Move It!

Move It! bills itself as a "fresh and exciting block-sliding puzzle that isn't another 'unblock me' clone". In layman's terms that means it's an attempt to copy the success of Rush Hour without just copying the game as so many other puzzles on the Android Market do. I've reviewed a few of these types of games and gave the cake to the official Rush Hour with its 2500 puzzles, pretty and colorful graphics (most just use blocks instead of cars), and solid play. What does Move It! try to do differently in an attempt to beat Rush Hour at its own game? It adds shapes beyond the simple rectangle.

Move It!'s graphics aren't anything to write home about. Simple block shapes with some shading. It does bill itself as a block puzzle, so blocks aren't exactly out of the question. Still, there's something appealing to people about themes such as 'get the car out of the parking lot' instead of 'move the red block over here'. The game has nice, relaxing background music that plays as you play. But it's not about graphics and sound here is it? It's all about the puzzles and the puzzles are good. The game is easy to control with simple swipes on pieces and it does offer others options although why you'd use them is beyond me when touch works well enough.

The game's real competition, though, is the plethora of games of this type. All in all I really can't say I like Move It! better than Rush Hour. It's good. It's enjoyable. It's be great if it was the first of its kind. But the relaxed shape constraint really doesn't add a whole lot to the game. It's still moving objects around to ultimately move another object to its destination. With 672 puzzles in the full version this game is certainly worth the money, but if you're going to choose one or the other I still have to give the nod to Rush Hour especially given that it has almost 4 times the number of puzzles for a dollar or so less.

In conclusion, this is a solid puzzle game that is a nice addition to the Android Market, but competes with countless other pre-existing puzzle games. If you're done with Rush Hour and looking for more, then this is what you've been waiting for. If you loathe block moving games then this won't convert you. If you enjoy Rush Hour and are looking for something a tad different then this may be for you. And you've got nothing to lose in trying it with the free, ad supported, 72 puzzle version (and the QR code is for that). 4/5 stars.