Puzzle Quest: Galactrix Reviews

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Written by BuckGB on March 3rd, 2009

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The original game was notorious for its difficulty level and that aspect has not changed in the sequel. More often than not, you can find yourself getting pummeled by the enemy in early levels, thanks to the lucky breaks he always seems to be getting. The difficulty eases up a bit once you start leveling up, but frustration can set in early if you aren't prepared. Luckily, every mode, whether it's multiplayer or the single-player quest and quick play, lets you level up your character, so if you find yourself having trouble in quest mode, quick play and multiplayer can be your saviors.

All of the above statements make Galactrix sound like the perfect sequel, but while the sheer scope of the game might dismay some people, the presence of load times will disappoint more than a few. Not many Nintendo DS games feature load screens, so the fact that a load screen occurs just before and after every fight is a little unsettling. This is amplified by the fact that the original game didn't feature any load screens at all, making players wonder exactly what's causing the load screens this time around.

The game combines a bit of strategy. The tactical element is there, but is confounded by random realignment of the puzzle pieces when you start clearing the board. You might think you are making a safe move, only to have the board align in such a manner as to give your opponent the opportunity to line up puzzle pieces that will directly damage you, or result is a series of wild combos that really bolster his or her chances of winning.

The story itself is merely Ok. It moves the gameplay along, but can seem to drag out a bit and have you chasing from planet to planet, station to station, or asteroid to asteroid with few results. You can, though, opt to skip the static cut scenes.

For the most part, Galactrix still embodies that "one more turn" addictive quality that made the previous game great. The gem matching mini game has an "easy to learn, difficult to master" feel that keeps players motivated. However, we took issue with two mini games, the first being LeapGate hacking. Hacking a LeapGate opens up a pathway from one star system to another by making players race against time to make sequential set of color matches. By itself, it's not a big deal, but over half the game is comprised of hacking one LeapGate after another, so it quickly grows tiresome. The game practically comes to a halt when players are stuck on unlocking a gate, so those who are a little slow at spotting matches may soon find themselves unable to progress. LeapGates also have an annoying tendency to re-lock after a time, so it can feel like all the effort was for nothing.

Similarly, the Rumor puzzle quickly got on our nerves. In it, players have to make a certain number of matches, but make sure that the biohazard tiles don't come together when things shift around. All players get out of it is a bit of inconsequential background information about the game universe along with some XP. It's a frustrating mini game with a reward that really isn't worth the effort. We quickly learned to dread long combo chains in both the LeapGate and Rumor puzzles because they often worked against us by burning up precious time or shifting things around as we watched helplessly.

Not everything runs smoothly. As Darth Vader once said, "There's a disturbance in the force." That disturbance is the flow of the missions. Some of them are great, pitting you head to head against space pirates. Others, however, require you to activate LeapGates, portals that take you to other sections of the universe. There are way more LeapGates here than we would've liked to open, and completing the mini-tasks over and over again (matching up certain colors within a limited amount of time) isn't nearly as much fun as a battle. The game also has too much loading. (This is a cartridge, right?)

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