When a game consumes you so much that getting round to writing a review for it pains you to be away from it, you know it’s good! Being the type of gamer who wears rose coloured glasses and expects her favourite game developers and publishers to deliver nothing less than pure gold, going into Gyromancer on Xbox Live Arcade I had high expectations for this game.
Look up Gyromancer on any internet browser and comparisons to Puzzle Quest will no doubt come back a plenty, and although there are obvious similarities between the two, there are stacks of subtle differences that affect the final outcome. Having played Puzzle Quest for what I would call an extensive amount of time, that is, not long enough to get all achievements but so much so that its melted your brain to the point of not wanting to keep trying, there were several elements to its game play that grated like a nails down a chalk board.
When it comes to Gyromancer however, we are looking at the love child of gaming royalty. On Daddy’s side you have Square-Enix; no real need to explain their genius other than reel off names such as Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts, as the drool will come naturally. On Mummy’s side however you have PopCap; life giver to classics such as Peggle, Plants vs. Zombies, Feeding Frenzy and the almighty Bejewelled. To say that I’ve earned a reputation as a Bejewelled playing demon on Facebook is a bit of an understatement. That game is the main reason I log in, forget the actually talking to people bit – I wanna blow gems up!
So here we have what should be the perfect combination between the two; an RPG themed puzzle game involving rearranging gems on a board… just like Puzzle Quest? Stop thinking that! For a start my biggest peeve with Puzzle Quest was the constant going backwards and forwards between cities, fighting demons that randomly spawned and still not feeling any closer to some kind of conclusion. This is the first main difference for Gyromancer. For a start the game is broken down into a series of maps within the plot’s setting of a magic forest. Each map contains the obligatory battles, collectables and bosses, but the separation of each area not only makes it easier to see the conclusion of each stage of the game, but the attached goal list for each area also allows the player to either head straight for the boss and move onto the next stage, or choose to stay in the area and complete all the bonus objectives too.
Then there are the puzzles themselves. Defeating enemies takes place on a puzzle board. Within your inventory you hold 3 beasts that, with typical Square-Enix style, each hold elemental abilities that are either stronger or weaker than your opponents’. Before battle you can choose which beast to take in; the objective is then simple. Rearrange the gems on the board to align rows of matching colours to wipe them from the board. As you clear gems your beasts’ ability gauges fill, and will then attack your opponent if the right bonus gems are cleared.
Unlike the much more complex Puzzle Quest, collecting items and using them is far simpler, as is gaining new beasts. Each of the game maps hold 4 ‘Gyro Codes’, beast DNA which can be unlocked in the Summoner’s Den. As you progress through the game you can then choose to upgrade your beasties as you collect them, each getting bigger and more powerful as the story progresses.
While the RPG element keeps you thinking tactically between enemies, each battle is essentially the same process and progression through the game is a lot less hindered by ‘waffle’ as a result. Let’s face it, the people this game will really appeal to are puzzle fanatics, and PopCap and Square-Enix have managed to create a subtle and very entertaining balance between the two genres without over complicating their game.
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