art Style brand.  The controls are spot on, too.  It's simple enough -- just aim and shoot.  It's a great showcase for the range of games that can be created for the Wii.  Cubello is fun, original, and couldn't exist on any other platform.

I suppose when describing it you could almost include elements of the Zuma/Luxor sub-genre in there as well.  After all, they're games about shooting like colored objects too.  The whole thing is just a brilliant hybrid of pre-existing puzzle elements that have come together to create something completely new.  It's one of the few truly fresh experiences I've encountered in the puzzle genre in a long time.  At 600 Wii Points, Nintendo really seems to have their head screwed on right.  It's a safe enough price for people to try something new and it's a reasonable enough price for this title to feel it's money well spent.

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