One thing is for certain: Bawston-area development house Creat Studios has never been a stickler for the rules.

To elaborate, arguably no game studio – much less a midsize one  – has as varied a production portfolio in recent memory than these folks from Canton, Mass. With any risk taking, however, comes both reward and failure. Sales figures and/or critical review of Creat Studios titles are often a mixed bag.

The little New England studio that could chugga-chugga's onward via three more non-traditional game offerings, this time on the Playstation Network (PSN): 'Cuboid,' 'Mahjong Tales,' and 'Magic Ball.' Each very distinct in their own right, all coming in at ten bucks a pop on what is quickly becoming a robust, minigame PSN landscape.

CUBOID

A puzzle game fanatic – I live and die by this genre on my PSP – I embraced ‘Cuboid’ with open arms.

On a summative level, ‘Cuboid’ derives its roots from Richard Tucker’s mathematical brainteaser featuring block mazes and one pain-in-the-ass rotating cube. As with any math-based puzzle challenge (i.e. Sudoku), the primary obstacle lies in deciphering outcomes from a finite series of selections, ones knee-deep in ironclad rules.

Tucker’s creation was most recently brought to life via Albino Black Sheep’s ‘Bloxorz,’ a robust, 3-dimensional representation of his rotating block world. I played the hell out of this freebie Flash game, and chicks the world over bowed in awe of my spatial reasoning abilities.

Akin to successfully bringing flash-sensation ‘N’ to console prime time, there’s clearly a place for flash-inspired games on the likes of a PS3.

‘Cuboid’ echoes this logic well.

‘Cuboid’ is a gorgeous, HD version of ‘Bloxorz,’ ripe with beautiful environments (scenery and maze elements are very sharp), textures (solid attention to detail on a surprisingly beautiful, artistic block) and a zen-like musical score (relaxing and appropriate). A simplistic (as it should be) control scheme makes ‘Cuboid’ simultaneously intuitive and hard as nails. By Level 10 – on the ‘Easy’ (!) setting I was already crying home to mama…yet not frustrated.

If there are criticisms to be had for ‘Cuboid,’ the game is simply too short. Sixty levels ends up being not very many when each board can be cleared in a few minutes flat, at most. While trophies reward faster level completion, ho-hum to sloppy seconds.

Moreover, similarities between ‘Cuboid’ and ‘Bloxorz’ end up being the former’s greatest hindrance. I soon longed for more dynamic interactions with environments, difference in block physics, and maze properties that make each level a new experience. Hopefully Creat has some of these up its sleeve in add-ons and/or upgrades.

Small nags aside, ‘Cuboid’ remains a solid purchase for PSN users, a great non-traditional game for current and would-be puzzle fanatics. At this juncture, you’d be hard pressed to find a better and ‘true’ puzzle game both on the PS3 and at this price.

B

MAHJONG TALES

Geek me if you will, but Mahjong solitaire friggin’ rocks. In fact, I challenge anyone who has ever dedicated 30 minutes of their lives to the electronic version of this matching tile game to deny its simultaneous addictive and entertainment properties. Think of it as Windows spider solitaire…but with cool tiles…neat artwork…and a lot more engaging.

Not surprisingly, Mahjong remains a free/shareware champion across computers, consoles and portable devices alike, empowering even a sap like me to kindle my inner ‘Joy Luck Club.’

‘Mahjong Tales’ is Creat’s attempt to bring this addiction to PS3 owners via a robust set of gameplay options and a reasonable $10 price tag.

On paper, ‘Mahjong Tales’ is a champion among its peers, featuring a nifty Story mode (where Chinese folk tales accompany each board), the old school ‘Infinity’ option (pick a layout, tile set and background), Motion (sporting a time-based, rotating line of tiles), and a competitive Multiplayer strike/counterstrike feature (akin to what you’ll find on most mainstream match-based puzzle games).

Unfortunately and after several hours with ‘Mahjong Tales,’ I found myself…well…not having as much fun as I should. Controls were too loose in some places, overly tight in others; cursor auto-selection was wonky. Difficult to read, tiles were also as bland as fiber cereal…even in 1080i. Archaic animations greeted nearly every tile pairing (via animated stars that ended up obscuring view and hurting score totals). Music – while authentic – became monotonous (too much drum, not enough reed or related). There’s no one online [as of yet] to play against. Last, the interactive dragon was anything but, with movements limited to occasional belches and a peculiar case of Athlete’s Tail.

In lieu of the above, my inner Amy Tan reasoned that in their attempts at authenticity, Creat forgot that this genre needs pizzazz to succeed in digital format. While keeping it real is the shizniite, there’s just cause why no one shoots underhand free throws anymore. In my world, ‘Burning Monkey Mahjong’ hits the bulls eye in marrying classic and couture. I believe ‘Mahjong Tales’ can get there.

Still, ‘Mahjong Tales’ is not a bad game by any means, rather one in need of some subtle tweaks. To be fair, the current iteration does provide what it promises: an authentic, well-rounded game of Mahjong Solitaire.

In pinging Creat about ‘Tales,’ their marketing folks informed me that more tile sets and funk is just around the corner. (I’ll also keep my fingers crossed for addressing some of the above playability tweaks.) Thus – akin to ‘Pain’ – potential return on investment for ‘Mahjong Tales’ remains high. Not to mention it’s the only game in town on the PS3 for Mahjong aficionados.

GRADE: C

MAGIC BALL

‘Magic Ball’ is a creation clearly loved by its development team, a homage to what everyone always wanted the likes of ‘Arkanoid’ and Co. to one day become.

To elaborate and at a risk of over-simplification, ‘Magic Ball’ is a 3D version of the brickbreaking games of yore, boosted by a terrific physics engine and enhanced playability.

It’s hard to truly describe ‘Magic Ball’ without actually seeing it. The game sports two (25 levels each) landscape genres – pirate and medieval fantasy – each of the 50 several layers deep both width and length-wise.

To destroy structures requires literally breaking them down with a soccer ball layer-by-layer, chopping down towers and hammering land-based structures. Watching enormously colorful and complex structures tumble is nothing short of ‘wow’ the first few times played.

Thankfully, ‘Magic Ball’ is devoid of many of the frustrations of its predecessors. The game – it’s about damn time, I might add – allows players to simultaneously possess multiple power-ups up of different genres. Yes, giant and stick paddle can now build the same sandcastle.

Speaking of power-ups, ‘Magic Ball’ tosses in a slew of new goodies that – rendered in 3D – are a literal blast to collect. Chain, bomb, and crazy balls join bazooka and machine guns on the explosive ‘Magic Ball’ playing field. All are intelligently represented in timer and/or ammunition meters, an easy way to keep track of what can quickly result in 3 or more simultaneous power-ups.

The coolest features, hands-down, of ‘Magic Ball’ are the weather and natural disaster effects. Switching the board to Night mode is cool as a cold front. Ditto wind, earthquake and lightning effects.

Simultaneous ‘huzzah’s abound for a liberal side deflection system that offers a little extra paddle surface tension on shots that might otherwise fall to their doom on screen corners. Ditto applause for the opportunity to snatch power-ups from the bottom of your paddle.

Still, ‘Magic Ball’ is not perfect.

While levels are laugh out loud worthy for their shtick and sound effects, 25 of the same damn genre eventually and naturally grows old.  By Level 15, I was ready for – bite my tongue - something other than pirate-themed greatness.  Unfortunately, 10 more levels of the same awaited me.

Exacerbating this is the relatively short nature of ‘Magic Ball,’ clocking in at only 50 levels. Having completed more than half the game in only a couple hours, disappointment emerged knowing the rest of the way consisted of subtle twists on the same, static fantasy theme.

Last, the game’s greatest strength is its simultaneous weakness. With that entire 3D splendor, far too common the balls become a casualty in the mess on-screen. The result – you guessed it – soccer ball death.

Despite these flaws, ‘Magic Ball’ is a must-purchase for fans of the genre. In ‘Magic Ball,’ Creat offers the first true innovation this genre has seen in nearly two decades…and does it well. The engine is clearly solid; a little more level variety (perhaps via sequels and/or add-ons) and Creat has a slam-dunk on its hands.

FINAL THOUGHTS: Via ‘Cuboid,’ ‘Mahjong Tales,’ AND ‘Magic Ball,’ Creat Studios proves it’s ready for the big time on the Playstation Network. Here’s to hoping their quirky development team has a few more PSN tricks up their sleeve, likewise a willingness to further hone three solid initial titles.