I confess: Pre-review, I had no idea what the hell ‘Blokus’ was nor anything about the ‘Steambot’ anime world featured prominently within this UMD.

In doing some research, however, I quickly discovered the former to be a fairly popular French board game, the latter a very quirky Playstation 2 action/adventure title whose protagonists are named after garden herbs. An odd pairing, indeed.

Still, being a combined advocate of portable puzzle gaming and Japanese serials, I decided to give ‘Blokus Portable’ a whirl.

Only a few Blokus boards in, its strategy and ease of play became readily apparent. In but an hour’s time, I morphed into a Blokus Jedi Master, capable of both maximizing board coverage and ‘blok-king’ out opponents in style. Let me explain:

Blokus is akin to the bastard gaming stepchild produced from the love triangle of  ‘Perfection,’ ‘Othello’ and ‘Tetris.’ Certain oddly shaped pieces…can only go in certain spaces...and in certain instances. Play a board right, and limit your opponents’ moves while augmenting your own. Not mind bending, but definitely entertaining. Moroever, the ability to have 4 PSP’ers play simultaneously via a single UMD is instant value-add. Rock on, Majesco Entertainment.

The Steambot part of the game?…a bit peculiar. The running commentary from Steambot’s McCormick-inspired opponents (Vanilla Beans? Marjoram?) adds little to the Blokus experience. While Steambot fans might go ga-ga over this inclusion, the lay spice person isn’t as amused.

Related, for a game with a true license, ‘Blokus Portable’ feels rather bland. The Lobster Inn where games take place resembles 16-bit era environs, accompanying music atrocious. I kept being reminded of Diner Dash, a nice PSP title but one equally suited for a generic and/or flash-based environment. This blandness stands as a crime for a console already bursting with character-rich puzzle titles (‘LocoRoco,’ ‘Crush,’ ‘Lumines,’ etc.).

Still – much like Carol Vorderman’s Sudoku - there are worse ways to spend twenty bucks. In all fairness, ‘Blokus Portable’ does what it promises: a no frills version of a boardgame featuring licensed characters. Echoing Vorderman’s Sudoku, if you’re already a Blokus and/or Steambot disciple, not much to dislike here.

SUMMARY: ‘Blokus Portable: Steambot Championship’ is a solid, quirky puzzle title that should delight fans of the board and/or previous PS2 game. Newbies, however, might find better puzzle options within the PSP’s robust selection of such titles.

CONCLUSION: 6.5 [MARJORAM] OUT OF 10.