Jules Review

It's a common nightmare. Waking up one day to find everyone you know trapped inside of wooden boxes. Alright, so maybe that isn't a very common nightmare. Still, it would be pretty freaky. Regardless of whether anyone has actually ever woken up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat fearing a boxed future, this game is a refreshing taste of a more surreal side of gaming.

Jules is a cute, fox-like creature that awakes one day to find his family -- and everyone in the world in fact -- has been trapped in large crates. Jules gets around the world by twisting himself up around his trusty green ball and rolling around. He can free everyone that is trapped by rolling into the boxes that imprison them and breaking them open. The game is broken up into stages, and each stage takes place in a different everyday locale. Jules finds himself rolling through these locales and breaking boxes in places like his home, the park, the beach, and the soccer field. In his travels, Jules must also avoid the blocky minions who have busily been boxing the world's population. If he is touched by any of these enemies, he will be boxed himself and unable to continue his rescue mission.

Players control Jules and guide him around the environments by tilting the device back and forth, much as one would roll a marble back and forth in a shoebox. One of the smartest features in this game is the ability for players to pause the game at any time and adjust the stationary state. This means that the player can position themselves in the most comfortable position for playing the game with no need to contort themselves to level their device in a particular way.

The painterly, surreal environments of this game are simply spectacular. The gameplay may not be incredibly innovative, but the visuals keep this game fresh in a way that innovative gameplay by itself couldn't. To bring an added degree of interest to the visuals, there is a point of view built into the top down view that shifts slightly as the player tilts the device. The result is an absolutely genius faux 3D perspective that changes dynamically as the game is played. Some lifetime value is also added to the game with the inclusion of four additional gameplay modes outside of the story mode for players to explore.

For players looking for a delightful departure from the normal and mundane, this game is a must.