Together with allegations of plagiarism, bad blood between games programmers, comparisons to the amazing Flappy Bird, along with an array of open-source tweaked variations, 2048 is undoubtedly the most contentious nerdy maths mystery in the marketplace in 2014. Forget about all this, and also the simple fact it is eerily similar to Threes! , that surfaced just prior to its release, however, m'kay? You have to tip your hat to Gabriele Cirulli: he might have a lasses' title, however, the 19 year old whiz was able to drum squillions of downloads (and likely more clone tributes along with HTML gamers ) because of his simple yet addicting take on tile-sliding puzzle fury.

For the uninitiated, 2048 is based around a very basic assumption: a grid comprising sixteen squares, where you slide numbered tiles. Each time you slip a tile will last in its planned direction until it reaches the border of the grid, or a different tile. When you set figures together, they'll multiply -- so bonding two"2" tiles will create an"8", and so forth and so forth -- till you make the magical number of 2048. It provides an intriguing choice over the way you approach things, as well as haphazardly flicking tiles throughout the area can occasionally yield results. This really is a traditional casual title which could be dipped to some quick delights, yet you can also put your mathematician's hat (one of the dark scholarly ones, innit) and strategy that the puzzle methodically with a view to bettering your score on your way into the prized four digits.
This 3DS transformation includes a few attractive attributes. A pair of tutorial screens guides you into the"action", and will help if, like me, this resembles a Sudoku puzzle about the surface, rather than a lively and really somewhat thrilling puzzler.

The 3D perspective is aesthetically pleasing and functions well -- this really is the epitome of both low-gloss, efficient performance. Controls are well implemented, also, and there are choices to use either the camera or the analogue stick. The price point, and volume of space it occupies in your own SD card, are equally minimal. There are a lot of achievements to unlock, along with an adequate sense of score assault, as the very best complete will be displayed on screen to spur you -- even though anybody with a fundamental knowledge of how 2048 works will understand that even when you have hit the mandatory number, there's a maximum potential score.
VERDICT: 2048 isn't particularly hard, and doesn't require zen-like heights of skill and concentration to conquer it. It is but one of these games such as Nokia's"Snake" in the late 90s, Game Boy Tetris, and Lumines, that I can see myself dipping into frequently, a simple, casual handheld experience that does not ask a lot of mepersonally, and can quickly while away half an hour waiting for a bus. Non-3DS-owning Nintendo lovers take note: you can also enjoy a perfectly fine match of 2048 with the Wii U browser. 2048