DS #3439: Puzzle Quest: Galactrix (USA)

[Lumstar]

I don't think even DQ5 got that. Platinum almost certainly will.

 

[cubin']

GALAXTRIXXXXXXXX DD

 

[HeatMan Advance]

This is a horrible port. The graphics look pasted on and the controls are horribly unresponsive. There's even some lag and frame drops.

With so many other puzzle games from Meteos to Tertris DS that have presented themselves way better than this, what's the point of such a subpar piece of crap like this? It's like they didn't even test it.

I'd suggest playing the flash version over this. Yes, it was that bad for me.

 

[moo422]

This is a horrible port. The graphics look pasted on and the controls are horribly unresponsive. There's even some lag and frame drops.

With so many other puzzle games from Meteos to Tertris DS that have presented themselves way better than this, what's the point of such a subpar piece of crap like this? It's like they didn't even test it.

I'd suggest playing the flash version over this. Yes, it was that bad for me.

quite the contrary, i found the PC version's UI more sluggish than the DS. the DS is nice and no-frills, and makes much better use of the space.

 

[Mythrix]

Did they add button controls to the game? A semibroken touch screen made the game rather frustrating back when I played the first game. (Basically I'd touch the screen one place, and it'd think I had touched it about half a cm to the left or right. And no, calibration didn't work.) I eventually learned to compensate for the faulty calibration... Although now that I've replaced the touch screen, it's not really a problem anymore.

Anyways, it's a great version of Bejeweled because of the RPG elements! Although sometimes it seems cheap when the opponent gets superlong chains for no apparent reason at all, and wins or almost-wins in one move. Since there is no penalty for dying (except for lost playing time) it's not too frustrating though, IMHO.

But I hope it's not really as sluggish as some people say it is.

 

[Orc]

This is a horrible port. The graphics look pasted on and the controls are horribly unresponsive. There's even some lag and frame drops.

With so many other puzzle games from Meteos to Tertris DS that have presented themselves way better than this, what's the point of such a subpar piece of crap like this? It's like they didn't even test it.

I'd suggest playing the flash version over this. Yes, it was that bad for me.

quite the contrary, i found the PC version's UI more sluggish than the DS. the DS is nice and no-frills, and makes much better use of the space.

Are you sure you're referring to the PC version and not the Flash demo?
I'm hating the slowdowns in menus and during gameplay on the DS (also the AI isn't too good, choosing less damaging mines sometimes instead of 10's or going for mines when there's a 5 in a row) and the unresponsive touch screen, especially while during flying on your ship. Just got the PC version off Steam and seeing a big improvement so far: More ships flying around to challenge, better GUI, music sounds better (and you can actually hear it) and so far I haven't noticed the AI do the weird stuff it did in the DS version.

I'm also wondering why they couldn't add the two other character pictures in this version and at least the cheesy YOU ARE VICTORIOUS~ sound clip that I enjoy. I'd have to agree with HeatMan Advance that this seems a rushed port.

But I still like CotW better than Galactrix, because I liked the idea of classes/skills.

 

[choupette]

I didn't enjoy the first one much. The way the AI abused its "clairvoyance" to make long, unpredictable chains and potentially obliterate you in a few turns completely broke the game, IMO. I hope this one's better, because the concept is really cool indeed.

i'll have to declare shenanigans on that accusation. i ran across just as many insanely long unpredictable chains as the computer. the key was eliminating jewels at the bottom of the stacks, to give yourself more opportunistic matches in the middle and top of the screen during the ensuring avalanches.

I agree.
puzzle quest is not a hard game and the ai is not unfair. I just have as many luck as it has.

 

[GeekyGuy]

Well, they really have managed to 1-up themselves in pretty much every way with this game. The only downside is that the touch-screen controls are damn near broken. I had redo the very first hacking session about 20 times last night, and though it should have been an incredibly easy task, I just couldn't get my gems to respond in time. So, so disappointed.

 

[SpiritBoy]

Huh
I found the touch screen to be very fine.
I found the AI is still a cheating hobag.

 

[BlueStar]

I didn't enjoy the first one much. The way the AI abused its "clairvoyance" to make long, unpredictable chains and potentially obliterate you in a few turns completely broke the game, IMO. I hope this one's better, because the concept is really cool indeed.

i'll have to declare shenanigans on that accusation. i ran across just as many insanely long unpredictable chains as the computer. the key was eliminating jewels at the bottom of the stacks, to give yourself more opportunistic matches in the middle and top of the screen during the ensuring avalanches.

I agree.
puzzle quest is not a hard game and the ai is not unfair. I just have as many luck as it has.

I'm sure I've seen youtube videos of people using save states or bugs where some levels always have the same starting pattern to demonstrate that the computer doesn't behave in completely above-board fashion and knows what gems are above the top of the screen

 

[Dragonlord]

I didn't enjoy the first one much. The way the AI abused its "clairvoyance" to make long, unpredictable chains and potentially obliterate you in a few turns completely broke the game, IMO. I hope this one's better, because the concept is really cool indeed.

i'll have to declare shenanigans on that accusation. i ran across just as many insanely long unpredictable chains as the computer. the key was eliminating jewels at the bottom of the stacks, to give yourself more opportunistic matches in the middle and top of the screen during the ensuring avalanches.

I agree.
puzzle quest is not a hard game and the ai is not unfair. I just have as many luck as it has.

I'm sure I've seen youtube videos of people using save states or bugs where some levels always have the same starting pattern to demonstrate that the computer doesn't behave in completely above-board fashion and knows what gems are above the top of the screen

Doesn't matter. I did in depth tests of the game also using save states and I could show precisely that the AI does cheat. It uses a random number generator to determine how strongly it cheats. When it decides to cheat it selects from a bunch of possibilities ( all likely good or bad ) the one which chains through down falling jewels. A behavior you can only do if you code the AI to look at the jewels to come. I'm sorry to disappoint you people but the AI in this game is clearly and undeniably cheating. And as a game dev I condemn anybody creating a cheating AI since a cheating AI shows the programmers lack of skill to write a proper AI.

 

[IBNobody]

The puzzle mechanics are better than PQ1, but the RP elements are worse than before.

The touch interface in puzzle mode is the same, but outside? Clicking on menu items in the solar system view can sometimes cause your ship to fly past the target.

Also, what's with the long (2-3 sec) load times?

 

[thieves like us]

Is it my DS or is this game have really quiet sound/music volume?

I think it's the game. I noticed it as well and thought that I had the sound on my ds turned down. unfortunately, that wasn't the case. whoever did the sampling for this title, did a really bad job.

 

[moo422]

quite the contrary, i found the PC version's UI more sluggish than the DS. the DS is nice and no-frills, and makes much better use of the space.

Are you sure you're referring to the PC version and not the Flash demo?
I'm hating the slowdowns in menus and during gameplay on the DS (also the AI isn't too good, choosing less damaging mines sometimes instead of 10's or going for mines when there's a 5 in a row) and the unresponsive touch screen, especially while during flying on your ship. Just got the PC version off Steam and seeing a big improvement so far: More ships flying around to challenge, better GUI, music sounds better (and you can actually hear it) and so far I haven't noticed the AI do the weird stuff it did in the DS version.

I'm also wondering why they couldn't add the two other character pictures in this version and at least the cheesy YOU ARE VICTORIOUS~ sound clip that I enjoy. I'd have to agree with HeatMan Advance that this seems a rushed port.

But I still like CotW better than Galactrix, because I liked the idea of classes/skills.

while GUI on the PC version (installed, not flash) is better, i'm just finding the animations and transitions starting to irk me, compared to the no-frills approach of the DS version. i suppose it's a personal preference. but you're right, the AI on the DS is far wimpier.

also - gate-hacking - does it bother anyone else that the clock continues to run while long chains are going off? the clock was running down to the 30 second warning during the gate hack, and i inadvertently triggered a 20-second chain (it wasn't that many matches, but the animations and such took up a bulk of the time). grr .. i should not be penalized for awesome chaining, intentional or otherwise

 

[Donato_Dobango]

I'm about 7 levels in and don't notice much touch sluggishness, especially not enough to cause me to lose or stop playing.

The main issue I seem to be having is some enemies being about to move things further then 1 hexagon spatially. But other than that, I like the game.

 

[concealed identi]

I'm loving this game...my only major complaint is the loading times. It's really annoying, but I can deal with it. Also, I feel like I'm doing way more hacking than battling, but I'm sure that'll balance out more as the game goes on.


I'm getting really annoyed at mining though, and not being able to tell what's on each mine beforehand. I'm level 12 or so, and I still can't add the Shield Matrix to my ship because I haven't found one mine with gold on it, and it's a pain in the ass going through systems and clicking on each mine, then selecting the "Mine" option, then cancel, then go on to the next mine.

 

[Dead Ghost]

It's really a poor port on the DS. I'm glad i'm not the only one who observed this.
Buggy touch interface, poor graphics (the first Puzzle Quest looked way better), broken music (unclear and low volume) and long loading times (and many).
I'm really sad about this, because from what i've played, it's still addictive and the story seems ok (funny dialogs, like in the first one).

 

[borka]

Me too - well I loved the original PQ - I will not advise anyone to buy this one. On the contrary, I will strongly advise not to buy.

Loading times are terrible. UI responsiveness is terrible too. Graphic is not clear - it all reminds me of some emulator, say SNES or even MSX. Metal Gear 2 on fMSX had the same look (with its downscaled graphics) and the same feel with lag.

And I will be harsh - the team behind this port deserves to go broke... As a warning to other teams that it is a very bad idea to ruin a potentially good game with bad port

 

[mixinluv2u]

i don't understand why there's load time on a DS cartridge!?!?

 

[Bridgy84]

I can not say i have had any of the touchscreen issues but i can say the load times are sort of annoying. Don't get me wrong though i am liking the game quite a bit. I still may buy it on the 360 as well though. I wish the ds version had some wifi. I would love to fight ships!