Galatrix real demo live

[chip5541]

and is much better than the flash demo.

http://www.bigdownload.com/games/puzzle-quest-galactrix/pc/puzzle-quest-galactrix-demo/

[Rob]

Before I download it, what makes it better than the flash version?

[chip5541]

Everything. Story mode and gem collection makes more sense. Mining like spells in teh original, timed ones for hacking and special matching for custom made systems (weapons and such).

I am not a big fan of the movement portion but I love all teh modes.

[chip5541]

After a small DL and install I booted up Galactrix for some fun. Was I disappointed? Yes and no. Reminder, this is based on the PC demo only and does not reflect the full game.

Audio: The music is very spacey (OMG spacey is a word??) and works well. I would think it would be perfectly suited for use in a Planetarium. The voice work however is not going to win any awards. I swear the speaker for the intro must be on Dramamine. With all the conversations being in text, the voice work has little rating effect on the impression of the demo. The last portion of the audio impressions are the actual game play portions. The gems movement and destruction really haven't deviated that much from the audio of teh previous game with the exception of certain combination in the announcers voice. The exception is with the weapons. Nothing really too imaginative and lasers sounding the way you would imagine them too as with mines and other special moves. There is an announcers voice who warns you when your shields are gone which is a good thing and makes it more important to listen too.

Graphics: Not much has changed from the previous Puzzle Quest game. From the painting at the beginning to the 2D overhead view (map) of the system you are in to the static characters during conversations. While the characters are different because of the setting the graphic style is still the same. The map view is a little disappointing in my view. I find the view a little too close and some of the systems seem too tightly packed. Once you are into the gameplay screen you are presented with your standard layout. Left side you, right side them and the puzzle board in the middle. The board itself has been altered and gives a good feeling of being futuristic. Another graphic update that is pretty cool is a rotating planet in the background as if you are in a low orbit of an alien world. This does add to the atmosphere without being distracting. If I was to pick on anything about the planet would be maybe a different planet for each battle or maybe instead of a planet, maybe an alien ship. Two would be a little higher resolution. Overall the graphics work well. They have not been updated as much as some may like but they do work.

Gameplay. This is the one I really wanted to get to because there is one thing that really stands out and I want to get it out of the way. This is in reference to going to a base, gate or what ever. When arriving and a conversation pops up and you work your way through it the screen will jump back to the overhead view and your ship is off to chase your mouse pointer again. It should not. Had an option of maybe leave base/planet/gate/asteroid might prevent this but as it is you have to re-point your mouse at the location you want. So many times I had a dammit moment and had to have my ship go back.

One other pet peeve is having to go through 3 screens just to exit the game. Having to click back several times just to get to the exit game can become old very quickly.

The basics are still the same as the previous Puzzle Quest game. Match 3 or more items to eliminate them and add to your side for special bonuses. Unlike the previous game however is the inclusion of a shield which will take the brunt of damage until depleted at which point your ship starts taking damage. This does provide a new strategy to spice things up. They can also be replenished by matching 3 or more blue gems. Another new addition is what I call the space effect. The original had the gems fall down as they were matched. Since space has no gravity the gems move in the direction you move the gem. If you match 3 gems by moving 1 up then the new gems will come from teh bottom up. The skulls from the original game have been replaced with mines. Matching 3 mines will cause damage to the other player. Each mine has a value ranging from 1 to 10 which is its yield. Were three 1 mines will only do 3 in damage, three 10 mines will do major damage of 30. I think this was a great idea and works extremely well.
There was 3e other types of play presented in teh demo. The first was hacking which consisted of matching a certain number of colors in a certain time limit. Also present on the board was watch face which matching 3 would get you bonus time. The demo consisted of hacking the gates computer so you could get access to other star systems. I found this portion fun and quite challenging. I can also see it become an issue if a person is not quick enough to hack the gate and get stuck in a system. The full game may address this but it is something to be mindful of.
You are also presented with a mining board which is simply matching gems to a predetermined amount after which you can sell. No death, no destruction, just casual matching but still very challenging.
The third type is a killer. Once you have an engineer, you can have new weapons and such made for you. This portion of the game is matching not only colors but multiple components. Next to ship combat I like this the best.

Multiplayer: The demo does not have multiplayer active so I was unable to check it out.

Despite my harsh criticisms above I really like this demo and plan on getting the full game. The complaints I had are soon forgotten once you start getting into the puzzle, except for the ship following mouse I mentioned above. Dammit, that is annoying. Anyway, fun game and I see this being another under the radar hit. Great job guys.

Rating:
85% fun
12% challenging
03% dammit

[Rob]

Good post.

I think every rating should have a damn it rating. Would definitely help in my purchases.