One of the best things about Xbox Live is that it has a plethora of genres available that can suit just about every audience. Whether you’re seeking the complexity of a game like Shadow Complex or just looking for a simple way to relax, the Marketplace has you covered. If you decide to visit and shop for a simple way to relax, Tower Bloxx Deluxe just might have you covered.

Gameplay:

Tower Bloxx is easy to play. In fact, the gameplay is the epitome of simple – you only need to use one button in most of the game modes. The reason that a game that only uses one button can be so fun is because the gameplay is all about timing. Tower Bloxx is about building (you guessed it) towers, and as lone construction worked given this task, your Avatar sits in a construction crane dropping colorful blocks onto a foundation. Once the first block is dropped, you have to drop the next block and the next block and the next block, one upon another, as your tower begins to wobble back and forth. The timing can get tricky because the entire time, your crane will swing back and forth, and with both the tower and the crane going at different paces, you’ll have to anticipate the match each in order to land each block upon another.

On paper, the game sounds incredibly easy, and in its most basic function, it is. However, if you want to really score some high combos and get not only a lot of blocks but a lot of people into the towers (your score is your total population), you’ll need some solid timing. While you can score points by simply landing a block successfully, to really rack up the points you’ll need to land it perfectly on the block below. This gives you a multiplier that you can increase further with more and more consecutive perfect drops. Special blocks like balconies will give you an even greater multiplier and bonus, making them key for those who really want to rack up the tenants.

Graphics:

Tower Bloxx is a very friendly, colorful game. There isn’t a dark or drab tone to be found, and the game presents itself in a very visually welcoming way. There isn’t much strain on the Xbox 360, but the graphics are still very smooth and vibrant. The most impressive visual you’ll see is when you land a special balcony piece and get a big combo, as tenants will coming flying into your tower en masse to populate it. As you build your tower higher and higher, you’ll be treated to a higher and higher perspective on the city below, finally climbing into the atmosphere, then out of it and into outer space. It’s fun to see the background scenery go from planes to blimps to space shuttles.

Sound:

There isn’t much to the music, but what is there is very nice. It’s very relaxing and easy to listen to as you enjoy the game. What little voice acting the game has is well done and doesn’t feel out of place, and the background noise of the tenants cheering your success is likewise friendly and welcoming. Tower Bloxx sounds as fun and welcoming as it is, which is great.

Longevity:

Tower Bloxx comes with three games modes, a cooperative game, and even multiplayer support. In Quick Games you can jump right into the action and try to build a tower as high as you can to set a high score. You can only mess up thrice, though, before your game ends and your score is tallied. In Time Attack, you have to try to beat the clock and land as many perfect drops as quickly as you can. As you land perfect drops, your time will increase by 1 second, and as you climb higher and higher, you’ll earn time bonuses for passing checkpoints.

The best game mode for singleplayer, though, is the Build a City mode. Here you are given the chance to build (and even name!) your own city and try to populate it as much as possible. As you grow your city with more and bigger buildings, your population will increase and you’ll be given tools to improve your population and city size even more. For instance, some of the first awards you’ll receive are special roofs and balcony pieces for the Build mode, which will allow you to cap off a particularly well-made tower with a spiffy mark of your success. In multiplayer mode, the game gets just a bit more complicated by using powerups and other controls, but the principles are all the same.

What might be particularly fun for you and your friends is that Tower Bloxx keeps track of your high score and best record in every single game mode, so if you want to best your friends score, you’ll always have it available at a glance. The game has a nice collection of achievements, but some of them aren’t the easiest in the world until you really get a knack for the game. Landing 10 perfect drops in a row isn’t a task for a newbie, for instance, but reaching a certain population for your city is certainly a goal you can easily work toward.

Overall:

For 800 Microsoft points, Digital Chocolate delivers an incredibly fun and intuitive game that will stand out on an already impressive roster of games on the Xbox Live Marketplace. If it fits into your list of favorite genres, Tower Bloxx Deluxe is definitely worth your money.