My wife will swear that Sudoku is fun, but coming from a background of more epic stuff Mario and Zelda, you can understand why I don't see her point. True enough, Sudoku has its fair share of supporters, but whether it warrants a video game on its own remains questionable. That, however, doesn't stop the tons of Sudoku-related games on handheld consoles over the past few months. The likes of Go! Sudoku and Dr. Sudoku have made their rounds on the PSP and GBA respectively, and even the immensely popular Brain Age has a section devoted entirely to the game itself. Sudoku Gridmaster, released as a budget title, is the latest kid on the block.

As the core gameplay of Sudoku never changes, the things that separate Sudoku Gridmaster and other Sudoku video games are therefore purely cosmetic. You won't find any groundbreaking graphical presentation here, but at least the game tries to reduce the blandness by offering a small variety of backgrounds for the player to choose from. The soundtracks are also changeable, even though they tend to be rather distracting when the going gets tough. And trust me, the puzzles in Sudoku Gridmaster are tough. The game offers over 400 Sudoku puzzles spanning four difficulty levels, and the higher level ones may stump even the most seasoned player. If you go into the game expecting to breeze through the levels, be warned.

The game allows two modes of input. The first is the direct writing method, which is popularized by Brain Age. In fact, this method of input is very similar to Brain Age's. The player basically touches a square, and writes the answer on it. Unfortunately, the usual recognition issue does surface here though. For example, the game doesn't quite recognise my "7" properly, and treats it as a "3" instead. This is why a second method of input is included, I guess. This approach allows the player to choose a square, and then choose a number to be keyed into it. This will suit players who have problems getting their handwriting to work on the touch screen, but it's somehow less fluid as compared to just writing the numbers in.

Regardless of which method you choose, you will play each puzzle with a timer. You'll then be ranked according to how well you do. There's also an option to save and exit a puzzle at anytime, allowing you to return later to have a go again from the saved point. This is perfect for a handheld, since you'd expect plenty of on-the-run play.

For all its efforts to make Sudoku more fun than your usual pen and paper game, Sudoku Gridmaster has a fundamental flaw. A player can easily cheat by stopping the game, sorting out the puzzle on the top screen, and then resuming and keying in the answers on the touch screen without sacrificing in-game time. Although this defeats the purpose altogether, the fact that a "feature" like this exists may just be tempting enough for players who simply want a high score for every puzzle.

The sheer number of puzzles available in Sudoku Gridmaster will satisfy fans of the game. For others, however, the game may be less enjoyable. Backgrounds and soundtracks aside, Sudoku is basically just Sudoku. If solving Sudoku puzzles is all you wanted, stick to pen and paper instead.
My wife will swear that Sudoku is fun, but coming from a background of more epic stuff Mario and Zelda, you can understand why I don't see her point. True enough, Sudoku has its fair share of supporters, but whether it warrants a video game on its own remains questionable. That, however, doesn't stop the tons of Sudoku-related games on handheld consoles over the past few months. The likes of Go! Sudoku and Dr. Sudoku have made their rounds on the PSP and GBA respectively, and even the immensely popular Brain Age has a section devoted entirely to the game itself. Sudoku Gridmaster, released as a budget title, is the latest kid on the block. As the core gameplay of Sudoku never changes, the things that separate Sudoku Gridmaster and other Sudoku video games are therefore purely cosmetic. You won't find any groundbreaking graphical presentation here, but at least the game tries to reduce the blandness by offering a small variety of backgrounds for the player to choose from. The soundtracks are also changeable, even though they tend to be rather distracting when the going gets tough. And trust me, the puzzles in Sudoku Gridmaster are tough. The game offers over 400 Sudoku puzzles spanning four difficulty levels, and the higher level ones may stump even the most seasoned player. If you go into the game expecting to breeze through the levels, be warned. The game allows two modes of input. The first is the direct writing method, which is popularized by Brain Age. In fact, this method of input is very similar to Brain Age's. The player basically touches a square, and writes the answer on it. Unfortunately, the usual recognition issue does surface here though. For example, the game doesn't quite recognise my "7" properly, and treats it as a "3" instead. This is why a second method of input is included, I guess. This approach allows the player to choose a square, and then choose a number to be keyed into it. This will suit players who have problems getting their handwriting to work on the touch screen, but it's somehow less fluid as compared to just writing the numbers in. Regardless of which method you choose, you will play each puzzle with a timer. You'll then be ranked according to how well you do. There's also an option to save and exit a puzzle at anytime, allowing you to return later to have a go again from the saved point. This is perfect for a handheld, since you'd expect plenty of on-the-run play. For all its efforts to make Sudoku more fun than your usual pen and paper game, Sudoku Gridmaster has a fundamental flaw. A player can easily cheat by stopping the game, sorting out the puzzle on the top screen, and then resuming and keying in the answers on the touch screen without sacrificing in-game time. Although this defeats the purpose altogether, the fact that a "feature" like this exists may just be tempting enough for players who simply want a high score for every puzzle. The sheer number of puzzles available in Sudoku Gridmaster will satisfy fans of the game. For others, however, the game may be less enjoyable. Backgrounds and soundtracks aside, Sudoku is basically just Sudoku. If solving Sudoku puzzles is all you wanted, stick to pen and paper instead.