Rubik’s Cube for the Atari 2600
I am a big fan of the Rubik’s cube. Nothing relaxed me more than sitting down and spinning that little puzzle cube around and around. I do not know why, but I have always felt that way about the cube. So it should come as no surprise to anyone that when I spotted an ad for a video game version of Rubik’s Cube, that I would start saving my coins to order it. The game actually had a variant called “Atari Video Cube” that many people assume are exactly the same game, but there are slight variations in the color scheme and due to legal reasons, the labeled Rubik’s Cube game is much rarer. What legal reasons? Well, Atari decided to cash in on the Rubik’s Cube name without getting proper permission. That’s why there are not many copies of this game floating around.
If you are playing “Rubik’s Cube or “Atari Video Game”, the gameplay is the same. The game attempts to translate some of the popularity of the famous puzzle cube, while working within the limited framework of the VCS. Instead of sliding parts, you take control of and guide Hubie the Cube Master. You play the game by moving Hubie around a colorful cube and having him pick up and drop the various colors. After selecting a color, you need to find another square of a different color and drop your current color. This will give you the color of the square you just replaced with the color you were carrying. You continue this until all faces on the cube are all uniform in their respective colors. Depending on which game mode you select, your goal is to solve the puzzle in the least amount of time or by using the fewest number of moves.
The game is pretty straightforward and a lot of fun to play. Trying to solve the cube in the shortest amount of time can be a furious joystick bending experience. Trying to solve it in the least amount of moves will make your brain hurt. “Rubik’s Cube” will not win technical awards, but it is a clever interpretation of a non-video classic that will keep you entertained for hours with its endless challenges to your hand-eye coordination and brain power. That is why I give this game 4 out of 5 stars.
