Game review: Puzzle Quest: Galactrix

Published on Wednesday 15 April 2009 17:27

(DS/Xbox Live Arcade/PSN/PC, £20-£29.99)

THE PUZZLE QUEST SERIES HAS shown that block puzzler games can break away from the tried and tested "match rows of the same colour" format. Role-playing features, an engrossing plot and a sprawling game world to explore makes Galactrix something new.

In a future where Earth has exhausted its resources, mankind has taken to space in search of new worlds to conquer. Watching this destruction from the shadows, a new evil waits to strike and your character, a space academy graduate, is caught right in the middle.

Gameplay involves flying through the universe in search of new challenges. Occasionally you will be targeted by pirate ships, taking the game into combat mode. Battles take place on a hexagonal grid filled with coloured blocks. The aim is to line up three or more of a colour, with each colour earning a stat boost.

For example, your ship's lasers are powered by red gems, so the more you bank from the grid, the more powerful your blasts will be. New, more complex abilities can be purchased. Once the enemy ship's shields have been depleted, the game is won.

There are also asteroid mining and hacking puzzle boards, a deep levelling-up system and space trading elements. Galactrix is superb, boldly going where no puzzle game has gone before.