Sony has announced what games are being added to their various PlayStation Plus tiers this month, and buried with the rest of their Classics Catalog additions is I.Q. Final. It will be arriving on October 17.
I.Q. Final is the sequel to 1997’s I.Q.: Intelligent Qube, which you may remember from PS1 demo discs. It’s a fantastic little game that presents a great challenge, terrific music, and a tremendous blow to your self-esteem. It has you dropping bomb tiles to try and clear a path through a rolling stack of blocks. Don’t blow up the forbidden tiles, though. Each one you accidentally destroy drops a row from the platform you’re standing on, which dwindles throughout, drastically cutting down the time you have to surgically clear a path through the blocks.
The 1998 sequel was never released in North America. It was released in Japan as Kurushi Final: Mental Blocks and Europe as I.Q. Final. Even with its various PlayStation Network releases, it never made it over here. The sequel comes with four modes: 100 Attack, Survival, Create, and Final. 100 Attack has you take on individual puzzles, Survival is an endless mode, and Final is the classic design.
I recently discovered the greatness of I.Q.: Intelligent Qube. After I completed it, I then immediately researched where I could go next, only to find none of the sequels came to North America. This includes 2000’s I.Q. Remix+ and 2006’s I.Q. Mania. So, finally getting I.Q. Final is an absolute treat.
Unless they leave it in PALs 50hz format. And unless they make it only available to Premium subscribers. I have to admit, Sony has a great vector on hurting my feelings.
I.Q. Final joins the PlayStation Classics Catalog on October 17.
