Devil Dice

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Devil Dice
PAL region cover
Developer(s)	Shift
Publisher(s)	^JP SCEI ^NA THQ
Platform(s)	PlayStation
Release date	^JP June 17, 1998 ^EU June 17, 1998 ^NA June 30, 1998
Genre(s)	Puzzle game
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Everyone (E)
Media	1 CD-ROM

Devil Dice (Xi, pronounced "Sai", in Japan) is a video game for the PlayStation. It was originally created by developer Shift on the "homebrew" Yaroze platform, and later turned into a commercial game.^[1] Released in 1998, it is one of only a handful of games to make the leap from the Yaroze to commercial release. The game is a million-seller and a demo version was released as a PlayStation Classic game for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable (PSP) on November 7, 2007.^[2]

A PSP version, Xi Coliseum, was released in Japan on March 9, 2006. This version includes support for ad-hoc wireless play between up to five players.^[3]

The title has a number of sequels, including Devil Dice 2, also for the PlayStation, and Bombastic for the PlayStation 2.

[edit] Gameplay

Screenshot of gameplay.

Devil Dice is a unique puzzle game, where the player controls a small devil that runs around a grid covered in large dice. The player can both stand atop dice, and stand on the ground (with the dice towering above). When standing on the dice, the player can move from die to die, or can roll a die in the direction he or she runs, revealing a different face as the die rotates. Creating a group of adjacent dice with identical pips -- the size of which must be at least the number of pips -- causes those dice to slowly sink into the field before disappearing. Chain reactions are possible by adding additional dice to a sinking set.

The game features the following modes:

Battle - Pits the player against a single computer opponent, both attempting to build up chains and negate those of the opponent.
Puzzle - Mode in which players must solve puzzles (i.e., clear all dice) using only a limited number of steps or moves. Solving a whole row of puzzles allows players access to a picture that they can play on in Battle mode.
Trial - The standard arcade-style mode, where the objective is to remove as many dice as possible (and thus score as many points as possible) before the grid completely fills with dice.
Wars - A frenzied multiplayer mode, supporting up to four simultaneous computer opponents, or five human players when using a multitap. Players damage each other as they complete chains, with the "last devil standing" becoming the winner.