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Puzzle Quest: Galactrix (DS) Status: Stopped playing - Got Bored I started playing this game on Friday 20 March, 2015 // I stopped playing this game on: Tuesday 31 March, 2015
Current opinion of this game
No comment, yet.
March 31, 2015 02:48:26 PM
I played a bit more the other day and, oddly enough, was able to clear the mission I had been struggling with for so long. With that out of the way I decided to explore a little bit and try out some of the side quests. This was when I realized that I wasn't that enthused with the game experience so far. The puzzle parts are fine, maybe a bit too random, but I wouldn't say they're that much "worse" (for me) than most other match-3 type games I've played. It's the rest of the game that doesn't quite gel. I realize that this may be a platform issue - the lower (puzzle) screen feels a bit cramped on the DS and the stellar map is neat (on the upper screen) but could benefit from being "touch", the text also seems small (though readable) and spreads out across multiple windows, and more. I guess it wasn't until I realized that I had to farm (mine) some materials from an asteroid in order to build a ship upgrade AND that I had to remember what planets had asteroids you could mine, AND that not all asteroids have the same raw materials, etc, that I thought - hmmm, I'm not sure this is that interesting or exciting to me. So, I'm now moving on to another game....
March 27, 2015 03:48:28 PM
I knew what I was getting into when I bought this (for very little), but it's been such a long time since this game came out that it's been fun to rediscover, in a certain way, a game I thought I knew, but didn't really. I guess I'm not being fair, I played PuzzleQuest a long time ago and I recall enjoying it a fair amount. I was surprised when Galactrix did poorly in terms of reviews, because I thought it was essentially the same game but re-skinned for a sci-fi setting. Sort of, I knew the match-3 puzzles where with hexes - but other than that it was the same thing. No? The funny thing is that it's been such a long time that I'm not sure I can remember enough to compare them. As such, I've had fun sort of discovering this game even if it's been a bit frustrating at times. In a nutshell, it's a match-3 with a catch. The catch is that it's a shared board and you take turns against an opponent. Depending on what you match, you can fill up some energy bars, your shield, etc. OR damage your opponent. It works well except for the difficulty inherent in setting up a plan when your opponent messes the board up for you when it's your turn. It also means that you're often victim to "lucky" board changes that benefit your opponent (and vice versa) Other than that, there's a campaign that allows you to find upgrades and special powers you can use during matches. There are also other play modes - such as a mode without opponents where you're supposed to make as many matches as possible before the board locks up. I guess it's ok so far. I'm enjoying how new things are becoming available and how they enhance the game. But, I'm not sure the main game is that enjoyable. It feels a bit too random so far. It doesn't help that I've been stuck on a battle for a while now (7 attempts and counting). It makes me wonder if I need to "grind" some side missions in order to be better prepared? I hope not.

Puzzle Quest: Galactrix (DS)